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Comment by jsnk | Hacker News Reader

I want to thank Ruchi for this testimony. Like Ruchi, I feel extremely fortunate to be able to work in US.

US will continue to be 'the' destination for engineers of all kind for many years to come. Right now, a sheer number of open engineering positions and superior pay alone are attracting qualified engineers around the world. But other countries around the world are closing the gap slowly. In order to continue the domination in attracting engineers, it would be in US's best interest to simplify immigration process for qualified engineers.

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Couldn't agree more. But why does that have to be tied up with a bill to normalize illegal immigrants? I don't see a connection between the issues that isn't largely political.

True! I tried for an H1B this year and its quite a hard thing. Preparing for next April from now on.

I might be wrong here, but is not their reason to be strict on VISA so that they give better chance to actual Americans to try and land the jobs which would be normally be taken up by people coming in from outside US as students and staying back ?

What is wrong with qualified people taking jobs? I never understood why one would want to limit someone's employment options simply because they were born in the wrong place.

The only reason I can see to restrict immigration is to help local areas plan their services (education, housing, etc) properly.

Use of word 'Wrong Place' might be a bit harsh in my opinion, may be unfavorable be right fit. Qualified people taking job is not wrong, but they taking all jobs might be an issue, which is not the case at the moment but might be a reality if not controlled.

You're writing as if you believe there are a fixed number of jobs. That's not true.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lump_of_labour_fallacy

Sure, the amount of total work may not be fixed, but the amount of work that certain highly-trained specialists can do right now for a decent pay is fixed.

I mean, yeah, I probably could cut lawns around town for $1 / hour, but I'd like to keep programming for $100 / hour.

(btw, I'm all for immigration and people getting decent wages. But, there's also a lot of unemployment in the US - which we should try to address.)

It is more that there is fixed number of people qualified to do job , regardless where they are. Main issue I see is that companies are more then willing to sacrifice quality by paying lower price. I don't mind competing with anybody in the world but there is a quality/price ratio I will not go below and that is different for anyone. For sure why would some in right mind drive price down and hurt himself in long run is for longer debate.

Ah! Ye Olde 'Them Mexicans Are Stealin Our Jobs' argument.

How about the actual Americans be ready to do the jobs at the wages the sly immigrants are doing them? Oh wait, first you'd need actually qualified Americans to do them. Unfortunately, nature does not discriminate on the distribution of aptitude or intelligence across the globe, but humans have created insurmountable barriers to opportunity that disadvantage those born in less fortunate parts of this planet.

And no, the Internet is not a panacea to redistributing the skewed distribution of opportunities. Case point, modern cutting-edge biopharmaceutical research. Can't just do that in the 'developing' world with intermittent power supply, web access and most importantly a pittance for funding. I would love to meet the equivent of HN's beloved patio11 but for the biotech field. Haven't come across anyone yet.

Clearly this is a rant, so take it easy.

If we're talking about H-1Bs, the main reason the US is 'strict' is that nobody has the political will to do anything about the cap.

Ten years ago, there was a 195,000 cap for H-1B visas - this year, thanks to legislation expiring, it was 65,000. Politicians aren't really prepared to handle legislation around increasing the number of visas available or comprehensive immigration reform because their support could be used against them when campaigning ("my opponent supported non-Americans taking your jobs!").

actual Americans

Like Native Americans? But seriously, if you are a true libertarian and believe all humans are equal, why does it matter if someone is an actual American?

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