ASATA’s stance on U.S. guest worker policies

1. Our position and why this is needed

We are releasing this statement at a moment when the American right wing is divided over the issue of skilled immigration and guest worker visas. With Donald Trump entering his second presidential term, white nationalists and their associates seek to restrict all immigration to the United States. Opposing them are tech industry oligarchs and Hindu reactionaries, who insist that high-wage skilled guest workers are meritocratically superior to low-wage and undocumented guest workers (who are, of course, demonized by both sides). When our opponents are in conflict, we have the opportunity to gain ground.

As a San Francisco Bay Area organization, ASATA’s membership includes current and former H-1B workers, their families, and their friends. We see the struggles of H-1B guest workers as intrinsically linked to those of all guest workers in the United States, as all guest workers hold in common a state of precarity and exploitation enforced by U.S. border policy. We hope to join these efforts in a common purpose – to fight together against all deportations, employment-based visa restrictions, visa overstay punishments, and all other forms of coercion levied against guest workers under the U.S. immigration framework.

2. Who are H-1B workers?

H-1B workers are skilled professionals who fill critical roles in specialized fields such as technology, engineering, and healthcare, often in high-wage positions. South Asians, particularly those from India, form a significant portion of this workforce. Indian nationals comprise 72% of all approved H-1B petitions in FY 2023. Workers from Pakistan and Nepal are also among the top ten countries associated with the H-1B program.

3. How do H-1B workers relate to the fight for guest workers’ rights?

There are several points of overlapping interest between H-1B workers and other guest workers. Family migration for all categories of documented guest worker is conducted using the H-4 visa, and H-4 visa holders must apply separately for an employment authorization document in order to work in the United States. H-4 visa holders may find themselves in similar cycles of dependence, isolation, or financial hardship if they are denied their employment authorization, regardless of the type of work visa associated with their H-4 visa.

H-1B workers and their family members can become illegal. H-1B workers who overstay their visas are barred or restricted from future immigration benefits, while their children under H-4 visas can age out and lose legal status. The threat of illegal immigration status is an essential coercive force levied against H-1B workers and their families.

Ultimately, the anti-immigrant far right levies attacks against all guest workers regardless of wage or skill level, and at present it’s clear that such attacks are inevitable and indiscriminate. No single group of guest workers can be rendered safe from white nationalism, and it is always advantageous to cultivate solidarity in situations where confrontation is imminent.

4. How can we fight for H-1B workers?

• H-1B visas tie workers to a single employer, creating significant vulnerabilities. Workers may be reluctant to report workplace abuse, advocate for fair pay, or seek better opportunities for fear of jeopardizing their immigration status. This system benefits corporations that exploit visa dependency to suppress wages and increase profits. We support implementing stronger whistleblower protections for workers reporting abuse and decoupling the H-1B visa from single employers.
• H-4 visa holders (typically spouses of H-1B, H-2A, or H-2B workers) often face work restrictions, leading to economic dependence and isolation. This has gendered impacts, as H-4 visa holders are overwhelmingly female. H-4 work restrictions sideline the careers of women, and sometimes contribute to family stress or gender-based violence. We support universal work authorization for H-4 visa holders.
• Children of H-1B workers lose dependent visa status at age 21, often resulting in forced “self-deportation” or separation from families. These young people, despite growing up in the U.S., are left without clear pathways to stay in the country legally. We support visa protections for children aging out of dependent status.
• Green card applicants from India face decades-long backlogs due to a per-country cap, compounding stress and uncertainty for workers and their families. We support providing a clear pathway to citizenship for long-term H-1B workers.
• Muslim H-1B workers must navigate Islamophobic border enforcement in order to comply with visa requirements. We support ending Department of Homeland Security policies that target Muslims based on their religious identity.
• Workers that lose visa status while remaining in the United States become illegal, and if caught, may be deported and barred from re-entry. Workers without legal status are chronically underpaid and exploited due to their precarity. We support providing a clear pathway to citizenship for workers who are in default or have defaulted on their work authorization, and ending bars to entry and permanent residency based on lost visa or illegal status.

Above and beyond these specific and immediate recommendations, we advocate for the free movement of labor into and out of the USA. 

5. Reject the right-wing debate, pick a third option.

At present, fracture over H-1B visas is a conflict between right-wing factions without a clear left-wing alternative. White nationalists push for the end of all immigration, while tech sector capitalists and Hindu-American reactionaries advance “meritocracy” for the skilled guest worker and border walls for the “unskilled” guest worker. Left unrepresented in this discussion are any South Asian guest workers themselves.

This is an opportunity to mobilize South Asians who are not content with these options. South Asians exist at all levels of guest worker visa status and skill level, and many South Asian-Americans find that a choice between white nationalists and the Hindu right is no choice at all.

We call on South Asian progressives, allies, and policymakers to stand in solidarity with H-1B workers and their families, as one facet of the fight for the dignity of all guest workers. South Asian employees should push their companies to adopt fair labor practices for guest workers, while unions and labor groups must ensure that guest workers of all skill levels are fully included in their demands. Policymakers must prioritize policies that uphold the dignity and rights of all immigrant workers. South Asian activists should align together against all attacks on immigration, whether they demonize specific segments of the population or attack all guest workers broadly.

We hope to contribute to a movement in which South Asians in the United States stand united across all skill levels, citizenship statuses, and communal boundaries, fighting together for immigration justice, labor rights, and a community that embraces guest workers and their families.