Researcher Simon Hankinson, who was previously a visa officer in India, spoke about his experience interviewing candidates for the H-1B program 25 years ago. In an opinion piece for Fox News, Hankinson wrote that the program, which was created to bring “specialty” workers to the United States, was already being used by average college graduates at the time.
Hankinson claimed that comparing a Chinese or Indian student with an American student does not work, as the cost of education differs sharply. He wrote that students in China or India often attend free or low-cost institutions and complete bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate (PhD) degrees with little debt. In contrast, American students are borrowing large sums to reach the same level. “They can’t take jobs at the same low salaries their H-1B competitors can,” Hankinson said.
“Amazon got over 10,000 approvals for H-1B visas in 2025, in the same year as they announced cuts of over 30,000 jobs. Was any effort made to retrain or re-assign Americans? Many other large U.S. companies follow the same pattern: hire abroad, fire at home,” Hankinson added. He also stated that companies do not require huge numbers of specialist workers.
“The truth is, the number of real ‘specialty’ workers that even big American companies really need should fit in a bus, not a stadium. And they should be willing to pay a high premium for them,” he wrote.
“If AI firms are really willing to pay up to a hundred million dollars in signing bonuses for top talent, they will be willing to pay high salaries to get a few essential foreign workers. Some in Washington want to increase visas for foreign workers. Some even believe that Americans should have to compete for their jobs with the whole world. I don’t,” he wrote.
Hankinson also claimed that “fraud, nepotism, and corruption,” have long compromised the H-1B process.
Yet there is no shortage of domestic science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) graduates. “Every year, the U.S. produces more graduates with bachelor’s degrees in computer science and engineering than the economy demands, and overall, only 28% of workers with a STEM degree actually work in a STEM job,” he wrote.
Hankinson is currently a senior research fellow in the Border Security and Immigration Center at the Heritage Foundation. He writes and speaks on immigration, foreign policy, and other issues, both at Heritage and in various national media outlets. The Heritage Foundation is a U.S. right wing thinktank which has historically had a significant role in public policy.
Heritage leads Project 2025, also known as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project, an extensive plan that includes appointing ideologically aligned civil servants, restricting abortion access, opposing LGBTQ+ rights, transforming federal agencies for political purposes, and imposing strict immigration policies. Hankinson’s remarks come at a time of growing debate over the H-1B visa.