Restriction of foreign IT professionals can hurt US businesses: Study

Washington, May 14 (ANI): A study has shown that if skilled foreign IT professionals were restricted from working in the United States, it would actually affect American workers, as it would lead firms into hiring IT pros to work outside the US.

According to the Management Insights feature, the study, which relies on salary data of more than 50,000 IT professionals, puts into doubt calls for more restrictive policies for workers in the United States on H-1B visas.

-1B is a temporary work visa issued to employers allowing them to hire professionals in occupations that require a bachelor's degree and highly specialized skills.

The authors warn that enacting policies that restrict the number of skilled IT professionals would lead American companies off-shore, hiring IT pros to work outside the U.S.

They say that reports of Microsoft hiring foreign IT professionals in Canada, who were denied visas to work in the U.S., suggests that the damage may already be happening.

In a worst case scenario, they warn, policies restricting immigration of specialized workers will hurt the long-term competitiveness of U.S. firms and the domestic economy.

The authors argue that higher quotas for specialized workers benefit American companies.

"A culturally and globally diverse workforce, even if it comes at a higher price and means paying higher wages for foreign IT professionals, may prove highly effective in capitalizing on opportunities for leveraging foreign countries as source or as markets for improved competitiveness," the authors wrote.

The findings appear in the current issue of Management Science, the flagship journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). (ANI)