Views on Visa Program for Foreign Workers

There are two sides to every coin. Last week we wrote about the negative impact that Trump’s visa restrictions would have on the American tech sector. This week we examine a New York Times article that shows the negative impact that current laws have had on American tech workers. Here’s 10x Management co-founder Michael Solomon’s take:

While cutting off the supply of H1B talent would be an absolute mistake, there are measures which can and should be taken to improve this program. Certainly raising the minimum salary requirement for those h1b recipients will help ensure that companies are only bringing people in when somebody suitable and equivalent is not available in the United States Right now, the case is being made that they’re bringing people in because they’re cheaper and not because there’s a shortage. There is both a shortage and they are cheaper so by raising the minimum, we can address both the core of the issue as well as the legitimate criticism that the current solution has created.

The long-term problem here is massive and needs to be addressed. Our country and administration has not put in place the education reform needed to create tomorrow’s tech talent. If we don’t begin educating the basics of technology in elementary, middle and high school, we have no hope of catching up and staying relevant in the future.

The reason we are in this position at all is because much of the rest of the world is doing a much better job of educating people for technology jobs. If we don’t address that here, we will never catch up and the problem will grow. We won’t have the text on here to meet our own commands and we will see innovation move to places where it is more readily available

One reform which might really help with this is that the government requires that for each H1B visa that it grants, the company must train someone domestically for that position or alternately contribute financially to workforce training programs that do the same.

These are not simple jobs and educating people for them is not simple but the concept is and could be implemented to start building for a more stable future.

Check out the full article here:

Not Everyone in Tech Cheers Visa Program for Foreign Workers

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