‘H-1B visa holders are average-grade labour’: Indian-origin howard professor sparks debate

Indian-origin scholar Ron Hira, a professor at Howard University and one of the most outspoken critics of the H-1B visa, has once again questioned how the program works in the US. In a post on X, Hira wrote that a “significant number of H-1B visa holders are average-grade labor that could be supplied domestically.”

With Indians forming the largest share of H-1B holders, Hira’s criticism was bound to get noticed. As the son of Indian immigrants who arrived in the US in the 1950s, long before the H-1B system was introduced, his take naturally invited more discussion.