The rise of the United States to economic prominence can be attributed to the presence of the highly skilled workforce. But in the last 30 years or so, the skill level of the American workforce has stagnated. The U.S. is no longer a skill abundant country.

To produce a more highly skilled workforce among Americans, new educational policies must be implemented. But this will take a long term before the effects can be seen. In the short to medium term, the U.S. will increasingly need foreign high-skilled workers and will therefore have to reform its high-skilled immigration policies and procedures not only to welcome the best and the brightest but also to make it easier for them to stay.

The H1B visa program was introduced to allow businesses to bring in skilled workforce from abroad to cope with the shortage of skilled workforce and for the U.S. to retain it economic prominence.

The major beneficiary of the H-1B visa program has been the IT industry. Major IT companies have over the years lobbied with lawmakers to increase the number of H-1B visas issued every year.

The large IT corporations need skilled workforce in order to remain competitive. But with the short supply of skilled workforce in the U.S., these companies have to bring in skilled workforce from abroad. The existing immigration rules made it difficult for these companies to bring in skilled workforce from abroad. However the introduction of the H-1B visa program changed all that.

Critics of the H-1B visa program point out that the H1B employees are a new type of indentured servant. In a new, unfamiliar country, they are docile and focus on working hard. The average salary of an employee on an H1B visa is lower than that of an American employee doing the same job. The H-1B sponsorship provisions make it very difficult for H-1B foreign workers to change jobs. The other major criticism of the H-1B visa program is that it takes away American jobs and gives them to foreign workers.

From a broader economic perspective, H-1B workforce has saved the U.S. economy millions of dollars in human resources and R&D costs, boosting the value of their employers’ stock.

It is just a myth that the use of foreign workforces by American companies using the H-1B program has cost Americans jobs. Instead of taking away jobs, the H-1B visa program has contributed positively to the economy by creating more jobs. The reasoning behind this is simple economics. The availability of skilled workforce enables American companies to retain their competitiveness and grow bigger. As the companies grow, they tend to help the economy grow. Then when the economy grows, it requires even more workers. A recent study found that for each H-1B visa issued by larger IT companies, five additional hires were made as well. With smaller companies, it was even more drastic, showing seven new hires.

Till the U.S. manages to overcome the shortage of skilled workforce in the long term, the H-1B visa program is the only way the United States can overcome the shortage in the short to medium term is to bring in skilled workforce from abroad. If the shortage is not overcome, the U.S. will loose its economic prominence.

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