H1B Visa Reform

Even before taking office, President Trump has been a controversial figure. While his executive order banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim nations has occupied headlines, Trump’s proposed revisions to H1B visas may have even greater ramifications in the business context.

The H1B visa is typically reserved for specialty fields such as accounting, computer sciences, engineers, physicians, and researchers. Applicants must have a Bachelor’s degree and there is a cap of H1B visas granted at 85,000 per year; although, applicants with a Master’s degree or higher are exempt from the cap.

Employer’s trying to sponsor H1B visa applicants must demonstrate that there are no qualified domestic applicants (i.e. no one from the United States has applied/or is qualified to fill the position) and they must pay employees working on an H1B visa the prevailing wage. That sounds straightforward enough, however, many employers have found loopholes to the requirements.

The basic mechanism to exploit the H1B visa program is that employers load the job requirements with degrees and specialties for a position that are not truly requirements for the job. For example, an employer may state that a Ph.D. in computer sciences is required, while in reality, any candidate with a Bachelor’s degree in the science could adequately perform all the required tasks. By saying that an advanced degree is required (or some other highly specialized qualification), an employer can ensure that they will get very few, if any, U.S. applicants and they can justify sponsoring an applicant for an H1B visa.

The reason some employers desire an H1B employee has to do with the wage they must pay. Technically, employers are required to pay the prevailing wage of the job. What happens, however, is that the employer will go to a contractor (often from a “job shop” company), and hire a worker on a contractual basis for the work. In this way, the employer only pays the prevailing wage for contract workers in the field, and that wage is predictably lower than they pay a permanent employee.

Your assignment:

Research the H1B visa enough to adequately give an overview of the requirements (DO NOT copy my description).
Identify the listed abuses of the H1B visa and any other negative impacts that result from abuse of the H1B visa program.
Discuss the proposed reforms by the current administration and whether or not you think they are the correct policy changes to make. If you would make different recommendations, state those.
You may use reputable online sources, such as Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, etc. Wikipedia IS NOT a reputable source.

Here are some useful articles to get you started:

https://www.uscis.gov/eir/visa-guide/h-1b-specialty-occupation/understanding-h-1b-requirements

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-h-1b_us_5890d86ce4b0522c7d3d84af