The H-1B Visa program allows highly skilled noncitizens to work in the United States for three years (renewable for three additional years). The 2007 cap for H-1B Visas was 65,000 workers a year. Historically, about half of the H-1B visa hold- ers eventually get permanent resident ("green") card status. Most of the companies requesting such visas are high-tech, many based in India. Microsoft's Bill Gates praised this magnet for uniquely skilled workers as a boon for the American economy. But in a report published by the Economic Policy Institute in March 2007, Ronil Hira countered that the visa has accelerated the pace of offshore outsourcing of computing work. Visa holders assess a U.S.-based client's needs and speci?cations, but the work of software coding itself is most often done in India.
(a) Find out how well holders of H-1B visas are being compensated. What impact would you expect such visas to have on compensation for citizens and permanent residents?
(b) In 2007, visas for unskilled workers were cap- ped at 10,000, while some 65,000 H-1B visas were available. Is it fair to favor skilled workers over unskilled ones?
(c) How will newly adopted or proposed changes in the immigration law impact those seeking to come to the United States for work?