Whether the H-1B Visa Rules Are Fair Including Cap

¶ … H-1B visa is issued to a limited number of applicants per year, and is restricted to persons with specialized education and training. Individuals cannot apply for the H-1B visa; rather, employers must sponsor an applicant they feel is worthy of the visa, which allows an individual to stay in the United States as a temporary foreign worker for up to six years. The H-1B visa class theoretically boosts the economy by allowing corporations access to the global labor market of highly skilled and specially trained personnel.

However, the visa class has the potential to encroach on the domestic American labor market by allowing employers to hire foreign workers at a significantly lower salary than their counterparts (Tuttle, 2015). In spite of this potential drawback, the H-1B visa parameters are designed well if the stimulation of the American economy is its primary purpose. I would not change anything significant about the H-1B visa from an economic standpoint only.

However, I would urge a reconsideration of the H-1B visa from the perspective of ethics and social justice. One of the primary problems with the H-1B visa is the cap and cap-exempt status instances. Whereas current immigration law allows some 85,000 new visas available per year, the cap is reached relatively rapidly, after which no new applicants are permitted. Exempt from the cap are specific sectors, namely non-profit higher educational institutions and their affiliated research organizations (Washington Information Services, 2015).

In fact, some for profit firms may be included in the cap-exempt sectors. The cap exemptions make it possible for manipulation of the H-1B principle of preserving American labor markets while continuing to welcome foreign workers who fill positions that might not be filled otherwise. If a position can be filled by an American graduate uniquely qualified for a specific role, then a foreign worker should not be sponsored even if it means saving thousands or tens of thousands in human resources funds (Tuttle, 2015).

One of the most important methods of improving the ethical integrity of the H-1B visa would be to tighten the cap exemptions and require institutes of higher learning to prove why American-born workers are unavailable in the specific sector listed. Another potential problem with the H-1B visa is the fact that some companies, like Disney for example, have been accused of laying off American workers and even requiring those workers to train their foreign replacements (Tuttle, 2015).

If this is true, then some provisions need to be made for companies who are abusing their privileges with the H-1B visa. The visa is designed to provide access to the global labor market without sacrificing American markets. If American labor markets are being harmed, then the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services need to reconsider mandates for employers. In general, though, the H-1B visa offers an appropriate balance offering firms the ability to remain competitive and protecting American labor.

The visa scheme succeeds by offering foreign students the opportunity to maximize their education investment, and allowing American institutions of higher learning also to maximize their investments in foreign students by prolonging their engagement in research-based activities. The labor market has gone global, and the need for foreign labor will remain extant in all sectors. When domestic students and workers with specialized training are being turned down in favor of potentially cheaper salaries, then the H-1B visa is being.