The audit in the first link looks like an audit of the claimed wages (on the LCA petition you submit when requesting an H1B) are same as the factual ones. I've also heard about the "ability to pay" auditing (the company has to have enough profit to support the claimed wage) and working on site (to bust body shops that sell H1Bs to another company). These are all irrelevant to companies such as Microsoft or Amazon (they are not benching their H1Bs, don't ship them off-site and pay way above prevailing wage).
The LCA itself contains a promise that the wage is "average" for the employer. It is not the maximum so even if it had been enforced it would be absurd to claim that H1Bs are paid no less than citizens based on this alone.
>However, if your GC seems just around the corner (a limbo that can take years to get through) you're unlikely to risk moving jobs and throwing a wrench into the works.
It might be so in some cases. It's not related to H1B. H1B is a temporary worker's non-immigrant visa. Green Card is an immigrant visa. They are entirely orthogonal and you can get a GC without H1B and vice versa.
>Further, what possible reason could there be for a 6 year limit?
It's a temporary visa so it has to have a term. For permanent immigration there is the EBGC.
That's true in a technical sense, but they're effectively part of the same process for many, many skilled immigrants. Come in on H1B -> Start GC process -> Use ongoing GC application to get the H1B extension -> Finally get full GC.
> It's a temporary visa so it has to have a term.
That's answering it with a tautology. My question remains: why would we want any skilled-worker visa to be temporary? If they're skilled enough today, won't they be even better qualified after six years of work experience? It just seems ridiculous.
I'm sure plenty of people would love to skip the whole H1B and go straight for an EB3 or something, but since they're capped by country it isn't really an option for many people.
>but they're effectively part of the same process for many, many skilled immigrants
Sure. Does it make it okay to talk about H1B when you mean GC (or, more likely, immigration in general)? There are much more people on H1B than there are skilled immigrants. It's not designed as a vehicle for immigration any more than any other non-immigrant visa. Some people are confused with the "dual intent" but all that means is that to get the visa stamp you don't need to prove to the Department of State that you are not going to stay in the US illegally. And you can apply for AOS the same day you arrived instead of waiting for 60 days due to the 30/60 rule. It does not open you any special immigration doors.
> My question remains: why would we want any skilled-worker visa to be temporary?If they're skilled enough today, won't they be even better qualified after six years of work experience?
H-1B is not a prize for being skilled. The H-1B law was made to provide a relief to temporary workforce shortages. The limited term of its status and the limited number of visas allow Congress to reasonably control the number of temporary workers entering the country through this program.
The LCA itself contains a promise that the wage is "average" for the employer. It is not the maximum so even if it had been enforced it would be absurd to claim that H1Bs are paid no less than citizens based on this alone.
>However, if your GC seems just around the corner (a limbo that can take years to get through) you're unlikely to risk moving jobs and throwing a wrench into the works.
It might be so in some cases. It's not related to H1B. H1B is a temporary worker's non-immigrant visa. Green Card is an immigrant visa. They are entirely orthogonal and you can get a GC without H1B and vice versa.
>Further, what possible reason could there be for a 6 year limit?
It's a temporary visa so it has to have a term. For permanent immigration there is the EBGC.