Grantee Policy Brief Analyzes GAO Report on H-1B Visas

A new Policy Brief published by Carnegie Corporation grantee the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) offers an analysis of a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report suggesting that the GAO undermines the primary argument levied against H-1B visas, namely the allegation that employers only hire H-1B professionals because they will work more cheaply.

According to NFAP Policy Brief, the GAO report finds that when adjusted for age, H-1B professionals in key fields earn generally the same or more than their U.S. counterparts. These fields are electrical/ electronics engineering, systems analysis and programming, and occupations in college and university education. In addition, the report notes that employers endure significant uncertainty, time, and expense (government fees and legal costs) in hiring skilled foreign nationals, indicating that hiring the best candidate for the job, whether U.S.-born or foreign-born, is the primary consideration for employers. The report also confirms that a wide variety of employers utilize H-1Bs, including large multinationals and startup companies, and that restrictions on H-1B visas influence sending work outside the United States.

Read the NFAP Policy Brief.