Editorials / Opinion

Competition, not citizenship, drives tech industries

It is tough to pinpoint whether companies such as Microsoft, Facebook and Google bring in people with H-1B visas with the intention of getting the same quality of work for cheaper wages as they would get from a US. college graduate [“Do visas for skilled foreigners shut out U.S. tech workers?” page one, May 5].

Shouldn’t the most qualified person for the job get it? I do think this industry specifically requires its workers to be highly adaptable because technology is always changing and the brightest individuals who will bring new innovations to a company are the most valuable.

While many U.S. graduates are having a tough time finding a career in this industry with degrees that fulfill the qualifications, I do not think the issue of foreign workers shutting out U.S. graduates is accurate.

These major companies know what they are looking for in new hires regardless of citizenship. Competition is what drives this industry forward, and if the jobs are just handed to an individual based on citizenship, there would be no room for growth or new ideas.

Kyle Andrew Stricker, Renton