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Comment by NetStrikeForce | Hacker News Reader

The problem with H1-B's is what in Spain we call "ni chicha ni limoná" - which means that it is something half-baked or half-way from being A or B.

H1-B seems to increase competition among workers, but in fact it does not, because H1-B workers are captive workers. They don't enjoy the same rights as their local counterparts. They can't leave the company and start applying for other jobs.

This leads to abuse from businesses.

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They certainly can apply for other jobs! True they can't quit and then look for work. I know some people do that, but most don't. The ones that do are usually very senior with good savings, so they can afford to take a few months off while they do their job search. Regular schmoes take a sick day to go interview.

Thanks for clarifying, I reckon my comment was probably not clear enough.

Businesses, the smaller ones run by honest founders, are in a way the most tragic of all the H-1B victims.

Not shielded by layers of middle management, they see with their own eyes the way H-1B really works -- the lies they would have to tell to hire the low-priced labor.

They want to be honest and law-abiding, to be the kind of parents their children can respect.

But business has been unprofitable and is not improving, and tuition, mortgage, taxes are due at the end of the month.

How would any of us act, in their place? The choices are:

1. Hire H-1B, or

2. "The right thing" -- chapter 7 bankruptcy.

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