January 22, 2018 at 09:45In the USA with a bodyshop: to go or not to go?
You will not find a clear answer to this question in this article. I offer you some reason to think about shipping companies in the United States.
Bodishop is a company that transports programmers to IT hubs and “sells” their work to another company. At the same time, the programmer is officially listed in the bodyshop company, but works on a project of another company. “This is good old outsourcing,” you think. But no, besides the fact that the programmer is working on a project of another company, he is also physically located in their office. And this is called outstaffing.
Next, I’ll talk more about the pros and cons of body shops for people moving on an H1B visa and how to make the cons a plus.
The establishment of the visa process. These companies get tons of work visas for programmers every year and know very well how to do it. Despite the fact that H1b is a lottery with quite clear and understandable rules, there are some tricks to submitting it to it. These tricks over the years of practice have been worked out by body shops, so getting a working visa with them is more likely than, for example, with a startup or company that does not transport employees on an ongoing basis. Moreover, many companies are simply not ready to wait for programmers from six months to a year (this is the average time for the H1b visa process), because they need to close a specific vacancy. Outstaffers have many projects and many vacancies, so they are recruiting in reserve and not for a specific vacancy.
Low entry threshold.Technical interviews are quite simple, the requirements for English are also low - intermidiate is quite suitable.
Compensation for relocation . The body shoper pays for all expenses related to the petition and visa, as well as air travel, airport transfers, accommodation for a month and car rental for the same period. But in fairness, I must say that almost all companies have such a relocate program, except that small startups do not compensate for the cost of moving an employee.
Low salaries. Body shops earn on the difference between what they pay you and what the customer company pays for you. From the experience of my friends, the salary in a body shoper is on average 2 times less than the market.
Boring projects. Typically, the customers of body shoppers are fairly large companies such as Google, and in such companies, contractors (those who work for body shops) plug holes that local programmers do not want to work on.
Pulling to get a green card.Most specialists who come for work visas have the opportunity to obtain a Green Card at the initiative of the employer. And 99% of companies provide this opportunity. Someone starts this process for their employees from the first days, someone - in six months, and body shoppers - in one and a half. Why? Everything is simple. The more you stay in the company, the more the company will earn for you. They also delay the process itself, so with a small salary you will have to sit for 4 years.
Intimidation with fines.In a contract with a bodyshop, you can often see items such as: “In the event of dismissal earlier than 1 year, the employee agrees to pay all expenses associated with the transportation of the employee, including petition costs.” And this, as a rule, is from 15 to 30 thousand dollars. And by means of simple calculations the programmer decides that it is not profitable for him to leave, and there the green card is already launched.
Firstly , the H1b visa holder, unlike L1, has the right to change his employer. And most companies, even those that do not practice transporting programmers from abroad, will be happy to transfer your visa, because you are already in the USA and you do not need to wait six months. However, after leaving the company you are given a limited time to leave the country or transfer a visa to a new employer (Grace Period). Until recently, it was only 10 days. Finding a job during this time is a task on the brink of science fiction. Since 2017, this period has increased to 60 days. You can find a new job without quitting your old one, or even before entering the United States: the result of the lottery becomes known in May, and the visa begins to operate in October. Difficult, but possible.
Secondly, your contract is likely to have many points that are against the law. Absolutely in any state, all expenses associated with the petition are paid by the employer and only he! The company has no right to charge this money from the employee either before the move, or in the event of dismissal - never. Typically, the cost of a petition from the body shops in the region of 6-8 thousand dollars.
The remaining clauses of the contract (including the collection of travel expenses) are best checked by a lawyer, because they may also be illegal for your state.
That’s all for me.
What it is?
Bodishop is a company that transports programmers to IT hubs and “sells” their work to another company. At the same time, the programmer is officially listed in the bodyshop company, but works on a project of another company. “This is good old outsourcing,” you think. But no, besides the fact that the programmer is working on a project of another company, he is also physically located in their office. And this is called outstaffing.
Next, I’ll talk more about the pros and cons of body shops for people moving on an H1B visa and how to make the cons a plus.
Pros:
The establishment of the visa process. These companies get tons of work visas for programmers every year and know very well how to do it. Despite the fact that H1b is a lottery with quite clear and understandable rules, there are some tricks to submitting it to it. These tricks over the years of practice have been worked out by body shops, so getting a working visa with them is more likely than, for example, with a startup or company that does not transport employees on an ongoing basis. Moreover, many companies are simply not ready to wait for programmers from six months to a year (this is the average time for the H1b visa process), because they need to close a specific vacancy. Outstaffers have many projects and many vacancies, so they are recruiting in reserve and not for a specific vacancy.
Low entry threshold.Technical interviews are quite simple, the requirements for English are also low - intermidiate is quite suitable.
Compensation for relocation . The body shoper pays for all expenses related to the petition and visa, as well as air travel, airport transfers, accommodation for a month and car rental for the same period. But in fairness, I must say that almost all companies have such a relocate program, except that small startups do not compensate for the cost of moving an employee.
Minuses:
Low salaries. Body shops earn on the difference between what they pay you and what the customer company pays for you. From the experience of my friends, the salary in a body shoper is on average 2 times less than the market.
Boring projects. Typically, the customers of body shoppers are fairly large companies such as Google, and in such companies, contractors (those who work for body shops) plug holes that local programmers do not want to work on.
Pulling to get a green card.Most specialists who come for work visas have the opportunity to obtain a Green Card at the initiative of the employer. And 99% of companies provide this opportunity. Someone starts this process for their employees from the first days, someone - in six months, and body shoppers - in one and a half. Why? Everything is simple. The more you stay in the company, the more the company will earn for you. They also delay the process itself, so with a small salary you will have to sit for 4 years.
Intimidation with fines.In a contract with a bodyshop, you can often see items such as: “In the event of dismissal earlier than 1 year, the employee agrees to pay all expenses associated with the transportation of the employee, including petition costs.” And this, as a rule, is from 15 to 30 thousand dollars. And by means of simple calculations the programmer decides that it is not profitable for him to leave, and there the green card is already launched.
Turning Cons into Pros
Firstly , the H1b visa holder, unlike L1, has the right to change his employer. And most companies, even those that do not practice transporting programmers from abroad, will be happy to transfer your visa, because you are already in the USA and you do not need to wait six months. However, after leaving the company you are given a limited time to leave the country or transfer a visa to a new employer (Grace Period). Until recently, it was only 10 days. Finding a job during this time is a task on the brink of science fiction. Since 2017, this period has increased to 60 days. You can find a new job without quitting your old one, or even before entering the United States: the result of the lottery becomes known in May, and the visa begins to operate in October. Difficult, but possible.
Secondly, your contract is likely to have many points that are against the law. Absolutely in any state, all expenses associated with the petition are paid by the employer and only he! The company has no right to charge this money from the employee either before the move, or in the event of dismissal - never. Typically, the cost of a petition from the body shops in the region of 6-8 thousand dollars.
The remaining clauses of the contract (including the collection of travel expenses) are best checked by a lawyer, because they may also be illegal for your state.
That’s all for me.