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Comment by diogenescynic | Hacker News Reader

>I'm not a lawyer and I would love the hear opinion about this. Do companies use L-1 visas to workaround H1B requirements

Yes, often they come over under the veil of a 'temporary assignment' so they remain on foreign payroll. They can stay up to three years before having to renew/reapply. I worked for an immigration law firm and I saw wages as low as $15,000/year coming from South Korea to work at Fortune 500s.

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This is a strategy used by Accenture's ATS division. Teams of 100+ engineers deployed in the US, being bused to hotels and given meal vouchers at night, while earning Indian wages.

THere's a huge secondary benefit (to the employee) for L-1s, though. Spouses pretty much automatically qualify for an L-2, which allows them to work at-will in the US, too. So, even if the L-1 worker is severely underpaid (based on prevailing wages in their home country), their spouse can apply for a job paid using the US salary standards. L-1 also allows for immediate Green Card application, and is a much smoother path toward permanent residency than H-1B.

I think this is fine if it actually is temporary. As they're getting general living costs on top of their regular salary.

ie accommodation and food

And are these 100+ engineer forced to accept that term? Or more likely they think it's a good deal for them (i.e. living in India earning Indian wage)?

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