Question: How are higher H-1B fees affecting the American tech industry?
USX
Thought Process: President Trump’s recent policy changes to H1B Visas have stirred controversy and concern in America’s Tech industry. With a yearly price tag of $100,000 on each H1B visa holder, the future of the visa and its viability for these companies has come into question. What will the shift mean for them moving forward?
Answer: Weaken Tech Competitiveness
- Lack of Skilled Workers.
- Currently, U.S Companies employ a large number of skilled, H1-B Visa reliant workers in the tech industry; mainly because they have the skillsets needed for specific lines of work.
- The issue is, in the United States, we lack a skilled workforce, with enough technology expertise that can take this field over, and fill the void that may be left with a lack of H1-B workers.
- Because companies will be reluctant to pay the extensive fees, they’ll likely have to turn towards domestic labor (which is what the President wants), that won’t make up for the loss of H1-B workers, weakening our tech field.
- Weaken Innovation
- America, today, leads the global race towards tech & AI advancement, this is majorly attributed to H1-B Visa workers, 60% of which work in some field of technology.
- With Trump’s new fees, it becomes expensive for the acquisition of new H1-B talent and creates shortfalls in technology talent that we rely on for innovation.
- As a result, we’ll begin to see that America falls behind in the global technology field and is weaker in its ability to innovate.
- Financial Toll
- Currently, aside from salaries and initial visa fees; companies pay very little to bring workers stateside through H1-B Visas.
- However, the change and increase in price will mean a significant financial burden for those companies that intend on keeping the flow of new H1-B Visa workers consistent.
- This will be costly for smaller businesses and large companies that may not be able to carry the financial burden now affiliated with the H1-B visas.