Dive Brief:

• Sixty-seven percent of IT professionals support proposed H-1B visa reforms, according to a survey by Spiceworks.
• The majority (71%) of the 429 IT professionals responding to the survey also indicated they do not believe the proposed H-1B reforms will specifically impact their organization's IT operations. 
• Support for reform appears to center around ending perceived abuses of the program. The most typical abuse cited relates to companies using the program to drive down labor costs.

Dive Insight:

This is one of the first known polls in which private sector tech representatives came out in favor of reforms. One of the proposals would increase the minimum pay for H-1B workers, with the thought being companies would no longer have incentive to hire foreign workers over American workers. While some believe reform will help end wage abuses, others believe the reforms will bar the the best and brightest minds from working in this country.

President Trump has made H-1B visa reform a goal. Meanwhile, senators on both side of the aisle have proposed H-1B visa reform legislation. The private sector, however, has tended to object to reform efforts, especially the tech sector, which uses the majority of the H-1B visas issued each year.