How is it working with H1Bs? - NYC
new here and noticed dislike for teams/firms with preference for h1bs, curious to know why as i consider moving
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Terrible. They are all massive hardos by design - they can’t push back and say yes to everything, and grind super hard so not to get fired. Culturally, the worst people to work with in my experience. Would avoid
Honest question, getting fired kinda means deportation right? Despite my name (which is a tribute to my awesome in-laws, my sis married an Indian) I actually don't know more about this than the average person. If getting canned means your life in the US is over, it seems plainly rational to not take chances others would take. Understandable why that's frustrating for peers though.
basically this. if firms dont sponsor h1b they cant stay. its a form of modern day slavery lmao
Not only are they horrible to work with, H1Bs will have zero problem completely throwing you under the bus the moment something goes wrong to protect their visa. Zero accountability for their leadership and performance, they just blame it all on the juniors. If you work under H1B leadership, your career will be in danger. Dead serious.
Bad. You’re competing with people who would be happy with a $10k bonus. Typically have found a direct correlation between bad group culture and H1B.
Another brand new account trying to fish for hate comments. The alts are pretty obvious man
more so fishing for color on a specific yet abundant complaint on here, new to posting but long time reader
Why would you need foreign talent in the most sought after industry/job role in the US is the general argument that an average American presents when arguing against H1B.
H1Bs for complex hard skill jobs like AI engineer or doctor, I understand. IB really isn't fundamentally a difficult job and has a lot of interest, it makes no sense why the US imports people for banking jobs.
They might be actually better than you in the job lol. Go practice your excel lil bro.
At the analyst/associate level, banks save ~15% in payroll taxes (Medicaid social security etc) for the 3 years they can have someone on OPT. So they can pay less and stiff on bonus too.
At UBS, not sure how it is today, but there was an unspoken rule to hire ~50% internationals, which is insane because there were so many qualified Americans for those seats.
This is wrong, you pay the same taxes as everyone else. Medicare and social security is deducted from your paycheck.
I think you're correct that there's no payroll tax saving.
However the part that doesn't get discussed is H-1B probabilistically raises the chance of a green card down the road. How much, I'm not sure, but safe to say its substantial. And safe to say green card is worth a few million.
So the H-1B employee is getting that additional benefit, which the employer isn't paying for. That allows the employer to get an H-1B at a below-market rate. Somewhat mitigated by other employers also being able to hire H1B, so I'm not saying the individual employer necessarily gets to aggessively lowball a sought-after employee.
But on the aggregate, the total pool of H1B employers gets to access a pool of H1B talent that doesn't need to be paid nearly market rate in order to accept a job, because this other benefit (the better shot a very valuable green card) is being dangled at zero cost to the employer. So I do think employers bottom lines benefit from the program, subsidized by anyone who loses out as a result.
Horrible.
Dumb question 👎🏻
6 YOE in nyc. I worked with plenty of “H1Bs” and turns out they aren’t that different to you and me. Hungry to do well and wants to make money...
Part of being in nyc/london is the international aspect. It’s very much a feature and not a bug.
Might want to reconsider moving to nyc if you prefer to only work with Americans.
Better to go to a bank that doesn’t sponsor or significantly restricts H1-B holders. Can confirm the culture difference is night and day.
Nothing against H1B holders as people, but banks know they have leverage over them and can abuse them, pay low bonuses, etc. The “prize” for them is the green card - one of my buddies literally said he’d be happy with literally zero bonuses if it meant the chance to get a green card and stay in America.
Locals have more options, and they can voice it if they dislike something and gtfo. Banks know they need to respect them and pay the market rate. In my view, it’s a good ROI for them in the long run because Americans generally make better mid level and senior bankers. Not because they’re smarter, but because they can relate better to American clients.
That's all white people are good at anyways - no real finance knowledge, just the ability to talk shit. No wonder this country is going south.
Cope and seethe
It’s almost as if hiring Americans to grow a group focused on American clients is a good idea…
Categorically false. Cause clearly all the Americans at UBS and BoA get paid great bonuses…. wait
Similarly at the top end of the spectrum you think CVP, PWP, EVR, MoE etc. either has a policy paying H1b’s less bonus or the actual evidence reflects that… crazy thought.
Definitely a level of being trapped from a job mobility standpoint for sure (relative to citizens).
The hate comes from leverage: H1B guys can’t easily push back or leave without risking deportation, so teams become more grind-heavy, hierarchical, and accept lower bonuses. Banks exploit it. Culture suffers.
If your not pushing back on the seniors, how are you any better? If you have less to lose, why don’t you start the uprising?
I can think of so many factors (post covid always on mentality, IBD becoming more “value” and commoditised, banking attracting all the hardos, etc)
you choose to blame the guy next to you in the trenches instead of your boss and the career choice.
Finally someone gets it
Its easier to blame someone than to admit youre just a bigger pussy
Even with valid H1B still at risk in getting detained by ice. Here's a recent lawsuit: civil engineer with a valid H-1B visa, is suing federal ICE agents following a violent January 2026 arrest in Portland, Maine. Represented by the ACLU, he alleges racial profiling, excessive force, and unlawful detention, as agents reportedly smashed his car window and ignored his documentation during a large-scale immigration surge.
https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/14/civil-engineer-arrested-by-ice-d…
Summary:
There are banks that don’t sponsor as much (EBs, MMs, wells, etc) and there are ones that do (most of the large global banks). The banks that don’t sponsor and hire more Americans perform better, pay better, and have better culture.
H1Bs are more willing to be abused, don’t have social skills, can’t push back, etc. and make compensation & culture worse for everyone due to their lack of leverage.
Yeah cause the American VP at GS / MS / EVR is always pushing back against their MDs/SMDs for things that are clearly not value adding… oh wait IB is a hierarchical job and a MD doesn’t care if a citizen or H1B pushes back if said MD feels strongly their ask gets done.
Which are these banks with better culture that don’t sponsor? Asking for a friend
What you have to look at is the type of employer that wants to hire lots of H1Bs....are they looking for slaves over which they have god like power, or do they really want to diversify the talent pool? Answer that question, and it will tell you not just what working with H1Bs is like, but working at that company/unit in general. And it can't be both, no matter what they say.
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