- Ronil Hira explained US employers prefer H-1B workers for lower wages and control
- H-1B visa holders often have ordinary skills available among American workers
- H-1B workers are tied to employers, limiting job mobility and increasing control
Ronil Hira, an Indian-origin professor at Howard University and H-1B visa critic, broke down why employers in the US prefer H-1B workers. Speaking on the show System Update, Hira explained that US companies favour the program because it lets them hire workers at lower wages who are tied to their employers, limiting job mobility.
"Most of the people coming to the US on H-1B visas have ordinary skills, skills that are abundantly available from American workers. Employers prefer the H-1Bs because they can both be legally paid less than American workers, and secondly, they're controllable, they're indentured to the employer," he explained.
He outlined two main reasons for employer preference:
- Lower Wages: Employers can legally pay H-1B visa holders less than American workers.
- Controllability: The H-1B workers are indentured to their specific employers, meaning their legal status in the US is dependent on their job, which makes them highly controllable and less likely to switch jobs or report workplace abuses.
Hira noted that while the program does bring in some highly qualified individuals, many H-1B workers have skills that are readily available in the American labour market. He cited examples, such as cases at Disney and the University of California, where American workers were reportedly forced to train their H-1B replacements, suggesting the program often fills roles that don't require exceptional skills. He advocated for stronger worker protections to ensure the program only serves its intended purpose of bringing in talent for roles that truly cannot be filled by the domestic workforce.
The Indian-origin expert also clarified that the H-1B program is often mistakenly linked to immigration, when in fact, it is a labour policy designed as a guest worker program.
"It's not an immigration issue but a labor issue. You are intervening into the labor market, injecting workers here. You should have a high bar to inject workers who have fewer rights, who are sort of second class in a lot of ways and their worker protections are just very weak. Any guest worker program needs very strong worker protection. H-1B has very weak worker protection and that's why Silicon Valley loves it," he added.
