The H1B suspension is shortsighted
As the VP of Engineering for a small Silicon Valley software company, it has been difficult to recruit talented engineers.
Today’s announcement that “Trump Suspends Visas Allowing Hundreds of Thousands of Foreigners to Work in the U.S.” made that task so much harder.
In a sweeping order, which will be in place at least until the end of the year, Mr. Trump blocked visas for a wide variety of jobs, including those for computer programmers and other skilled workers who enter the country under the H-1B visa
The reaction on Twitter was swift.
It’s pretty incredible how many of the smartest people in Silicon Valley came here on H1B visas.
— Austen (@Austen) June 22, 2020
We’re probably talking millions of jobs created.
The world is not zero sum.
Immigration has contributed immensely to America’s economic success, making it a global leader in tech, and also Google the company it is today. Disappointed by today’s proclamation - we’ll continue to stand with immigrants and work to expand opportunity for all.
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) June 22, 2020
every person I’ve ever met that came here on a H1B visa has been extraordinary at what they do. Cutting H1B visas means racism and nationalism are more important than all the advances in science, technology, and economics those workers consistently deliver.
— Matt Haughey (@mathowie) June 23, 2020
If you ever have gone to a software engineering college recruiting event, it is clear that there is a shortage of US students opting for a STEM career. However, the real problem may be even further upstream: there is a shortage in computer science professors to teach those students.
I learned quite a bit about this when my son applied to university. Many universities have limits on the number of computer science students they can accept. That is hard to understand. I get that there is a limit on structural engineers or on architecture students, as the university needs to invest in equipment and building material. However, almost every student already arrives on campus with the equipment needed to write their first Python program. A computer lab can not be that expensive for a university, compared to so many other facilities they opt to erect and maintain. The issue is not the facilities.
The truth is a shortage of docents. Those who in the past would opt for an academic career, are now all working for on of the big software companies: Google. Amazon, Apple, Facebook or Microsoft. They are often doing similar research work as they would have done as a university professor, except they are making quite a bit more money now. It is in the interest of all technology companies to bring more docents back to the university.
Thus rather than turning off the H1B spigot, the government should be opening all spigots which get us more US STEM students and docents. Until them limiting H1B visas will only crush the hopes and dreams of so many talented people and harm software companies. Many of them will start looking beyond our borders to open up another location. It is shortsighted.