In a previous article, I talked about the H-1B visa program and all the flak it receives. Defenders of this program claim that it helps companies acquire the high-tech manpower that they need to give them a competitive edge. Critics maintain that displaces US workers – or worse, that there is no manpower shortage, and that the entire program is merely a scam perpetuated by greedy capitalists. Not surprisingly, there are a great many misconceptions have arisen from this controversy. Let us examine a few of the claims that are commonly made.
Myth: The H-1B program is responsible for driving IT salaries down
Reality:
This claim is difficult to substantiate; after all, the actual salary levels paid by a company constitute private information, which makes a precise comparison impossible. (Critics often point to the salary requirements that are filed along with the H-1B application; however, these are mere minimum figures and are often less than the actual salaries paid.) In fact, while critics maintain that H-1B holders are paid alarmingly low wages, the National Science Foundation reports the oppsite. They maintain that foreign-born professionals (H-1B or otherwise) actually earn more than their American counterparts when one compares individuals with the same ages and degree levels, and when one considers the year in which these degrees were granted.
This is corroborated by Paul E. Harrington, the associate director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. His research shows that foreign-born and native professionals earn virtually identical salaries in math and science. Salaries in computer or math sciences were roughly the same for master’s degree holders, and were actually higher for the foreign-born among baccalaureate and doctoral degree holders. In the life sciences, wages were comparable at all three educational levels. In engineering, the wages were comparable at the doctoral level and were for natives at the bachelor and master’s level for engineering. In other words, while H-1Bs are sometimes paid less, this is not consistently true, and they are often paid higher levels depending on one’s field.
But what about the drop in IT salaries over the past decade? It would be naïve to chalk this up to the mere influx in H-1B workers. During the dot-com boom, companies tended to hired computer techies with fairly modest skill sets for far more than they were worth. This was due to the naïve and unbridled optimism of that time, and this mistake proved to be fatal. IT workers are now getting paid at much more reasonable levels.
Myth: H-1B workers are responsible for displacing qualified American programmers and IT workers
Reality:
This is doubtlessly true on occasion, but once again, we must not be so naïve as to place the blame squarely on the H-1B program. The same dot-com boom that produced inflated wage levels for computer techies also resulted in an overabundance of these people once the boom went bust. It also resulted in many programmers who pursued this field primarily for the money, with little passion for the field. In other words, while there is an overabundance of programmers and IT personnel, this does not mean that there are more than enough qualified computer techies to go around.
Myth: Hiring H-1B workers is cheaper for employers
Reality:
Again, this is a gross oversimplification. Some companies doubtlessly do hire H-1B workers for less than they should; after all, virtually any system is open to abuse. As previously shown though, various studies show that H-1B salaries are generally comparable to those of native-born workers. In addition, we shouldn’t forget the outrageous expenses involved in employing an H-1B applicant.
When hiring a US citizen, the costs generally stop with the job offer; not so with H-1B visa applicants, though. Hiring on an H-1B basis typically requires almost $6000 in additional legal and government fees – and that excludes the cost of the extra work required from in-house human resource personnel. If the employee seeks green card sponsorship (as they very frequently do), this can require an additional $10,000 in legal fees and expenses—maybe more. If companies do sponsor H-1B holders in order to save money, then these savings are tremendously offset by the high expenses, legal headaches involved, and the risks of having such applications rejected.
Much more can be said about the problems within the H-1B program. At the same time though, much more can also be said about the exaggerated claims of damage that result from this program. As with many other issues, one must take special care to examine the claims made by both sides, separating cold fact from emotionally inflamed hype.
About the Author:
V. B. Velasco Jr., Ph.D. works for a small bioscience firm that provides ELISPOT readers, ELISPOT assay services, and CEF peptide pools, among other products and services.
