March 12, 2006

H1B Visa Drought

A story on Marketplace on the US Public Radio analyzes the H1B visa cap issues. While the US government is looking at relaxing rules for low income immigrants, the cap on visas for high skilled foreign workers is possibly hurting the US and helping other countries.

David Heanon, author of Flight Flight Capital suggests that over 1000 foreigners are leaving the US every day. “Yesterdays colleagues become tomorrows competitors,” he says.

Asian tech workers and certain NTYC based Brit bloggers hold a H1B visa to work in the US, but three years ago quantities issued were dramatically reduced in a step to protect American workers. That step may actually be hurting the American economy as workers who would have come to the US go to Australia and the UK. Also, the thriving Asian economies encourage existing visa holders go home to countries like India.

Marketplace

One Response to “H1B Visa Drought”

Steve Portigal
Posted from: 69.105.44.214
March 14th, 2006 at 9:36 am

Seems a bit misleading to say that the numbers were reduced. Is it not the case that for several years the government moved to dramatically increase - on a temporary basis - the numbers of H1Bs that were offered? And at one point declined to renew or extend that new ceiling, so things reverted back to pre-boom levels?

The dot-com bubble in fact coincided with the period of time that had the highest levels of visas being issued.