Who Are the H-1Bs?

WHO ARE THE H-1B S? MANAIXNY There are a number The program has of temporary visa programs currently in place in the United States. The largest and arguably most important is the H-IB program, which allows U.S. businesses to temporarily employ been criticized for having a negative impact on U.S. citizens, providing employers an op- portunity to exploit immigrant workers. Proponents of the H-1B program disagree. They argue that the country has a shortage of skilled labor and the lack of a well-functioning temporary worker program hampers efforts to innovate domestically. high-skilled foreign workers in key specialty occupations. Generally, it requires at least a Bachelor's degree. Who is right? MYTHH-1B WORKERS ARE LOWER SKILLED THAN U.S.-BORN WORKERS FACT Our data show that H-1B workers on average are younger and more highly educated than U.S.-born workers. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS, BY IMMIGRANT STATUS, COLLEGE- EDUCATED WORKERS IN ANY OCCUPATION, AGE 22-64, 2009 I H-1B VISA Н-1В IMMIGRANTS U.S. BORN 32 YRS 41.4 YRS AVERAGE AVERAGE 5.8% 12.7% 5.5% 4,6% 41.1% 31.0% 58.9% 40.3% BACHELOR'S MASTER'S DOCTORAL PROFESSIONAL MYTH H-1B WORKERS EARN LESS THAN THEIR U.S.-BORN COUNTERPARTS The estimates show that the conditional earnings difference between H-IBs and U.S.-born PAC Workers is about 10 percent, in favor of the temporary high-skilled foreign workers. MEAN ANNUAL EARNINGS BY IMMIGRANT STATUS AND OCCUPATION, COLLEGE-EDUCATED WORKERS, AGE 22-64, SELECT OCCUPATIONS, 2009 N H-1B VISA H-1B IMMIGRANTS U.S. BORN Information +7% $84,656 $79,118 Technology 0% $85,805 $85,821 Engineering Mathematics +11% $84,924 $76,509 and Sciences MYTITHERE ARE NO SUCH THINGS AS "SKILL-GAPS" IN THE AMERICAN ENONOMY FACT As a critical mass of current high-skilled American workers reach retirement age, skill gaps may develop and worsen. THE AGING BASE OF SKILLED WORKERS COMPUTER PROGRAMMERS 40% 23% OVER 40% ARE OVER 45 23% ARE 55 OR OLDER TOO FEW AMERICANS ARE GRADUATING WITH DEGREES IN ENGINEERING (2008) ENGINEERING DEGREE GRADUATES WORLDWIDE U.S. CHINA 63,8% 6,3% ONLY 6.3% OF THE WORLD'S ENGINEERING 63.8% OF THE WORLD'S ENGINEERING DEGREES EARNED IN THE U.S. DEGREES EARNED IN CHINA According to the National Sciences Foundation THE DEMAND FOR COMPUTER OCCUPATIONS WILL GROW AT AN AVERAGE PACE OF 25% OVER THE NEXT DECADE 1,200,000 EMPLOYMENT (2010) EMPLOYMENT PROJECTED 1,000,000 FOR 2020 800,000 600,000 400,000 200,000 NETWORK SOFTWARE INFORMATION DATABASE COMPUTER COMPUTER COMPUTER COMPUTER AND COMPUTER DEVELOPERS SECURITY ADMINISTRATORS SYSTEMS SUPPORT PROGRAMMERS AND SYSTEMS ANALYSTS, WEB ANALYSTS SPECIALISTS INFORMATION ADMINISTRATORS DEVELOPERS RESEARCH AND COMPUTER SCIENTISTS NETWORK ARCHITECTS 347,200 303,100 406,800 913,100 302,300 544,400 607,100 110,800 144,800 28,200 33,500 443,800 1,184,000 367,900 664,800 717,100 28% CHANGE 30% CHANGE 22% CHANGE 31% CHANGE 22% CHANGE 18% CHANGE 12% CHANGE 19% CHANGE EVEN SKILLED IMMIGRANTS HAVE A NET NEGATIVE EFFECT ON JOB CREATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH MYTH FACT In 2011, immigrants started 28% of all new U.S. businesses, though they account for 12.9 percent of the population And before you say that H-1B immigrants take away jobs from U.S.-born workers, remember that one day, those workers will likely become Americans themselves -- and as such, create more jobs by starting their own businesses. NEW U.S. BUSINESSES U.S. POPULATION 12.9% 28% CREATED BY IMMIGRANTS IMMIGRANTS "Why do we offer so few H-IB visas for talented specialists that the supply runs out within days of becoming available each year, even though we know each of these jobs will create two or three more American jobs in return?" Mark Zuckerberg "Given the insanity of the restrictions in the US on immigration of high skilled workers and the fact that we actually kick foreign born students out of the US after they get U.S. diplomas, this novel approach has appeared:-)" - Eric Schmidt, sharing Houzz.com article 'Could Techies Get a Floating Home Near California?" on his Google Plus page SOURCES: H-IBs: How Do They Stack Up to US Born Workers? - Magnus Lofstrom, Joseph Hayes 2011 Why Mark Zuckerberg is pushing in immigration reform - Time.com U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Sciences Foundation visual.ly