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A group that backs a visa program designed to bring high-skilled foreign workers to the U.S. says that some of the approximately $3 billion in visa fees paid by employers benefits science and math scholarships, U.S. worker training and anti-fraud activities.

National Foundation for American Policy points to the fees as a reason to maintain the visa program. The foundation supports policies allowing businesses to hire foreign workers.

The money has paid for 58,000 student scholarships distributed by the National Science Foundation and for 100,000 U.S. workers to get training through the Labor Department, says the report. Some opponents say the visas cost Americans jobs.

H-1B visas allow foreigners to work in the United States. The visas are temporary, are good for up to six years and can lead to a green card if an employer sponsors the worker. Businesses maintain they are important for bringing needed skills that cannot be found in the U.S. and are necessary because waits for green cards, which provide legal residency, are too long.

“In addition to being required to pay professionals on H-1B visas the same wage as a comparable U.S. worker, the H1-B fees, the legal costs, the staff time and the uncertainty of the immigration process demonstrate the employers really need these individuals and they’re complementing the U.S. work force rather than taking jobs from U.S. workers,” said Stuart Anderson, the foundation’s executive director.

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By Suzanne Gambo

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