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.