H-1B Visas Lead to More U.S. Jobs

Source: TheWallStreetJournal
Our research shows that hiring H-1B visa holders is associated with increases in employment at U.S technology companies in the S&P 500 ("Work-Visa Numbers Get Squishy -- and Get Played," The Numbers Guy, April 1).

One reason the study has been widely cited is because it reflects the real-world experiences of tech companies in hiring highly skilled foreign-born professionals and international graduate students from U.S. universities. In addition to citing the research, Bill Gates noted Microsoft's own internal findings that H-1Bs lead to increased complementary employment. Discussions with executives at eBay and other tech companies reveal the same experiences. It's common sense to job creators that hiring talented individuals leads to growth and innovation.

Our study stated that correlation isn't the same as causation. However, making inferences based on association in a regression analysis is common in much significant research, such as that showing a connection between higher levels of education and higher wages. Our findings are consistent with information from tech companies on the dynamic process of job creation, and the results hold up in estimates with different controls and subsets of firms.

While both the article and our study acknowledge that H-1B visas could indicate broader hiring, we controlled for the overall business climate and found little change in the result that H-1B professionals are associated with increased hiring at large technology companies.

If Congress continues to keep the quotas low on H-1B visas and pushes more outstanding potential immigrants outside America's borders, then we won't have to worry about debating the results of our research on job creation, since it's likely a greater proportion of new technology-related jobs and innovations will be happening in other countries.