U.S. needs skilled foreign-born workers

OPINION:

While some like to argue that high-skilled foreign nationals who work on H-1B visas are not valuable or sought after, U.S. employers, international companies and foreign governments would beg to differ (“Canada’s new brain-drain plan targets America’s tech-worker immigrants,” web, July 3).

In fiscal 2021, two-thirds of approved H-1B beneficiaries earned a master’s degree or higher, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The agency reported the average annual salary for an H-1B visa holder in computer-related occupations in 2022 was $129,000, and the median salary was $123,000.

U.S. companies wouldn’t pay such high salaries to foreign-born scientists and engineers, many of whom graduated from U.S. universities, if they didn’t consider their skills valuable.

STUART ANDERSON

Executive director, National Foundation for American Policy

Arlington, Virginia