Indian-origin Howard University professor and long-time H-1B critic Ronil Hira has offered a sharp assessment of the latest controversy surrounding America’s most debated work visa. Calling it “a no-brainer,” Hira said the reason US companies overwhelmingly prefer H-1B workers is straightforward: they can legally pay them less and exercise more control over them compared to domestic employees.
His remarks come amid mounting confusion over the political messaging around the program. The debate reignited after President Donald Trump, in a recent FOX interview, adopted an unexpectedly softer tone by acknowledging that the US “needs certain types of foreign talent.” This shift surprised many, since it followed his administration’s imposition of a $100,000 visa fee per H-1B hire, one of the most punitive measures ever introduced. The contradictory signals have left portions of the MAGA base perplexed.
‘Cheaper Labour’ and Greater Control
Hira pointed to high-profile cases at Disney and the University of California, where American workers were reportedly required to train their own H-1B replacements. Such examples, he argued, challenge the narrative that most H-1B hires are high-skilled specialists.
“Most people coming to the US on H-1B visas have ordinary skills — skills readily available among American workers,” Hira said. “But employers prefer H-1B workers because they can legally be paid less and because they are controllable, as they are essentially indentured to their employers.”
The real challenge, he noted, is ensuring that the visa genuinely addresses skill shortages rather than functioning as a source of cheaper, more compliant labour. “There are very highly qualified people who come on H-1Bs. The issue is how to fix the program so that it is truly targeted at genuine skill gaps.”
A Labour Policy, Not an Immigration Policy
Hira stressed that H-1B should be understood as a labour market tool, not an immigration pathway.
“H-1B is a guest worker program. You are injecting workers into the labour market,” he explained. “There must be a high bar for introducing workers who have fewer rights, weaker protections, and effectively operate as second-class participants in the workforce.”
He argued that these structural imbalances explain why major tech companies continue to advocate strongly for the program. “Any guest worker system needs robust worker protection. H-1B has very weak protections — and that’s precisely why Silicon Valley loves it.”
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