Nowadays, many companies in America hire H-1B visa holders and this visa is given to those foreign workers who come to America especially to work in technical and professional fields. These visas have become an attractive option for employing companies because they allow them to save on labor costs. However, according to a new economic study, American companies pay their H-1B employees less than their American employees, which has become a big issue.

This study was conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), in which salary data of lakhs of appointees was examined. According to this research, H-1B visa holders are paid approximately 16 percent less than equivalent US workers, when factors such as education, occupation, age, gender and location are adjusted.

Salary difference between H-1B visa holders and American employees

In this research paper, it was found that if the salary figures are seen without any adjustment, then H-1B workers earn about 13 percent more salary than American workers. Although this figure is about workers who work in America’s high-wage technology sectors, when job role and geographic location are taken into account, the difference reverses and H-1B workers’ wages are 16 percent lower.

This means that the pay gap increases to 29 percent, which can be a big disadvantage for H-1B visa holders. George J. Borjas, who was part of the study, told Newsweek that he was surprised to see how many companies use H-1B visas and how many hire only one or two H-1B workers. According to him, the salary difference is huge even in these companies.

Companies are saving millions of dollars for H-1B visa holders

The study also revealed that these companies save a lot on salaries for their H-1B employees every year. According to estimates, companies that hired H-1B workers saved an average of $100,000 per employee over six years, a savings that could be attractive to companies, especially if they hire large numbers of H-1B workers.

High demand for H-1B visa and pressure from companies

Every year a large number of applications come to America for H-1B visa, but the number of these visas is limited. Between 2021 and 2026, there were more than 450,000 applications every year for only 85,000 visa places. However, these companies are still struggling to get visas. The study says that companies are trying to take advantage of these visas because of these savings and this helps explain the high demand.

Employer’s profit and worker’s loss

This study has also revealed that a major reason for paying low wages to H-1B visa holder employees is that the visa holders are tied to the company. This means that an H-1B employee does not have the opportunity to easily change jobs to another company. Because of this, companies can force these employees to work at lower wages because they do not fear that the employee will change jobs quickly.

Fees for H-1B visa will increase in future

From 2027, companies seeking H-1B visas will have to pay a fee of $100,000. This policy was announced by US President Donald Trump and was aimed at preventing abuses and raising funds for immigration services. However, this research shows that the savings of the companies are so high that they can easily bear this fee, without it causing any hindrance in their getting the visa.

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There is a big relief news for H-1B visa holders in America. The US Department of Homeland Security has recently issued a new guideline regarding the application fee of $ 1 lakh (approximately Rs 83 lakh). Many types of exemptions and exceptions have been given in this.

According to the new guidelines, foreign workers who are changing from another visa category like F-1 (student visa) to H-1B visa will not have to pay this heavy fee. Similarly, those who are already living in America and are applying for any amendment, change in status or extension of their H-1B visa, this fee will also not be charged. At present, those who have a valid H-1B visa will not have any restrictions in traveling to America.

This announcement applies only to new visa applicants who are outside the US and do not have a valid H-1B visa. An online payment link is also provided for new applications.

What did the US Chamber of Commerce say?

This clarification comes two days after the US Chamber of Commerce, the country’s largest business organization, sued the Trump administration over the new rules and termed them illegal. They say that this new fee will cause great harm to American companies, because it will increase their labor costs or they will have to reduce the recruitment of skilled foreign workers.

What else was said in the petition?

The petition also says that Trump’s September 19 order is “legally wrong” and will benefit America’s economic rivals. Earlier on October 3, a group of teachers, unions and other organizations had also filed a lawsuit against the same rule.

At the same time, while signing this order, Trump had said that its purpose is to “give priority in jobs to American citizens”. However, this had created confusion as to whether this rule would also apply to already visa holders, who may face difficulties in returning to America.

The White House issued a clarification to IANS on September 20, saying it was a “one-time fee” that applied only to new visas, not renewals or existing visa holders.

It is noteworthy that in the year 2024, more than 70 percent of the total approved H-1B visas were given to employees of Indian origin, because the number of skilled professionals coming from India is the highest and the number of pending applications is also very large.

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