CBS Misses The Mark On American Job Loss And H-1B Visa Issues

A segment of the March 19 CBS “60 Minutes” TV show reported on the H-1B visa program. The show shed light on the pain and suffering of Americans losing their jobs to foreign low-wage workers and the indignity in the way it happens. Interviewees pointed out that companies exploit the H-1B visa program as a strategy for acquiring cheaper labor rather than higher talent skills – and that’s absolutely true. The show focused the spotlight on American companies “hijacking” the H-1B visa program, using it in a way that was not intended when the legislation was written. The segment ended with an interviewee’s doomsday-type projection that American job loss to companies in India won’t end. That’s where I believe CBS and “60 Minutes” missed the mark – there is absolutely a pathway out of this situation, and many American companies started on that path over a year ago.

The H-1B visa legislation was originally enacted to help fill gaps in the high-tech workforce with highly skilled employees in situations where there weren’t enough Americans with the necessary skills. But it has been exploited as a cost-reduction strategy, replacing American workers with cheaper labor (often referred to in the services industry as the labor arbitrage model).

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