Not Indentured: Most H ‑1Bs Starting Jobs in 2022 Switched U.S. Employers

David J. BierCritics of the H ‑1B visa for skilled foreign workers often claim that the status amounts to “indentured” servitude. Indentured servitudeis a  contract to work for a  single employer for a predetermined periodwithout pay. H ‑1B workers are not only paid—they receive wagesin the top 10 percent of wage earners in the United States. As importantly, although they face more obstacles to changing jobs, H ‑1B workers are not tied to a single employer, and they change jobs regularly.In fact, H ‑1B workers are leaving their initial H‑1B employers more than ever. Figure 1 shows the number of H‑1B workers changing to a new employer by fiscal year. From fiscal year 2005 to 2022, H‑1B workers changed jobs nearly 1 million times. The number of switches grew from about 24,000 in 2005 to a record 130,576 in 2022—a more than fivefold increase.In fact, H ‑1B job shifting is more common than H‑1B workers starting H‑1B employment for the first time. In 2022, about 51 percent of all H‑1B workers starting with a new employer were existing H‑1B workers hired away from other employers in the United States. This means that U.S. employers are mor e likely to hire an H‑1B worker already in the United States in H‑1B status as they are to hire a new H‑1B worker not already in H‑1B status.Several causes for this increase are possible. The labor market has generally been tighter, leading tomore job switching in general. In addition, more H ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs