Expert reveals how H1B visa program is harming American college graduates

Because the Trump administration strikes to vary the H-1B visa program to profit American-born employees, Skillstorm CEO Justin Vianello supported these efforts in an interview with Fox Information Digital, whereas providing his experience on different points that should be addressed with work visas.

Vianello advised Fox Information Digital that one of many “greatest challenges” with the present H-1B system is the “impression” on school hiring, particularly amongst pc science and pc engineering graduates.

Vianello defined that the unemployment fee amongst graduates with such a level is considerably larger than the common for all graduates and that there’s a “worrying” stage of unemployment amongst IT graduates.

“In order that principally means they did not want levels for the roles they’ve now as a result of they’re considerably understaffed,” Vianello stated. “How does the H-1B visa program impression that? Initially, based on tough estimates, there are about 730,000 H-1B holders within the US and about 550,000 dependents. Most of them, greater than 70% of them, are in IT.”

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Vianello additional defined that knowledge reveals that H-1B visa holders are paid “considerably much less” than their counterparts performing equal IT roles, giving them a bonus over employers keen to pay much less.

“I believe it should be a bit bit broader than that,” Vianello stated. “Along with competing with H-1B visa holders, graduates, particularly in IT, are additionally competing with OPT visa holders. That is optionally available sensible coaching, basically an extension of the F-1 visa, a pupil visa, which, in case you are a STEM graduate, lets you work within the US for 3 years after commencement.”

“Now the OPT visa holders do not pay Social Safety or Medicare taxes, so they’re mechanically 15% cheaper, and they’re sometimes paid 42% lower than their US counterparts. In order a graduate you’re combating this three-headed monster. You graduate with pupil mortgage debt, you’ve gotten H-1B visa holders and OPT visa holders who’ve the chance to take your job and price an employer considerably much less, and then you definately’re competing with the third one, which is an employer’s potential to simply offshore that work.”

Many tech firms have embraced the H-1B visa program, which permits U.S. firms to rent overseas employees in specialised professions, however critics of this system say H-1B holders are sometimes chosen over U.S. residents for jobs. One motive for that is that overseas employees are tied to their respective employers by means of the H-1B visa – as an organization is required to sponsor the visa – and quitting the job may in the end end in overseas employees shedding their visas and their potential to remain within the nation legally.

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“The explanation I’m in America, together with so many crucial individuals who constructed SpaceX, Tesla and a whole bunch of different firms that made America sturdy, is due to H1B,” Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and Area furious about the issue.

“It was a superb intention to usher in folks with expertise and preserve folks within the U.S. practising expertise and learning on the universities,” Vianello stated. “However the final result for faculty college students competing for these roles is actually unhealthy.”

Earlier this 12 months, the Trump administration a proposal unveiled designed to incentivize employers to supply larger salaries or reserve H-1B petitions for jobs that require superior expertise. The rule change, formally printed within the Federal Register, got here simply days after President Donald Trump signed a proclamation establishing a $100,000 payment for H-1B visa functions.

The $100,000 payment — a one-time payment that applies solely to new H-1B petitions — will take impact with the subsequent annual lottery, the system the U.S. authorities makes use of to pick functions as soon as the annual visa restrict is reached.

“The entire thought is not that these Huge Tech firms or different large firms will prepare overseas employees. They need to pay the federal government $100,000, then they need to pay the employee, in order that’s simply not the case.” [economical]Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick advised reporters Friday as Trump signed the order.

Vianello advised Fox Information Digital, “I definitely assume the $100,000 payment for brand new functions will go a good distance towards altering conduct, however that is targeted on H-1B.”

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President Donald Trump indicators an govt order within the Oval Workplace of the White Home on September 19, 2025. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg/Getty Photos)

“We have seen fairly a bit of reports these days about modifications to the OPT visa program, together with when it comes to limiting the variety of visas and limiting the nations they arrive from. That is additionally going to have a big impression on the pipeline of individuals coming by means of. And so I imagine these measures are going to begin to change the conduct of a variety of employers.”

The argument from H-1B supporters that america is bringing within the “finest and brightest” is a sentiment Vianello pushes again on.

“In keeping with layoffs.fyi, these large firms have laid off 250,000 tech professionals within the final 18 months, however on the similar time the restrict for H-1B visas was secured earlier than the tip of 2024 for all of 2025, which quantities to 85,000 folks,” Vianello explains. “So that you’re shedding 250,000 US tech employees, however you are charging the utmost restrict you may for H-1B visa holders. That does not make sense. If there is a expertise scarcity, why are you shedding 250,000 folks? So you may see the way it’s structured. It is used as a labor arbitrage to drive down the know-how prices of those large firms.”

Vianello, who got here right here on a visa, advised Fox Information Digital that he’s not towards employee visa applications typically, however emphasised that they need to not depart American employees behind.

“I totally assist the usage of visas to draw high technologists to the US. I got here right here on a Specialty Occupation Visa, which required my employer to make a big funding to carry me over,” Vianello stated. “What I oppose is the misuse of applications like H-1B and OPT as instruments for labor arbitrage, which undermines entry alternatives for American tech graduates and distorts the expertise market.”

Fox Information Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Amanda Macias contributed to this report.