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All data indicate there is no shortage of US Citizens that could fill STEM positions and that H1-B holders on average make well below market rate. Outright ban

All data indicate there is no shortage of US Citizens that could fill STEM positions and that H1-B holders on average make well below market rate. Outright ban is the wrong tool and I can't imagine that this is a reasoned policy response to a well understood abuse of wage-arbitrage. The right answer would be to mandate comparable wages for H1-B immigrants as for median employee with the same experience/tenure etc... "A comprehensive literature review, in conjunction with employment statistics, newspaper articles, and our own interviews with company recruiters, reveals a significant heterogeneity in the STEM labor market: the academic sector is generally oversupplied, while the government sector and private industry have shortages in specific areas." https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2015/article/stem-crisis-or-stem-surplus-yes-and-yes.htm https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2015/article/stem-crisis-or-ste... "Our examination shows that the STEM shortage in the United States is largely overblown. Guestworker programs are in need of reform, but any changes should make sure that guestworkers are not lower-paid substitutes for domestic workers." https://bloustein.rutgers.edu/new-analysis-finds-no-shortage-of-stem-workers-in-the-united-states/ https://bloustein.rutgers.edu/new-analysis-finds-no-shortage... "Sixty percent of H-1B positions certified by the U.S. Department of Labor are assigned wage levels well below the local median wage for the occupation." https://www.epi.org/publication/h-1b-visas-and-prevailing-wage-levels/ https://www.epi.org/publication/h-1b-visas-and-prevailing-wa...

michaelmrose 6y ago
Your thoughts are right on but the right thing to do is make it trivial for people with sought after skills to become citizens so we can benefit from their expertise at the same time as eliminating H1-B exploitation instead of trying to fix said exploitation in some complex fashion that itself is likely to be gamed. If you make the knowledge worker that any country ought to want a citizen he will naturally demand a market wage.
addicted 6y ago
So 60% draw salaries that are lower than the 50%th earner in that occupation. In other words, they draw salaries that are largely in line with the occupation, although slightly on the lower end. I suspect if you now do the calculation after adding the fees companies are required to pay the government, along with the lawyers fees most companies have to pay for an H1B visa holder, both of which in most cases will be closer to $10k per year, the H1B earners will be completely in line with the occupation they are employed in.
Thorentis 6y ago
If there is no shortage of US citizens that can fill STEM roles, then the H1-B program has no reason to take in STEM workers. Its purpose is to fill skill shortages. There is clearly no skills shortage, therefore the ban, while perhaps overkill, is not unjustified. Companies simply use it to get cheap labor.
- fredfoobar 6y ago
  When was the last time you hired to grow a team in SV?
- president 6y ago
  Yes, you are stating the obvious, however, you neglect to understand that much of the policies that support H1-B labor are lobbied by corporations who want cheap slave labor and Indian consulting companies who want to ensure the H1-B pipeline stays alive. They will say anything including lie about "skill shortages" to enact these policies.

michaelmrose 6y ago

Your thoughts are right on but the right thing to do is make it trivial for people with sought after skills to become citizens so we can benefit from their expertise at the same time as eliminating H1-B exploitation instead of trying to fix said exploitation in some complex fashion that itself is likely to be gamed. If you make the knowledge worker that any country ought to want a citizen he will naturally demand a market wage.

addicted 6y ago

So 60% draw salaries that are lower than the 50%th earner in that occupation. In other words, they draw salaries that are largely in line with the occupation, although slightly on the lower end. I suspect if you now do the calculation after adding the fees companies are required to pay the government, along with the lawyers fees most companies have to pay for an H1B visa holder, both of which in most cases will be closer to $10k per year, the H1B earners will be completely in line with the occupation they are employed in.

Thorentis 6y ago

If there is no shortage of US citizens that can fill STEM roles, then the H1-B program has no reason to take in STEM workers. Its purpose is to fill skill shortages. There is clearly no skills shortage, therefore the ban, while perhaps overkill, is not unjustified. Companies simply use it to get cheap labor.

fredfoobar 6y ago
When was the last time you hired to grow a team in SV?
president 6y ago
Yes, you are stating the obvious, however, you neglect to understand that much of the policies that support H1-B labor are lobbied by corporations who want cheap slave labor and Indian consulting companies who want to ensure the H1-B pipeline stays alive. They will say anything including lie about "skill shortages" to enact these policies.