H-1Bs Run Out Almost Immediately Yet Again

from the april-fools dept

Just like last year, and as pretty much everyone expected, US immigration officials note that they've received tons of applications for H-1B visas -- way more than the 65,000 allowed by Congress, just in the first day of eligibility. That means that they'll switch to a lottery system and, once again, plenty of highly skilled technology talent will be working for foreign competitors rather than US companies. It's truly a shame that so many people in this country seem to incorrectly think that jobs are a zero-sum game. Bringing more highly skilled workers into this country helps create more jobs. The idea that allowing workers into the country decreases jobs here (or even decreases wages) is simply incorrect. Those workers still exist and will still compete with you for jobs -- it's just that they'll be doing it in other countries where they can undercut you even further and put even more pressure on your own company to close up shop. Not allowing skilled workers into this country is a much bigger risk for American jobs than letting them in.

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