The controversy surrounding the H-1B Visa is that is can be seen to either improve United States Industry or hurt United States Workers. The view of H-1B as a benefit is that the Visa offers employment opportunities to non-American citizens in the United States. This view can be broken down to see it as retaining foreign nationals who are schooled in the United States and bringing the best possible employees to work in the United States. I think it is a good idea to try to gain the employment of foreign nationals who are educated in the US, almost like a return on investment. The United States would gain from people who are being taught at American institutions instead of these people taking the talents they learned in the United States somewhere else. Also, if the United States wants to have the best companies it can, it should allow the best workers, no matter nationality, to work in the United States. The other side of the coin however says that when companies can hire similarly skilled laborers internationally, the company can generally pay the international employee less and as a result pay the domestic employee less as well. So the visa can be seen to be limiting salary growth.
Personally I am in favor of the H-1B visa, I think the idea of including people from other countries in the United State’s industry can strengthen it significantly. Also I do not think that people should be limited in terms of employment based on where they were born. Personally after studying abroad in the spring semester of my Junior year, I can see the appeal of working, even if only for a couple years, in another country. I think the spread of knowledge and information around the world will lead to a better world culture and a better relationship around the world. Also, I would hope that any country I would potentially work in, if I were to work abroad, would welcome me as I try to work in and improve their industry, like H-1B Visa immigrants are in the United States. It is understandable that people would be concerned about the lowering of wages as a result of the H-1B, however, I think that the positives out weight the negatives. As a whole I feel Americans would gain more from talented people from other countries coming to work in the United States then they would from a few people making a little bit more per year. Also, I feel that the problem of lowering wages is not a result of the H-1B visa, instead it is a societal problem in industry. The culture that foreign nationals can be paid less than American employees, and then stagnate American employee salaries is a problem that is not necessarily related to the H-1B visa. Salaries should be, ideally, based on competency not on locality or origin. Personally I view foreign competition and outsourcing the same way I do domestic competition. There are people that I am competing with to get a position and their nationality does not change that these people exist. While it could be argued that there is more competition and so less chance that I could be hired, this also works the other way, I could search for opportunities in other countries and be the foreign competition in that country. Thus I feel the United States should live up to the ideal of being a land of opportunity and continue to allow people in with H-1B Visas.