Insights on Immigration: worker visas

David Shirk


Answer: Yes.

The government’s visa quota system for temporary workers fails to address the realities and necessities of the U.S. economy. The reality is that, even in amid economic distress, there is demand for both high-skilled, high-wage and low-skilled, low-wage labor. The former mostly fall into the H1-A visa category that is used for computer programmers, software engineers and other “techies” in short supply. The latter fall into the H2-A and H2-B visa category for jobs that would otherwise likely move overseas (like meat packing) because of high production costs and/or jobs that are undesirable to many U.S. citizens (like washing dishes and cleaning toilets).

In recent years, the U.S. government has significantly increased the number of H2-A and H2-B visas. Continuing to increase that number — and make it less complicated and expensive for employers — would move people out of the shadow economy, and thereby raise labor standards and wages for all low-income, low-skilled workers.


