Immigrant’s perspective on the H1-B debate /u/tropicalmewtwo CSCQ protests reddit

I’ve been working at FAANG for the past 3 years. Although I’m not on H1-B right now, I’m in a very similar program in Europe. I also worked for FAANG in the USA remotely.

My tl;dr on the whole issue is: nobody is entitled to your country, and you should do what’s best for you at all times and in all situations. It is completely unfair for Americans/Europeans to compete with people who need these immigration programs.

Commenting on some of the things I read in this sub/Twitter:

• Americans are the most sharp workforce

This is not true as a rule. Although my evidence is anecdotal, the sharpest people in the FAANG companies I worked at were always of Russian/Eastern European descent. Some of the brightest ones were from Iran and China.

• H1-B for tech is cheap labor

Well, analyzing this from a supply and demand perspective, it’s true that removing H1-B visas would likely increase domestic demand, potentially leading to higher salaries. However, this scenario seems unlikely to materialize. Companies like Google, Amazon, and Spotify are currently establishing large campuses in Mexico and Brazil – and you can imagine FAANG pays heavenly salaries there compared to the local market. In my opinion, it’s more probable that these companies will simply establish satellite operations and hire employees from these regions. Any form of tax, tariff, or legal restriction on this practice would have a bad impact on the tech and startup ecosystems, potentially driving companies further away from the US.

• H1-B workers are being exploited

I agree, somewhat. Every individual who accepts an offer is aware of both the advantages and disadvantages. The decision to commit to a work regime where you are dependent on the company is a deliberate one. I believe most people criticizing this lack of perspective – in most immigrants’ home countries, either the pay would be significantly lower for the same hours, jobs would not even exist, or living conditions would be absolutely hell on earth. So, yes, I can easily accept a 60-hour workweek. However, walking daily in my hometown, fearing for my life, is not something I can easily do.

And that’s for those who work overtime. Anecdotally, this is only the case for certain demographics within immigrants.

Now, why I think it is unfair competition:

Most American and European people have a dream life in for an outsider’s perspective. It is also true that most American and European people are not aware of that; life is just life, and that’s fine.

For this reason, I think the median life— and of course there will be thousands if not millions of exceptions— of an American/European person is overall more chill than in other parts of the world:

• Go to school from 9-3
• Do extracurricular activities
• Do homework
• Volunteer
• Get into sports/musical instruments

While in most of the non-developed world, this early life stage is:

• Go to school from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Otherwise, there are no chances of improving life for your family. At least it was like this for me.

A different set of abilities are developed for people in the first group and people in the second group. I think people in the second group have an easier time passing LeetCode-style interviews, for example.

Now getting into the college stage:

Based on my observations from US friends and YouTube, there appears to be a distinction between college and full-time work (or internship)—part-time jobs during the term are not what I’m referring to here. Generally, in the US, it’s uncommon to be a full-time employee while in college.

However, this is not the case in the underdeveloped world. It’s perfectly normal to be a full-time employee during college and after, as people are often incentivized to support their families early on. Of course, this can lead to challenging schedules that require balancing college and work, but we are used to crazy hours since a young age, so that’s fine anyway.

I believe that when entry-level positions become available, H1-B applicants will likely have more relevant experience to showcase after completing college.

And finally, work:

Besides some demographics, there is no nationalism sentiment in immigrants. Meaning that we know that our country is absolutely bad, and we would not like to go back. I’ve seen this sentiment in Chinese, LATAM, and Russian co-workers.

That is fuel to perform better at work, since our lives and our future family’s lives literally depend on it.

That means a lot of effort is done inside work: being extra-productive, trying to exceed expectations constantly, and doing long hours.

As well as outside of work: buying and doing courses to improve on the job, researching the domain space, reading articles, and even reviewing our own work on what could be better.

I’m not saying that Americans/Europeans don’t do that, I’m just saying that we have an extra, super-strong incentive to do that.

My point:

It’s unfair to Americans and Europeans to compete in such a situation. I’m not saying you’re incapable, but I believe it’s more challenging for you to comprehend the reasons behind it.

You’ve built incredible countries with rich histories and high living standards. The truth is, you deserve all of these things, not anyone else.

You shouldn’t have to compromise your work-life balance and general work expectations to underdeveloped countries. This is mentally draining and won’t benefit you in any way.

While I’m grateful for the opportunities I have, I’m convinced that I’m pushing people around me to work more, not directly, but indirectly.

Please push this debate in the right direction and advocate for changes to the current work market rhythm. You deserve better than this.

Avoid the fallacy of the “superior” American workforce and the inferior work done by immigrants. This notion may have been true in the past, but it’s not now. I cringe every time I see someone on Twitter claiming to “save the company every day with no recognition.” This discourse only weakens your argument because people who support the H1-B system, like Elon Musk, know it’s not the case.

Also, it is not a “Us vs Them” situation, everyone and every side of this debate just want a better life – that’s it, there’s no crime in that. Of course there are some dickheads that think they’re superior human beings for some reason – in both sides of the discussion.

I’ve been working at FAANG for the past 3 years. Although I’m not on H1-B right now, I’m in a very similar program in Europe. I also worked for FAANG in the USA remotely.

My tl;dr on the whole issue is: nobody is entitled to your country, and you should do what’s best for you at all times and in all situations. It is completely unfair for Americans/Europeans to compete with people who need these immigration programs.

Commenting on some of the things I read in this sub/Twitter:

• Americans are the most sharp workforce

This is not true as a rule. Although my evidence is anecdotal, the sharpest people in the FAANG companies I worked at were always of Russian/Eastern European descent. Some of the brightest ones were from Iran and China.

• H1-B for tech is cheap labor

Well, analyzing this from a supply and demand perspective, it’s true that removing H1-B visas would likely increase domestic demand, potentially leading to higher salaries. However, this scenario seems unlikely to materialize. Companies like Google, Amazon, and Spotify are currently establishing large campuses in Mexico and Brazil – and you can imagine FAANG pays heavenly salaries there compared to the local market. In my opinion, it’s more probable that these companies will simply establish satellite operations and hire employees from these regions. Any form of tax, tariff, or legal restriction on this practice would have a bad impact on the tech and startup ecosystems, potentially driving companies further away from the US.

• H1-B workers are being exploited

I agree, somewhat. Every individual who accepts an offer is aware of both the advantages and disadvantages. The decision to commit to a work regime where you are dependent on the company is a deliberate one. I believe most people criticizing this lack of perspective – in most immigrants’ home countries, either the pay would be significantly lower for the same hours, jobs would not even exist, or living conditions would be absolutely hell on earth. So, yes, I can easily accept a 60-hour workweek. However, walking daily in my hometown, fearing for my life, is not something I can easily do.

And that’s for those who work overtime. Anecdotally, this is only the case for certain demographics within immigrants.

Now, why I think it is unfair competition:

Most American and European people have a dream life in for an outsider’s perspective. It is also true that most American and European people are not aware of that; life is just life, and that’s fine.

For this reason, I think the median life— and of course there will be thousands if not millions of exceptions— of an American/European person is overall more chill than in other parts of the world:

• Go to school from 9-3
• Do extracurricular activities
• Do homework
• Volunteer
• Get into sports/musical instruments

While in most of the non-developed world, this early life stage is:

• Go to school from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Otherwise, there are no chances of improving life for your family. At least it was like this for me.

A different set of abilities are developed for people in the first group and people in the second group. I think people in the second group have an easier time passing LeetCode-style interviews, for example.

Now getting into the college stage:

Based on my observations from US friends and YouTube, there appears to be a distinction between college and full-time work (or internship)—part-time jobs during the term are not what I’m referring to here. Generally, in the US, it’s uncommon to be a full-time employee while in college.

However, this is not the case in the underdeveloped world. It’s perfectly normal to be a full-time employee during college and after, as people are often incentivized to support their families early on. Of course, this can lead to challenging schedules that require balancing college and work, but we are used to crazy hours since a young age, so that’s fine anyway.

I believe that when entry-level positions become available, H1-B applicants will likely have more relevant experience to showcase after completing college.

And finally, work:

Besides some demographics, there is no nationalism sentiment in immigrants. Meaning that we know that our country is absolutely bad, and we would not like to go back. I’ve seen this sentiment in Chinese, LATAM, and Russian co-workers.

That is fuel to perform better at work, since our lives and our future family’s lives literally depend on it.

That means a lot of effort is done inside work: being extra-productive, trying to exceed expectations constantly, and doing long hours.

As well as outside of work: buying and doing courses to improve on the job, researching the domain space, reading articles, and even reviewing our own work on what could be better.

I’m not saying that Americans/Europeans don’t do that, I’m just saying that we have an extra, super-strong incentive to do that.

My point:

It’s unfair to Americans and Europeans to compete in such a situation. I’m not saying you’re incapable, but I believe it’s more challenging for you to comprehend the reasons behind it.

You’ve built incredible countries with rich histories and high living standards. The truth is, you deserve all of these things, not anyone else.

You shouldn’t have to compromise your work-life balance and general work expectations to underdeveloped countries. This is mentally draining and won’t benefit you in any way.

While I’m grateful for the opportunities I have, I’m convinced that I’m pushing people around me to work more, not directly, but indirectly.

Please push this debate in the right direction and advocate for changes to the current work market rhythm. You deserve better than this.

Avoid the fallacy of the “superior” American workforce and the inferior work done by immigrants. This notion may have been true in the past, but it’s not now. I cringe every time I see someone on Twitter claiming to “save the company every day with no recognition.” This discourse only weakens your argument because people who support the H1-B system, like Elon Musk, know it’s not the case.

Also, it is not a “Us vs Them” situation, everyone and every side of this debate just want a better life – that’s it, there’s no crime in that. Of course there are some dickheads that think they’re superior human beings for some reason – in both sides of the discussion.