Thread 518878908

Most Americans have ZERO clue this system exists. While you're forced to pay FICA taxes, foreign graduates on OPT/STEM OPT get 3 YEARS of this tax break during their critical early career years - keeping cash that's automatically taken from your paycheck.

THE MATH THAT HURTS AMERICANS:
• Tech salary: $200,000 (Google, Amazon, Meta)
• American graduate: Pays $13,818/year in FICA taxes $186,182 take-home
• Foreign graduate on OPT/STEM OPT: Pays $0 FICA taxes during their authorized work period $200,000 take-home
• That's $13,818 EXTRA CASH per year $41,454 total advantage during their work authorization

THE REAL HOUSING & WEALTH IMPACT:
This isn't about future benefits - this is about immediate financial advantage during the most critical wealth-building years of your career. While they face visa uncertainties, they also get financial advantages you don't:

>Even with education loans, they have $41,454 more to pay them down faster or save
>Their extra cash creates bidding power that raises prices for everyone
>FAANG companies actively file H1Bs for OPT workers, creating a direct pipeline
>This advantage occurs during the exact years Americans are trying to build savings

THE BOTTOM LINE:
They pay income tax like you do, but keep the 7.65% FICA tax that's automatically taken from your paycheck during their authorized work period.

The "they don't get benefits" argument ignores the reality: $41,454 in immediate, liquid cash advantage during your 20s is more valuable than uncertain future benefits. That head start compounds over a lifetime.

This is why wealth building feels impossible.
This is why you're always playing catch-up.
This is the immediate cash advantage they don't want you to know about.

>>518878908 (OP)
Here's a foreign worker at a tech company (Oracle) asking a simple question:

>"I won the H1B visa lottery, but I have 2 more years of my student work permit. Should I DELAY getting my real work visa to avoid paying $10,000 in taxes?"

The comments tell you everything:

>"Just don't file it and save on taxes."
>"Deciding to apply later... can activate H1B few years later while still holding on to the lottery spot. Sorry."

THE SCAM, IN THEIR OWN WORDS:

1. They win the visa in the lottery.
2. They then INTENTIONALLY DELAY getting the visa for years.
3. Why? To keep their special "no payroll tax" status.
4. They openly discuss how to dodge thousands in taxes that YOU are forced to pay.

They see your Social Security and Medicare taxes as an optional fee to be avoided. They see our immigration system as a game to be manipulated.

This isn't a secret conspiracy. They're bragging about it right out in the open. They call it "saving on taxes." You call it getting screwed.

https://www.teamblind.com/post/got-h1b-in-first-year-skip-applying-to-avoid-fica-p3w52rnv

>>518878945
Here's a foreign worker on Reddit, complaining about finally having to pay the same taxes as you:

>"I just won the H1B visa lottery. Now that I have to start paying Social Security and Medicare taxes like an American, should I ask my company for a RAISE to cover it?"

The responses are even more telling:

>"Don't mention FICA... Just ask for a raise based on your performance... you can bring this up on the side."
>"Correct, nothing wrong in asking... but expect BIG eyerolls from HR. Gotta pay US taxes now unfortunately."

FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. This U.S. federal law mandates that employers withhold taxes from employee paychecks to fund Social Security and Medicare programs.

LET THAT SINK IN:

1. They get a multi-year tax break you never see.
2. The moment they're forced to contribute like everyone else, their first thought is, "How do I make my American employer cover my new tax bill?"
3. They strategize on how to hide the real reason and pretend it's about "performance."

They see paying into the system that funds our retirees and healthcare as a personal financial loss to be recovered. Not a civic duty. Not the cost of living in a first-world country. A pay cut.

This is the entitled mindset you're competing against.

https://www.reddit.com/r/h1b/comments/1cmqwc0/salary_increase_because_fica_taxes/

>>518879119
I posted this on Blind https://www.teamblind.com/post/foreign-tech-workers-pay-less-taxes-and-price-us-citizens-out-of-housing-jn3j8h47

Here are some of their responses:

>"Because of their visa status,they are low-balled... they have 100x stress than citizens grad, which couldn't be compensated by 13k. You have no clue about stress of getting green card process."

THE REALITY: They reframe a financial advantage as compensation for "stress." They want you to feel sorry for their self-imposed hardship while they bank an extra $41k.

>"Because you are a loser. Losers are always gonna lose. All they do is complain... you are going to complain about the natural born citizens of minority races because they are better than you. Loser!"

THE REALITY: When confronted with facts, they immediately resort to personal attacks. The message is clear: Stop complaining about the rigged system and just accept your place.

>"Losen the tin foil. A few thousand people with a few thousand extra dollars is meaningless in real estate."

THE REALITY: They pretend $4.1+ million in concentrated buying power (from just 100 workers) has no impact. This is a deliberate lie to make you think the problem is too small to matter.

>"It is called tax optimization. Tell your politicians to change the law. An OPT student is busy paying their education loans... instead of buying a house and outbidding anyone."

THE REALITY: They reframe avoiding a mandatory citizen tax as savvy "optimization." Notice how they also claim no one uses this money for housing, despite the billions spent by Indian nationals on US real estate.

>"It's because they aren't eligible for social security. Why is this so hard to understand?"

THE REALITY: This is their favorite smokescreen. It deliberately ignores the core issue: $41,454 in liquid cash NOW is more powerful than paying into an uncertain benefits system later. They get a wealth-building head start you are denied.

>>518879267
SOURCES (BECAUSE THEY'LL CALL YOU A CONSPIRACY THEORIST):

• IRS Tax Rule: F-1 students exempt from FICA taxes for 5 years
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-student-liability-for-social-security-and-medicare-taxes

• USCIS OPT Rules: 12 months standard + 24 month STEM extension = 3 years work authorization
https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/students-and-exchange-visitors/optional-practical-training-for-f-1-students

• Social Security Administration: Confirms 7.65% FICA tax rate for employees
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/progdata/taxRates.html

• National Association of Realtors: Foreign buyers purchased $53.3 billion in US property (2023)
https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/2023-profile-of-international-buyers-in-u-s-residential-real-estate

• Bloomberg: Indians are top foreign homebuyers in US, driven by tech workers
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-08-01/indians-are-biggest-foreign-buyers-of-us-homes-as-workers-flock

>>518879299
bump

>>518878908 (OP)
Bump, good thread.
Fuck boomers
Fuck jeets
Fuck corporations

>>518879965
bumpu

>>518881887
bump2

>>518881936
bump3