A wall built with visas

The new economic stimulus package contains a provision that makes it harder for companies that receive government bailout money to hire foreign employees for specialized work. This will cost American jobs, writes The Washington Post.

The Washington Post

The economic stimulus package signed into law last week by President Obama contains a provision antithetical to innovation and domestic prosperity. That provision makes it even harder — some say impossible — for companies that receive government bailout money to hire foreign employees for specialized work.

The chief sponsors of the initiative … say that they are concerned about the plight of laid-off Americans. And they are rightly critical of companies that abuse the H1-B visa — meant for highly skilled foreign workers in specialized fields — to hire low-skilled workers who accept a fraction of the pay commanded by Americans. …

Shutting out top talent from overseas will do nothing to help the U.S. economy or American workers. Making it harder for U.S. companies to hire the best and brightest when they are most in need of cutting-edge technology and true innovation is nonsensical. Such a move would discourage bright foreign students from elite universities from even seeking jobs here; that is a loss to the students, their prospective employers and to the country. …