Thursday's Washington Post has an article on H-1B visas that addresses a red herring that H-1B supporters often throw out: Why would an employer use an H-1B for cheap labor when they have to pay several thousand dollars in fees to get the visa?
The Washington Post gives the answer:
Kumar, the slot-machine expert, is assessing his risk these days. He has paid the U.S. consulting company more than$5,000 to handle the visa application process.
The employee is paying the fee. This is in addition to the tens of thousands of dollars a year an employer can save under the H-1B prevailing wage rates.
Of course the Washington Post completely missed the significance of this.
