Rates are crashing and fuel to the moon!

Alright, that's a legit H2B trucking example.
@Iamoverit good job finding that out and posting here. That was a genuine surprise to me.
To be fair though, Blair came over 20 years ago and I have no idea what was it like back than with regulations, insurance and all that stuff and I suspect things were very different back than.

I personally have not met a single H2B driver and I probably met few hundred Eastern European truckers since I started trucking in 2015.
If you find more evidence of recent years H2B truckers post it up! I would think there gotta be some who were brought over by Megas, just like Blair was

 

Did you get a CDL here or were you already a trucker back home? How did the whole process work? If you don't mind refreshing your memory and posting some details

 

It's really hard to imagine lots of people going through all that red tape and hassle just to drive a truck here. I would tend to believe Blair is an outlier. Most of the ones you see out there seem to be slumming it OTR, probably came here illegally as it's so easy to do and most likely are being taken advantage of their fellow countrymen already here who have means.

I actually don't take issue with anybody that goes through the process like Blair did and does it right. I don't think that's harmful to the country or the industry. What's ####-ed up is people coming in here undocumented and driving for greedy companies that only care about making a buck, cutting corners saftey and otherwise.

 

Found official 2017 data about H2B visa occupations
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/Reports and Studies/H-2B/FY17-H2B-Cap-Subject-Characteristic-12.07.17.pdf



It says Transportation/Material moving 395 jobs. Those could be truck drivers I guess

 

Funny thing is I have never looked at you as an immigrant. I have always looked at you as one of us who talks a little different. Speaking of which, it's pronounced open deck, not open dick.

 

How did the Eastern Europeans say they got here?

 

Everyone used to come through family, green card lottery or different kind of student or visitor visas.
After the war in Ukraine started, Ukrainians got a special U4U program and tons of other people from Eastern Europe simply came through the Mexico border. People would fly to Mexico, buy a car and drive into US border station, or simply walk there and ask for refugee asylum.
Then they usually would be put in a jail for a week or two, then released in US. After release people apply for a refugee status, get SSN and all that stuff and can start working here legally.
It was pretty wild after Covid, millions of people came in that way. To be fair it was not just Eastern Europeans, people from all over the world did that.
Now US government has really cracked down on that and it's very hard to get in.
I personally think they let tons of people in after Covid, because economy was booking and country needed lots of cheap labor

 

They did it to harvest voters. Make swing states B but this is kind of a political discussion so I will refrain from saying more.

 

Yep it's a cynical power grab and nothing more.

 

Lots of free stuff?
Whats up with Ukrainians, why does their President beg for help while their men don't wanna fight? That war is real, not a swindle right?
I ask cause I don't know any more ...seeing all these young Ukrainians in a military age everywhere, not the front lines.