tldr; turnover of visa holders vs. non-visa holders should be used as the metric more than wages. Significantly lower turnover of visa holders suggests they're being exploited since those who can quit and find another job do.
But this doesn't work. For many people on H1B's the visa and greencard sponsoring has tremendous value. The do depress wages, but it's because of the risk around the visas.
If you have an H1B, you're less likely to work at startups -- if the company goes bust and you need to find a job fast, you're at tremendous risk of needing to leave the US. You have 4-5 weeks to get a new job, but it has to start by then. Thinking about how long interview cycles can be at some companies, 4 weeks from application to start date is challenging.
Also, people getting sponsored are much less likely to leave. This should be the real metric for evaluation -- turnover. If you're on a visa, especially if you're getting sponsored for a green card, you're much less likely to quit and go to another company. You can get hired at a competitive salary, but over a few years and a few promotions you can be underpaid.
To completely stereotype, I used to work with a ton of these guys at Amazon -- they're all in line for Green Cards and will not consider quitting or even complaining about things until they get it. The turnover among non-visa people is much higher.
You're less likely to get a H1B at a startup yes but it's not for the reasons you think.
For a company to apply to a H1B visa they have to prove they have enough financial assets to not get bust.
There are however several reasons why startups are not sponsoring H1B visas as much as they should:
-It's time consuming. It really takes a lot of time, most of the immigration law firm are not startup friendly and are using old schools forms and stuff.
- They are not educated on visas sponsoring. They just don't know what it takes and stuff.
Don't forget that currently H1-B applications exceed the quota, which means you can only hire H1Bs in October, if you sponsor them the April before, if they get through the lottery (~50% chance). So your hire turns into a maybe-hire-in-six-months.
But this doesn't work. For many people on H1B's the visa and greencard sponsoring has tremendous value. The do depress wages, but it's because of the risk around the visas.
If you have an H1B, you're less likely to work at startups -- if the company goes bust and you need to find a job fast, you're at tremendous risk of needing to leave the US. You have 4-5 weeks to get a new job, but it has to start by then. Thinking about how long interview cycles can be at some companies, 4 weeks from application to start date is challenging.
Also, people getting sponsored are much less likely to leave. This should be the real metric for evaluation -- turnover. If you're on a visa, especially if you're getting sponsored for a green card, you're much less likely to quit and go to another company. You can get hired at a competitive salary, but over a few years and a few promotions you can be underpaid.
To completely stereotype, I used to work with a ton of these guys at Amazon -- they're all in line for Green Cards and will not consider quitting or even complaining about things until they get it. The turnover among non-visa people is much higher.