State of the Market

[Dorkeaux]

Just been extended until end-Jan.

Inside role that I've been at for just coming up to 2 years. Was initially a 3 monther

Do renewals warrant a banana? I need guidance.
Here's one on spec. Congrats!

[coolhandluke]

https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/20/visa_h1b_reform/

why is the UK not doing the same with our equivalent visas, like intra company transfers for the outsourcers.

The UK are doing the total opposite unfortunately.

[herman_g]

USA will change nothing in the H1B. I contracted in Silicon Valley in the early '90's. The Indian companies abused the system by bringing staff in on B1 Visas instead of H1 visas (the Indians were given B1's the first couple 2 year stints in America and later they were given H1 visas). One day a similar announcement was made by he federal government and all B1's would be forced to leave as the visa is only intended for meetings not doing work. The B1's I worked with were petrified. A big meeting between the lawyers representing big Indian consultancies and the federal government took place. End result: the government created the H1B and soon the Indian companies had no workers on B1 visas. Shortly after, Indians were showing up to work but only had tourist visas.

[Fraidycat]

Trump has shut down his border invasion and now he shutting down the H1B invasion as well. He is not messing around. If cash rich silicon valley really need top talent from India and China that it cant find in the US, they will happily pay $100K for it. But not worth paying that for just regular bodies.

We have social media now that was not around in the early 90s. Any loopholes to get around the fee will be brought to light pretty quickly I think.

[herman_g]

We have social media now that was not around in the early 90s. Any loopholes to get around the fee will be brought to light pretty quickly I think.

The activity I refer to was the government's response to an exposé on CBS' 60 minutes. It's audience share that night was > 65%. Bush jr. was then president and recently announced the country was in double dip recession. When Clinton came in next, he promised to stop it. Nothing happened. Trump campaigned against it also back during his first campaign. Nothing happened then either. This Trump is far more corrupt than the first one and they'll pay him off in a heartbeat. You'll see.

[herman_g]

The Trump administration is backpedalling already and it's still the weekend: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/0...rhaul-00574345

In the unlikely event Trump follows through, the Indians will flood the UK with bodies at half the rate. You lot will never work again.

[sadkingbilly]

The Trump administration is backpedalling already and it's still the weekend: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/0...rhaul-00574345

In the unlikely event Trump follows through, the Indians will flood the UK with bodies at half the rate. You lot will never work again.

You really are a smug, entitled tosser, aren't you??

[herman_g]

You really are a smug, entitled tosser, aren't you??

No. Just pointing out the foolishness of cheering on a dead-end policy that would only result in an even bleaker market for those in the UK.

[SussexSeagull]

Speaking as one of that lot that might never work again in the IT industry again (although I have found something else to do), it doesn't cost anything to be civil to one another.

[jamesbrown]

No. Just pointing out the foolishness of cheering on a dead-end policy that would only result in an even bleaker market for those in the UK.

It has been widely abused. Adding such a large fee is probably too blunt an instrument, but it has the advantage of targeting generic IT professionals who enter via the lottery and for whom the H-1B was never (or should never have been) intended. Those outside the lottery are the bulk of the true specialists, mostly with Ph.Ds who work in universities or federal government and will be unaffected, I believe. Will be interesting to see how it pans out. A refocus on actual specialists and outstanding talent was past due.