The Quote Below—More Misinformation from the Media
- “Mass layoffs across tech showed the vulnerability of immigrant employees on work visas.
- “While the US still attracts talent, workers increasingly go to places like the UK or Canada.
- “With other countries easing immigration for tech workers, the US may find itself lagging. . . .
“Without change, and fast, experts say this could mean an entire lost generation of tech talent for American tech.
“ ‘We have a shortage of highly skilled workers,” Jason Finkelman, an immigration lawyer who specializes in work visas, said. “Therefore, the H-1B visa program and similar programs address that because you have so many US companies that are struggling to find the talent they need to remain competitive in the global marketplace.’
“And America’s loss is proving a boon for other countries, who are explicitly going after the skilled tech workers who fall through the cracks of America’s immigration system. . . .
“The US needs to move fast or risk being left behind
“If the US wants to remain the top destination for tech talent, the government needs to make changes to the system, or it risks falling behind, experts said.
“The country’s immigration system is notoriously hard to and has been backlogged for years. Tech companies have relied on student and work visas — including the F-1, L-1, and the limited H-1B programs — to keep recruiting top talent from around the world. H-1B visas, a favorite of the tech industry, are capped at 85,000 each year. That figure hasn’t changed since the 1990s, even as Silicon Valley has matured into a global superpower.
“So applications for that visa far exceed that number, hitting over 300,000 in 2021 and 2022. Pandemic-era backlogs have also persisted, making the wait even longer. The wave of layoffs sweeping the tech sector has made that shortage an urgent problem: If someone on an H-1B visa loses their job, they have 60 days to find a new one or risk deportation.
“Critics also say it’s too hard for international students to find a path to staying in the US after graduation. . . . America’s loss is other countries’ gain. . . .” — America needs immigration reform, or it risks losing an entire generation of techy workers. . . . , Emilia David and Panyal Zaveri, Business Insider, 3/23/23 [Link]
Fact Check on Above Quote: These writers repeat the tired old line that America suffers a shortage of highly skilled workers, particularly in STEM, (science, technology, engineering and math). Really? Well how does this claim square with the reality that 62 percent of U.S. college graduates with STEM fields have had to find jobs in other fields? This is the case because employers know that they can pay foreigners less than Americans and subject them to more difficult working conditions. These foreigners are available to work here because of temporary visa programs, primarily the H-1B visa.
Several decades ago, our leaders told us not to worry about the loss of our manufacturing base to “free trade.” They assured us that people who lost jobs could retrain in computer programming and other technical occupations. By interesting coincidence, that was about the same time when H-1Bs arrived. Since then, many of the new jobs promised to Americans have gone to foreigners.
America has a population of 334 million people, a third of a billion. It is hard to believe that within a population of this size we don’t have the talent required to meet our needs. Roughly between 1920 and 1970, our population was considerably less than it is today. Yet during that interval, a time of limited immigration, we made some of our greatest technological strides—from propeller-driven biplanes to moon rockets.
Is there any reason why we can’t go back to that arrangement? Making opportunity for Americans the first priority of America is not unreasonable at all.