Brett Easton Ellis on Trump Derangement Syndrome; Also H1-B changes that are probably scaring the shit out of people

I am not a huge Brett Easton Ellis fan, just like I am not a huge Trump fan; both will occasionally say something I like or at least agree with, but so did Obama.  That said the first 35 minutes of  this podcast  contains the best response to Trump Derangement (or Depression - you chose) Syndrome I have heard so far.





Well worth a listen.

So there's one thing that has been happening.  Number 2 - Changes to the H1-B program.

First off, low / entry level programmers or developers may no longer be eligible for the visa without additional justification.

In a March 31 policy memorandum, the USCIS said a computer programmer with an ability to use IT skill will not be sufficient. A petitioner “must provide other evidence to establish that the particular position is one in a specialty occupation”.

Second, The Department of Justice has warned companies against using the visas as a source of cheap labor and way to avoid hiring Americans.

"The Justice Department will not tolerate employers misusing the H-1B visa process to discriminate against US workers," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of DOJ's Civil Rights Division. "US workers should not be placed in a disfavored status, and the department is wholeheartedly committed to investigating and vigorously prosecuting these claims."

Third, Enforcement priorities seem to be changing.

The measures announced by DHS on Monday focus on site visits by U.S. authorities to employers who use H1B visas.

In future site visits, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agents will investigate incidents where an employer's basic business information cannot be validated; businesses that have a high ratio of H1B employees compared with U.S. workers; and employers petitioning for H1B workers who work off-site.

An immigration lawyer at linked at Hacker News says that this isn't really a change.

The new memo issued Friday rescinds that old memo and basically reminds officers that they must look at the particular position and its job duties to determine whether it meets the definition of specialty occupation, rather than relying solely on the OOH. I think the main issue with the old memo was that it gave kind of a blanket statement that all programmers should be specialty occupations.

The new memo does not change the rules, it just reminds us that a petitioner must be able to establish that a particular position qualifies as a specialty occupation in order to be eligible for the H-1B visa.

In any case it is the most exciting thing that has happened for awhile.