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Comment by JohnBooty | Hacker News Reader

You're bound to the employer that sponsors your visa. Lose your job? You're effectively deported.

Your employer has... well, a power imbalance over you, to put it nicely.

I'm not sure how the proposed changes will play out for American workers. Theoretically, treating H1B workers better could benefit American workers: there is less incentive to callously replace them with underpaid H1B workers. On the other hand, American workers will face increased competition, it seems to me.

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> Your employer has... well, a power imbalance over you, to put it nicely.

I can't help but think of this any time I see an HN comment about some questionable surveillance-ad-tech, usually saying that engineers should just refuse to build that stuff.

If you can find another employer to take over the sponsorship, you can transfer (without having to deal with the visa quota gantlet).

Do you think the possibility of finding a new job makes H1B workers feel any more capable of standing up for their beliefs at work and maybe saying "No" when asked to build something evil?

It may not eliminate it, but I'm sure it improves the situation compared to not being able to change jobs at all. I originally came to the US on an H-1B, and had no trouble transferring the visa to a new employer.

and for that you had to

find a job

get/consult a lawyer to make sure everything was good

do the whole change

and end up in the exact same situation

Situation: You are tied to ONE employer and if something goes wrong they can just end your job and kick you out

I've done the change so let's not pretend it is some super easy, doesn't matter thing

Also, if you have to leave US where do you have to go?

If you have to go back to UK or Canada that is no big loss

If, on the other hand you have to go back to China or India or AFrica then your entire family is #$@$#$%

    If you have to go back to UK or Canada that is no big loss

    If, on the other hand you have to go back to China or India
    or AFrica then your entire family is #$@$#$%

Canada and the UK are nice places, but it's still a huge blow to have to pick up your family and move back to another country.

Source: I'm American, so I don't know this pain personally, but I was very close with a Canadian co-worker who was here on a work visa. He uprooted his wife and kids from Canada to come and work here. When our workplace soured, he had to do it all over again. Uproot his wife and children again, tell his children to say goodbye to their friends again, buy a house again, etc. Not easy!

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