As a Berkeley professor, I see the impact H-1B visas and AI have on students' job opportunities

The H-1B visa program was intended to bring in specialized talent from abroad, but instead it has become a tool for employers to hire lower-cost labor for ordinary jobs. The result is a distorted job market, where highly skilled workers are being squeezed out of the H-1B visa program by spam applications for ordinary workers who then take entry-level positions that are already in short supply. This misuse of H-1B visas has a negative synergy with growing impact of AI on the job market and is part of a larger problem that urgently needs attention. The impact of this visa-farming problem is particularly acute among young people and recent college graduates, who face a bleak job market despite moderate overall unemployment rates. According to government data, the ratio of unemployment for college grads under 25 to those over 25 has hit an all-time high of more than four to one.