H-1B Visa Policy

The Foreign Talent
Foreign skilled workers’ stake in the H-1B visa program is often distorted.  The Post article highlights how many of these skilled workers come to the U.S. on H-1B visa and use the H-1B visa’s “dual intent” status to start a procedure of obtaining a permanent residency.  This, after all, is how this great country was built, and such influx of talent should not only be temporary, for the duration of the H-1B visa of six years, but should be made permanent to that the U.S. economy, as a whole, benefits.

The Critics
There are critics of the H-1B program, of course, and the Post article outlines their position.  Some critics consider the H-1B program a “cheap labor” allowing U.S. businesses to hire and sometimes exploit foreign workers who come to the U.S. and often have little or no bargaining power.  While such comments are justified in certain occasions and based on past cases by some employers, such cases seem to be limited to few individual employers and the Department of Labor is tasked with ensuring that no wage discrimination and workplace abuse takes place.

Conclusion
The debate about the benefits and disadvantages of the H-1B program will continue for as long as the program exists.  In economic slowdown, it is easy to point the finger to foreign workers as taking away jobs from qualified American workers.  But we should not lose sight of the greater benefit to the economy caused by the constant influx of educated foreigners who allow U.S. companies to stay competitive in a global economy.