Why Trump's plan to put restrictions on H-1B visa may not help US workers

Research suggests that, if anything, being in a field with more H-1B visa-holders makes it more likely that US-born young college graduates work in a job closely related to their college major.

The H-1B visa-holders, a majority of them Indian IT professionals, do not adversely affect Americans, according to new research, which also suggests that the presence of foreign workforce having such visas boost employment among other workers in an occupation.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

On April 1, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said that the US received nearly 275,000 unique registration requests for the Congressional mandated 85,000 H-1B visas for foreign technology professionals, of which more than 67 per cent are from India.

The National Foundation for American Policy said that the findings of its new research should give pause to policymakers considering imposing additional restrictions on the H-1B programme.

The Trump administration has been planning new restrictions on the H-1B visas premised on the argument that foreign-born scientists and engineers harm the job prospects of US college graduates.

There is little reason to think doing so will help American workers, the think-tank said in its latest research.

The H-1B visa holders do not adversely affect US workers, according to new research. On the contrary, the evidence points to the presence of H-1B visa holders being associated with lower unemployment rates and faster earnings growth among college graduates, including recent college graduates, the report said.