H-1B Visa Restrictions Policies Pushing Jobs Out Of US: Wharton Study

H1B visa has been the subject of argument since the time it has gained public attention. While many seem to oppose an H-1B visa, some are in favor of it. Those who comply with it feel that more foreign workers coming in will lead to the innovation in the work whereas those who gainsay the foreign skill immigration advocate the thought of the US natives getting deprived of jobs in their homeland.

As per the latest study by Britta Glennon who is serving as an Assistant Professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, the increase in the curtailment of the H-1B visa is pushing the jobs out of United States.

Going with the NFAP ( National Foundation for American Policy ) analysis that states “Denial rates for H-1B petitions have increased significantly, rising from 6% in FY 2015 to 32% in the first quarter of FY 2019,” it is clearly evident that there has been restriction in the approvals of H1B visa without any justified vindication.

Glennon who used “unique firm-level panel dataset that links firm-level H-1B visa data and firm-level data on the financial and operating characteristics of U.S. multinational firms and their foreign affiliates” for her study also focused on the fact that restrictive H-1B policies are leading to the decline in the innovative capacities in the US. It is the matter of concern that if the highly skilled professionals are pushed out of the country then it’s affecting the innovation degree in the nation. It also depicts the bad economic policies and is proving to be of no good.

Also, the policies which refute the approval of H1B visa for the fear of the loss of jobs by the native citizens are leading to the offshoring of the jobs. The employers instead of hiring native citizen prefer offshoring jobs abroad. The countries that are most benefitted by this are India, China, and Canada. As per Glennon’s study, for every unoccupied H-1B visa position, an average of 0.3 jobs are being offshored. Employers still prefer to hire foreign employees at their foreign allies.

For those living under the rocks, an H-1B visa is a visa given by the American government to the foreign workers who are temporarily employed in the US in the specialty occupation. This temporary work visa holds the validity of three years that can be stretched unto six years post which individuals have to re-apply.