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Does the Tech Industry Really Need So Many Workers on H-1B Visas?
As President-elect Donald Trump takes office, a heated debate has emerged over the H-1B visa program. Critics argue that the program, which allows tech companies to hire foreign workers for highly skilled positions, is being exploited by corporations to outsource jobs and suppress wages.
According to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, many of these visas are not going to fill critical gaps in specialized skills, but rather to fill low-level or entry-level positions. “Some H-1B holders work in occupations that are not particularly demanding,” said Ronil Hira, an associate political science professor at Howard University and research associate with the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
One such example is the role of product testing, which may not require a highly skilled foreign worker. In fact, Hira suggests that these roles don’t necessarily meet the visa program’s intended goal of outsourcing roles that require unique skills.
Consulting firms like Cognizant, Tata and Infosys are among the largest recipients of H-1B visas, providing tech companies with a steady pipeline of highly educated, well-trained employees willing to work on contract. These firms are incentivized to find employees that will accept lower pay.
Their business model is to resell labor. If you’re reselling labor, the way you become competitive is by having lower labor costs.
But some economists argue that foreign workers are actually needed to fill a nationwide shortage in skilled engineers. However, data suggests otherwise. Labor market data shows that wages in the tech industry have remained relatively stable, indicating no shortage of talent.
Tech companies have also laid off hundreds of employees in recent years while continuing to sponsor new H-1B visas. An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute found that the top 30 companies hiring the most H-1B workers hired 34,000 new H-1B employees in 2022 but laid off at least 85,000 workers that year and in early 2023.
The debate over H-1B visas has taken on a new level of urgency amid concerns that the program is being exploited by corporations to outsource jobs and suppress wages.
Source: www.cbsnews.com
