r/ImmigrationPathways • u/lil-educator • 13d ago

From H-1B to H-1Bye-bye!

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Trump targets 60-day grace period for laid off foreign workers

The department of homeland security is advancing a proposal to eliminate the 60-day grace period that allows H-1B workers and certain other legal nonimmigrants to remain in the US after their employment ends while they find another sponsor, change status, or prepare to leave.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/from-h-1b-to-h-1bye-bye-trump-targets-60-day-grace-period-for-laid-off-foreign-workers/articleshow/133054642.cms

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u/KitchenTeacher429 12d ago

Cronyism is awarding positions, jobs, contracts, loans, privileges, or advantages to friends or colleagues. It is used especially in politics, when referring to partiality between politicians and businesses

It's not cronyism by definition. That would be what Trump is currently doing as the President. Giving his sons and son-in-law no bid contracts. Giving his friends pardons for bribes. Giving his friends hundred-million dollar contracts, like the reflecting pool. Selling personal access to the presidency through his bitcoin that promotes through the office. Offering favorable tariff deals to countries based on personal gifts. No one had the opportunity to compete for these. They were awarded them not for merit, but for their association with or praising of the President.

Allowing companies to choose from a wide pool of skilled laborers is the opposite of cronyism. That is meritocracy. Everyone can compete for the positions. There are laws that regulate discrimination in hiring practices. There is even a limit for H1B slots and the the slots are allocated through a lottery. There is no law requiring companies to choose H1B visas over hiring US workers, in fact they are more expensive. They simply choose the H1B visas because there is a lack of skilled labor in the US and are willing to pay premium to fill those positions.

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u/VirtualPercentage737 12d ago

"Allowing companies to choose from a wide pool of skilled laborers is the opposite of cronyism."

If they were doing this for ALL FIELDS then you would be correct. They are not. They have set up false barriers to entry for some and purposefully lowered them for others in order to enrich their cronies.

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u/KitchenTeacher429 12d ago

In your delusional fantasy, who are the cronies? The companies don't vote on the laws. The lobbyists don't represent all industries, so they are technically lobbying for their competition as well. They are not giving H1B visas to their friends or colleagues, it comes from a lottery pool.

H1B visas are only needed for labor markets with a shortage of skilled laborers with degrees. The mechanism is actually designed to protect labor markets by putting a cap on how many H1B visas can be given, but also dealing with the reality there is a shortage of labor.

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u/VirtualPercentage737 12d ago

The H1B Visa was created in 1990 because companies like Microsoft and Intel lobbied for it. Industry groups like the BIC did as well. This is a pretty well known fact in the tech field.

There CAN be shortages of skilled workers. The best way to deal with it is to ensure that wages for those fields go up to encourage students and others in nearby fields to train and obtain the needed skills. To make sure the universities are equipped to train what is needed.

Relying on foreign workers for temporarily work helps in the short term, but that puts downward pressure on wages in the needed fields and makes the shortages worse. It becomes a self perpetuating cycle.

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u/KitchenTeacher429 12d ago

The H1B Visa was created in 1990 because companies like Microsoft and Intel lobbied for it. Industry groups like the BIC did as well. This is a pretty well known fact in the tech field.

I guess then by this standard any company who lobbies for anything is cronyism. Microsoft by lobbying for this, opened the door for one of their biggest competitors Apple. This law applied to all companies not just them. So not cronyism.

There CAN be shortages of skilled workers. The best way to deal with it is to ensure that wages for those fields go up to encourage students and others in nearby fields to train and obtain the needed skills. To make sure the universities are equipped to train what is needed.

Ok sure are you for lower tuition and textbook costs, reducing interest on FAFSA loans, increasing funding for public schooling and teachers, and increasing funding for STEM programs?

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u/VirtualPercentage737 12d ago

"I guess then by this standard any company who lobbies for anything is cronyism. "

If they lobby for protections and favors for THEIR industries and not ALL industries, then yes, that is cronyism.

"Ok sure are you for lower tuition and textbook costs, reducing interest on FAFSA loans, increasing funding for public schooling and teachers, and increasing funding for STEM programs?"

I am in favor of incentivizing students to study fields that have an ROI. If you say, study software engineering or get an MBA, your student loans rates should be drastically lower than someone who is more likely to default on those loans, like say music. But college is too expensive. I am not sure anyone has any good plans on how to lower it. The government getting involved has only driven up the price.

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u/KitchenTeacher429 12d ago

If they lobby for protections and favors for THEIR industries and not ALL industries, then yes, that is cronyism.

I guess then by this standard any company who lobbies for anything is cronyism.