Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/177149 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 11345
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
The H-1B program allows skilled foreign-born individuals to work in the United States. The annual quota on new H-1B issuances fell from 195,000 to 65,000 for employees of most firms in fiscal year 2004. This cap did not apply to new employees of colleges, universities, and non-profit research institutions. Existing H-1B holders seeking to renew their visa were also exempt from the quota. Using a triple difference approach, this paper demonstrates that cap restrictions significantly reduced the employment of new H-1B workers in for-profit firms relative to what would have occurred in an unconstrained environment. Employment of similar natives in for-profit firms did not change, consistent with a low degree of substitutability between H-1B and native workers. The restriction also redistributed H-1Bs toward computer-related occupations, Indian-born workers, and firms using the H-1B program intensively.
Subjects: 
skilled workers
H-1B
natural experiment
JEL: 
J61
F22
F22
O33
R10
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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