The Truth of Immigration Law

Imagine you're a young woman whose parents immigrated from Africa. You've decided you want to become an immigration lawyer, and you're eager to learn about the work they do. So, you get a job at an immigration law firm. You think, "Great, I’m going to help immigrants find good jobs and create better lives for themselves." But then, you're surprised to realize that the firm works with companies to process H-1B visas, bringing workers from all over the world—especially from the billions of people living in countries like India, China, and Pakistan. As you start to understand the process, you notice something: you're working with a computer program that automatically generates all the forms needed to send to the U.S. government. This program helps people living in cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, or Shanghai apply for visas. They can go to their local embassy or consulate to pick up their visa and move to the United States.

Or maybe they’re already in the US, working on an H-1B visa, and your job is to help them renew it. Then, you see something that really catches your attention. Employers have to prove there aren’t enough American workers to fill these positions and that there’s a need to recruit workers from abroad. The United States sets something called the prevailing wage, which is the minimum amount someone in a particular position should be paid. As you look at the numbers, you’re shocked. The prevailing wage for certain jobs looks abysmal. You think, "Wait a minute, software engineers, IT specialists, doctors—these are jobs that should pay well. But the prevailing wage doesn’t line up with what these workers should be earning." For example, back in 2000, the prevailing wage for a software engineer might’ve been $49,000, but you know engineers were making at least $75,000 back then. You start looking at job websites, and you're stunned: "The U.S. government is setting the bar so low for employers to pay immigrants?" You can’t believe it.

I remember a conversation I had with an Indian man on the phone. He was crying because he was making so little money compared to his American colleagues, who were earning much more. His employer argued, "Look, we're paying for your H-1B visa. It costs about $10,000 to process it. And if you have a family, we’ll also process their visas." But this man was struggling. You listened to a grown man cry about how little he was paid and how badly he was treated by his coworkers.

That conversation broke my heart. It was then that I realized I wanted no part in immigration law anymore. I would google flights to Brazil. I did not care about how terrible I was at processing the applications. I started slacking off at the job. When I was fired, I honestly didn’t even care. The firm was complicit in scamming immigrants. I realized that these immigrants probably had children who would eventually become successful software engineers or doctors—earning great salaries in the U.S.—but they'd still have to navigate that awful system of prevailing wages.

My experience in 2000 made me realize how much in bed the United States government was with these capitalists. By setting such low prevailing wages, the government was only benefiting the company owners who didn’t want to pay the actual wages that their workers deserved. The incentive for these companies to hire foreign workers was clear: they could pay them less. The U.S. is intentionally under-educating its population. If the government really wanted the American people to excel in fields like science, math, and engineering, it would prioritize those subjects in schools from when we were kids. But it doesn’t. Instead, it seems the goal is to make sure foreign workers can fill those positions for less money. And meanwhile, we’re left thinking that the wealthy entrepreneurs are going to solve our problems. But the truth is, they’re working with business owners to bring in more foreign workers, rather than helping Americans compete on a global scale.