Should H-1B Visas Be Easier to Get? >
Unfilled Positions Reduce Productivity
Reform H-1B, but don't ignore legitimate needs of American employers
December 28, 2011
About Jason Dzubow:
Jason Dzubow is an immigration attorney at Dzubow, Sarapu & Pilcher, PLLC in Washington, D.C. He is also adjunct professor of immigration law at George Mason University. His blog, The Asylumist, is the only blog in the United States devoted exclusively to political asylum.
Yes--The H-1B visa should be made easier to get, but it should also be reformed so that American workers are protected and our country is able to attract the types of employees we need to grow our economy.
The H-1B visa was originally designed to allow U.S. companies to bring computer programmers to the United States to fill positions that were vacant due to a shortage of qualified workers. Over time, creative immigration lawyers have "pushed the law" and expanded the types of workers coming to the United States. H-1B visas have been used by everyone from acupuncturists and accountants to pharmacists, teachers, and Web designers. Some of this is good for our economy and domestic work force; some of it is not so good.
[Tech Companies Want More Foreign STEM Workers.]
As the system exists now, a foreign worker who demonstrates that her profession is a "specialty occupation" may qualify for an H-1B visa (assuming she meets the other requirements for the visa, including requirements designed to prevent wage deflation). The problem is that our country does not necessarily need workers who meet the definition of a "specialty occupation." Rather, we need workers for jobs that American employers are unable to fill.
To address this problem, the Department of Labor should identify where shortages exist, and the qualifications for an H-1B visa should be adjusted accordingly. So, for example, perhaps we do not have a shortage of acupuncturists in the United States. If that is the case, acupuncturists should not be permitted to obtain H-1B visas. On the other hand, there are significant shortages of technology workers and healthcare workers (among others). As long as these shortages exist, we need to make it easier for companies to hire foreign workers in these fields. Unfilled positions reduce productivity and serve as a drag on our economy.
[Mort Zuckerman: 5 Sure-Fire Ways to Create More Jobs.]
The qualifications for an H-1B visa should be determined by the needs of our economy—we need more entrepreneurs, more scientists, more mathematicians, more programmers. Our country and our economy would be well served if such people could easily come to the United States. The H-1B visa program should not be a hurdle for these workers to overcome. Instead, it should be designed to attract and retain needed workers.
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- Other Arguments
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#113391173
No — Loopholes mean that each H-1B worker here is a proxy for even more jobs lost
JOHN MIANO, Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies
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#213651244
No — The use of the programs for cheaper labor is substantial and growing
RON HIRA, Associate Professor of Public Policy at Rochester Institute of Technology and Research Associate with the Economic Policy Institute
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#313171199
No — Thirst for cheaper guest workers is pushing a generation of Americans away from tech fields, enlarging the void
DANIEL STEIN, President of the Federation for American Immigration Reform
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#415761574
No — H-1B should return to goal of recruiting the best and brightest from around the globe
NORM MATLOFF, Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Davis
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#513511382
Yes — H-1B visas are one of our best tools to attract international brain power
TAMAR JACOBY, President of ImmigrationWorks USA and Fellow at the New America Foundation
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#613051353
Yes — The American economy is losing out on people who could launch whole new companies and product lines
JOHN FEINBLATT, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Chief Policy Adviser and Director of the Partnership for a New American Economy
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#87891183
No — America is unique because it turns newcomers into Americans
BRUCE A. MORRISON, Former Chairman of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Immigration, Claims, and International law
Reader Comments Read all comments (17)
EngiNERD of IL 10:15PM January 03, 2012
Michael Cardy of FL 12:02PM January 03, 2012
Sandy M of NJ 6:54AM January 03, 2012