The H1-B Problem

 

There's trouble in DOGE City, and it's all because of H1-B visas.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy both defend the idea of H1-Bs, but the bulk of the MAGA-populace see them as 'part of the immigration problem'.  Thery're both right to a certain extent.

There's no doubt that bringing in highly specialized manpower is good for the economy and good for business, so Vivek and Elon are right — as far as that goes.  And if that was what H1-Bs are used for, no one would have any complaints.

But that's not, in many cases, what H1-Bs are used for.  In all but a few unusual cases, H1-Bs are used to bring in inexpensive manpower.  They have no particular specialized talents save only that they don't cost as much.  That's good for business, but not for the economy — as viewed from the bottom-up.

So, doing away with H1-Bs is a bad idea, but keeping them (in their current form) is an equally bad idea.  Bringing in foreign headcount — as indentured servants — simply to cut costs is the thing that the bulk of the voting populace sees as 'the problem'.  Whether they're right or wrong is irrelevant; perception is reality.

Curing that perception is, I think, fairly easy.  H1-Bs are requested/applied for not by the companies where the imported headcount will eventually work, but by 'consultancies' or other temporary labor agencies.  In all but a few cases, there has not been an actual job offer made for any of these H1-Bs as of the time the visa is requested.  That's the problem in a nutshell.  Fix that and the problem goes away.

Require that every application for a new H1-B visa be accompanied by a bona fide requisition from a potential employer that constitutes a real job offer.  No job offer?  Sorry, no visa.

You're welcome.

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Update, Sept 20, 2025:  Yesterday, President Trump imposed a $100,000 annual fee on all H1-B visas.  The immediate effect of this is that inexpensive foreign workers have suddenly become expensive foreign workers.  Expect many of them to be sent home within the planning future, to be replaced by now-relatively-less-expensive Americans.  H1-B workers that truly provide otherwise-unavailable skills will probably be used to train Americans, after which they, too, will be sent home.

 

Every Silver Lining Has A Cloud

 

So President Joe (Never going to pardon Hunter; not going to happen) Biden has issued a 10-year Presidential Pardon for his son Hunter for any federal crimes he may or may not have committed.  Color me 'unsurprised'.

But as they say: every silver lining has a cloud.  Hunter can no longer 'plead the 5th' because he cannot self-incriminate.  That threat has just been erased — permanently.

So now, when he's subpoenaed by a House subcommittee and asked "How much money went to your father?  How much to your uncle Jim?" he must answer — and truthfully, lest he commit perjury for which he has not been pardoned.

May he live in interesting times.