Section 10.3. The rest of the document is a great primer on the whole H1-B system as well. Currently, there is an incredible amount of fraud in this area.
That article is awful, and made wholly unaccurate predictions (that's not to say that H1B is bad):
"the American software developer will become extinct within the next few years"
"the Impact Innovations Group even estimates a
precise date at which the “extinction” of the American programmer will occur—2006"
I understand that American developers can feel that H1B's depresses their salaries (it probably does, if I went to the U.S. I'd probably accept a lower rate than I would have were I a native born American).
I also see that H1B is not a good place to be as an inmigrant (and that's why I chose not to accept it and I'm not going to the U.S.)
Basically, that it's a lottery, and that it's not a clear path to a green card, and all the uncertainty surrounding your situation if you are out of a job.
You go through all the work to land a job, and then you don't get lucky it's a year in limbo for you and your family (maybe the company sends you to another country and you get transferred with an L-1). After that, it's a decade working as an employee (with travel and work abroad restrictions) to even qualify for a Green Card. And the EMPLOYER has to do the Green Card application (with all the hoops). That restricts your movements significantly, and god forbid your employer goes through a rough patch.
It's very ridiculous. If you plan to build a family or grow roots in the U.S., it's extremely stressful. Sadly, the U.S. is the mecca of IT workers (no other place I know pays such high wages for IT professionals, maybe the UAE or something).
As long as I can get a living wage in my country, I'll stay here (and try to sell my services to the U.S.).
Actual immigrant visas in most categories are also lotteries. The eligible applicants generally exceed the caps, and the lotteries is how the actual awarded visas are kept within the caps.
That's why I think something like the Canadian system is much better. If I'm a qualified worker looking to emigrate, the U.S. has this huge disadvantage to offset the huge advantage of having the best jobs.
Okay, the main issue is tht your visa is tied to your employer, i.e you belong to your employer. You cannot work for anyone else at the same time. If you leave your employer, you should leave the country.
