Now Reading: US official warns against bias favouring H-1B hires
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US official warns against bias favouring H-1B hires
Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the US Department of Justice, has said American employers cannot discriminate against US citizens in favour of foreign workers. Her remarks follow a…
Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the US Department of Justice, has said American employers cannot discriminate against US citizens in favour of foreign workers. Her remarks follow a social media controversy involving Y Combinator partner Ankit Gupta, who had defended tech companies hiring H-1B visa holders.
Dhillon, who worked as a tech lawyer in Silicon Valley for decades, said large public tech companies often prefer H-1B workers and pay them less than Americans. She said companies hire through Optional Practical Training (OPT) without posting jobs openly, and foreign-born managers recruit from their home countries. She called these practices illegal and said the administration is working with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor to level the playing field.
The controversy began when Gupta posted that requiring companies to hire Americans is akin to DEI. YC CEO Garry Tan later said the firm prefers hiring Americans. Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk also weighed in.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The debate touches a raw nerve in US immigration politics. H-1B visas, capped at 85,000 a year, are central to Silicon Valley's talent supply, but critics say they suppress wages and bypass local hiring. The Trump administration had previously tightened H-1B rules through higher wage thresholds and stricter specialty-occupation definitions. Now Dhillon's Justice Department role gives her enforcement power under the Immigration and Nationality Act's anti-discrimination provision, which bars employers from preferring non-citizens. Any company found in violation can face civil penalties and back-pay orders. With the administration signalling aggressive enforcement, large tech employers may need to audit their hiring pipelines before a formal complaint lands.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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