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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (1565158)

10/14/2025 3:17:03 PM

From: maceng2

1 Recommendation

Recommended By
longz

Respond to of 1572550

Very interesting.

Well have things changed any since my day as a H1-B holder (1980's & 1990's) ???

I could work for a single employer, the one who raised the H1-B request, but I could not work for anyone else, unless they created a H1-B request as well. i.e. I could not just go out and get another job.

According to this googled answer... things must of changed.... but please read on -g-

AI Overview

No, an H-1B visa is not the same as being an indentured servant, though some critics argue the visa has exploitative aspects
. The key differences are that H-1B workers are paid wages, are not bound to a single employer indefinitely, and can change jobs, whereas indentured servitude was a contract for unpaid labor for a set period. H-1B workers have historically changed jobs millions of times, and their wages are often in the top 10% of US earners.

Differences between H-1B and indentured servitude

Feature H-1B Visa HolderIndentured Servant

Wages	Receives wages and is often paid well.	Works without pay for a specific period.
Employer Loyalty	Can change employers, with millions of job switches having occurred.	Tied to a single employer for the duration of their contract.
Contract	A temporary, non-immigrant work visa for "specialty occupations".	A contract to work for years in exchange for passage, room, board, and freedom dues.

But now I am realising I have hit a hot spot in USA politics, and there is all sorts of BS is surrounding the issue...

Far as I can tell, it hasn't changed much.

Can H-1B Visa Holders Change Jobs? Critics Call Workers Indentured Servants - Newsweek

<<At the center of the debate is the H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. companies to employ foreign workers with specialized knowledge or expertise. Some critics of the program are calling it "indentured servitude" of foreign workers, saying that visa holders cannot change jobs.

While changing jobs as a visa holder is more logistically challenging and expensive than it is for American citizens, it is possible if the proper paperwork is filed and approved.>>

Sorry, that isn't reality !!! It's OK to write that, as a theory. In practise, if you have just been tossed out of your job for whatever reason (that doesn't look good on the CV btw) your source of income is gone, and then you have to compete for a job where you have to persuade a new employer that, not only are you the best for the job, but it's also worth their while in generating the new H1-B paperwork. Fat chance when the chit hits the fan and there are lots of unemployed people in the same boat, ex H1-B's and Americans.

You are talking to someone with experience in that area. I tried to hint at that with my recent posts, but unfortunately the reception on your set seems to be patchy.
I had a very good employer btw... that made it crystal clear what a H1-B was all about. Originally a lot of Immigrants came to the USA as indentured servants as it was the only way to pay for the voyage over to the USA. The H1-B was the modern version of that process.

What’s an H-1B visa? A brief history of the controversial program for skilled foreign workers

That was what I was told by the visiting HR dept in the UK, and it seems to me, with a considerable amount of hindsight to date, to be spot on at the time.