Diversity and the Workforce

Every year a new record is set for the time it takes to reach the U.S. cap of H-1B visas granted to employers. H- 1B visas are a type of work visa, a temporary documented status that authorizes individuals to permanently or temporarily live and work in the United States. As a result of the demand for work visas by employers, the number of immigrant workers in the U.S. workforce has steadily grown within the last decade from 15% in 2005 to 17% in 2016. Compared to those born in the United States, the immigrant population in America is growing significantly faster. This is partly because of the U.S. demand for workers who are proficient in math and science and wish to work in America.

Although a huge demand for immigrant labor exists in the United States, immigrant labor exploitation occurs, with immigrant employees receiving lower wages and working longer hours compared to American workers.  Foreign-born job seekers are attracted to companies that emphasize work visa sponsorship for international employees, yet they are still mindful of their vulnerability to unethical employers who may try to exploit them. For example, Lambert and colleagues found that some of the job-seeking MBA students from the Philippines in their study believed that companies perceived to value international diversity and sponsor H-1B visas signaled a company wishing to exploit workers. Others believed that those types of companies might yield diminishing returns to each Filipino in the company because their token value becomes limited. In news stories, companies have been accused of drastically shortchanging foreign student interns on their weekly wages. In another case, Infosys, a technology consulting company, paid $34 million to settle allegations of visa fraud due to suspicion of underpaying foreign workers to increase profits.