Daron Acemoglu, a Nobel Prize-winning economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has argued that heavy reliance on the H-1B visa program could reduce pressure on U.S. policymakers and business leaders to address weaknesses in the country’s K-12 education system.
Acemoglu made the argument in a discussion with economist Tyler Cowen, saying the availability of skilled foreign workers can allow the United States to fill labor shortages without making sufficient investments in educating American students.
“The educated elite has given up on the education of Americans because they think that they can fill any skill gap with importing those skills [via the H-1B program], whether they are nurses, whether they are doctors, whether they are programmers,” Acemoglu said, according to Breitbart.
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“That’s the problem,” he added. The comments revive a debate over whether the H-1B program, which allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations, complements the American workforce or reduces incentives to develop domestic talent.
Acemoglu has previously made a similar argument. In a 2025 analysis, he wrote that an overreliance on H-1B workers could weaken the connection between corporate demand for skilled STEM workers and investment in American STEM education. He argued that business leaders and policymakers could become less focused on addressing weaknesses in the U.S. education system when companies can recruit skilled workers from abroad.
The economist’s position is notable because he himself moved from Turkey to the United States and built his academic career at MIT. He is an MIT Institute Professor and received the 2024 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
The debate comes as the H-1B program remains a major source of skilled labor for U.S. employers and a particularly important pathway for Indian professionals seeking careers in the United States.
Supporters of the program argue that foreign skilled workers help employers address shortages, strengthen innovation and support industries that depend on specialized talent. Critics, meanwhile, contend that excessive reliance on H-1B workers can weaken incentives to train American workers and address gaps in the domestic education pipeline.
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The issue extends beyond technology companies. H-1B workers are also employed in sectors including health care, education and research. A legal brief filed in a federal case challenging the Trump administration’s $100,000 H-1B fee, for example, argued that international workers help address staffing shortages in K-12 schools and higher education.
Acemoglu’s argument therefore puts the H-1B debate in a broader context: whether the United States should rely more heavily on international talent to meet immediate labor needs.