Recently, figures like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have been rallying support for H-1B visas in the wake of Donald Trump’s historic election. The push has sparked a fierce debate online about whether we should accept more high-skilled immigrant workers or not. Proponents cite H-1B visas as the only way we can compete with China; detractors raise concerns that H-1B visa holders take American jobs. Trump has had conflicting positions on the H-1B visa program, criticizing it in the 2016 campaign, restricting it in his first term, but recently seeming to back Musk on the necessity of the program.
Wherever you stand on H-1B visas, it’s clear that this policy will be one of the marquee policies of the first 100 days of the incoming Trump administration. So, how do H-1B visas affect us here in North Carolina?
The Durham-Chapel Hill area is the 13th largest metro area for Immigrants with an H-1B visa from 2010-2016, and has only grown since then. The growth in the tech industries in places like Raleigh has occurred parallel to the rise in H-1B visa applications. But it’s not just the tech industry that draws H-1B visa applications.
Of the top 20 H-1B visa sponsors in North Carolina, two are universities in the UNC System — UNC-Chapel Hill at 18th, with 179 H-1B visas sponsored; and North Carolina State University at 15th with 219 H-1B visas sponsored. Moreover, Duke University ranks 11th with 273 H-1B visas sponsored. The UNC System as a whole sponsors 533 H-1B visas, which would rank it fifth in the state, above companies like Microsoft and Bank of America.
The explanation is that the program is being used to bring in leading minds, specifically in STEM, to garner growth in North Carolina. However, if that is the case, why are roughly half of the recipients occupying positions like “assistant professor” and “research associate,” the former of which is the most common job title for H-1B visa recipients working in the UNC System. The simple answer is just like many major American corporations, the UNC System believes it can save money by outsourcing work to H-1B immigrants. The data is with them, according to the EPI, as 60% of H-1B positions are assigned wage levels well below the local median salary.
If that wasn’t incentive enough, universities are “cap-exempt” employers, which means that immigrants sponsored by universities are not counted as a part of the 85,000 annual H-1B visa cap. This, combined with the aforementioned incentives, has resulted in a drastic increase of H-1B visa sponsorships from higher education institutions. This is what happens when the restrictions are lifted from H-1B visas.
Immigrants who come as a part of the H-1B visa program are, therefore, drawn to specific regions, where higher-education and tech jobs are. This can be a barrier to assimilation, which has become a critical point against H-1B visas.
“Hiring American” is becoming quite the buzzword in business and politics, but how genuine is this rhetoric?
When Infosys opened its technology and innovation hub in Raleigh, they promised to hire 2,000 American workers. But in 2023, instead of the promised economic patriotism, they sponsored 767 H-1B visas, ranking them third in the state and causing them to lose their state grant. The rise of H-1B visa workers has directly contributed to a lowering of wages for Americans, specifically in the key industry of computer science. Computer Science has rapidly become one of the most competitive fields to go in to. Importing more foreign workers when Americans need jobs, specifically in this field, is not just counter intuitive, it’s damaging to a generation of Americans that has already been plagued by a lack of purpose.
The Vivek Ramaswamy tweet that sparked much of this debate reads:
“Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG. A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers.”
It’s true that our culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence. But the solution to that is not importing foreign workers who might work hard but also may drive down wages for American citizens. The solution is a top-down culture change, starting with promoting excellence in education.
At this crucial time, we must actually promote American workers and correctly reset American culture by promoting meritorious education. Importing large numbers of workers who accept lower wages is not the answer — whether the reasoning is to compete with China or promote a prosperous economy. The American working class is well prepared to fight back economically and technologically with China. Our corporations should at least pay H-1B visa holders comparable rates to American workers.
