A brand new examine has claimed that even a steep $100,000 price on H-1B visas could not cease US firms from hiring international employees.
The analysis was revealed by the Nationwide Bureau of Financial Analysis and authored by economist George Borjas.
The examine examined the wage hole between American employees and H-1B staff and whether or not larger visa charges would actually scale back demand for H-1B hiring.
In keeping with the examine, H-1B employees earn about 16% lower than US-born employees with the identical training, age, expertise, location, and job position. Due to this hole, employers nonetheless save a big sum of money by hiring H-1B employees.
Borjas famous that even with a $100,000 visa price, firms profit as a result of the overall wage financial savings over the six-year H-1B interval is near $100,000 per employee. This makes H-1B hiring financially enticing regardless of larger prices.
The examine additional claims that even when the visa price is raised to $150,000–$200,000, it could not considerably scale back the variety of H-1B employees employed. Employers should be prepared to pay such charges because of long-term financial savings.
Borjas additionally estimated that larger visa charges may generate $10–$20 billion in annual income for the US authorities and result in a extra extremely expert H-1B workforce.
He added that the H-1B system offers employers extra management over employees as a result of visas are tied to particular jobs. This, mixed with the annual cap of 85,000 visas, makes H-1B employees a restricted and helpful useful resource; additional conserving wages decrease.
The examine concludes that immigration delivers higher financial advantages when it focuses on extremely expert employees, which explains why firms proceed to rely closely on the H-1B program regardless of rising prices.
