{"id":22929,"date":"2020-05-06T13:27:08","date_gmt":"2020-05-06T17:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/?p=22929"},"modified":"2020-05-06T13:27:10","modified_gmt":"2020-05-06T17:27:10","slug":"h1b-visa-program-reform-trump-immigrationreform-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2020\/05\/06\/h1b-visa-program-reform-trump-immigrationreform-com\/","title":{"rendered":"The H-1B Visa Program is Government-Sanctioned Exploitation of American Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Even in a normal job market, it is hard to fathom the Department of Labor (DOL) would \u201clet H-1B employers undercut\u201d over qualified American applicants so they can insource foreign workers, who they pay at below-market wage levels. Yet, that is exactly what is occurring, according to a new report<\/a> from the non-partisan Economic Policy Institute (EPI). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While in\n\u201cdesperate need of reform,\u201d the report asserts the \u201cfundamental flaw of the\nH-1B program is that it permits U.S. employers to legally underpay H-1B workers\nrelative to U.S. workers in similar occupations in the same region.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another flaw\n\u2013 and a prevalent misperception – is that the H-1B program, which annually provides\n85,000 temporary, nonimmigrant U.S. work visas for college-educated foreign\nworkers, requires employers either to recruit American workers first or show\nevidence of a labor shortage that necessitates hiring a H-1B worker. That\nsimply is not the case. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWage-level\ndata make clear that most H-1B employers\u2014but especially the biggest users, by\nnature of the sheer volume of workers they employ\u2014are taking advantage of a\nflawed H-1B prevailing wage rule to underpay their workers relative to market\nwage standards, resulting in major savings in labor costs for companies that\nuse the H-1B,\u201d the report notes, adding that the data \u201craises serious doubts\nabout whether H-1B employers, including the top 30 H-1B employers and major\nU.S. technology firms, use the program solely, or even mostly, to hire workers\nwith truly specialized skills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certainly with tens of millions of American workers recently joining the ranks of the unemployed, in addition to recent college graduates seeking to enter the labor force, these businesses would prioritize hiring citizens. Again, that is not the case. According to Bloomberg News<\/a>, some businesses are \u201cchoosing to keep H-1B workers on staff to maintain their legal status, while firing U.S. workers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which is why DOL addressing the \u201cfundamental flaw\u201d in the\nprogram is so important. The report\u2019s authors, Daniel Costa and Ron Hira,\nmaintain that the absence of a labor-market-test means that the only way to\nprevent abuse is via the wage rule. Yet, President Trump has not ordered the\nDOL to use its authority to change the program\u2019s wage rules. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While tech\nfirms are frequent users, the report says outsourcing firms use one-third to\none-half of the visas \u201cto replace thousands of U.S. workers with\nmuch-lower-paid H-1B workers while also sending tech jobs abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report is a laundry list of reasons for the Trump administration to take immediate action to fight against any bills in Congress<\/a> that would expand the program, as well as heading off current efforts to tap unused H-1B visas<\/a> to hire more foreign health care workers, unless there is a demonstrated need for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EPI\nanalysis shows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n