--- title: "Could H-1B Crackdown Hurt Nonprofit Hiring?" id: "37881" type: "post" slug: "could-h-1b-crackdown-hurt-nonprofit-hiring" published_at: "2017-04-24T21:03:06+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T16:20:08+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/04/24/could-h-1b-crackdown-hurt-nonprofit-hiring/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/04/24/could-h-1b-crackdown-hurt-nonprofit-hiring.md" excerpt: "With wages expected to play a key factor in future decision-making on H-1B visa reform, nonprofits and other employers with less ability to pay large wages for highly skilled immigrants could find themselves at a loss as rule changes are..." taxonomy_category: - "Advocacy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "Immigration Policy" - "nonprofit" - "visa policy" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Executive Leadership" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Could H-1B Crackdown Hurt Nonprofit Hiring? The Trump administration’s actions on H-1B visas have drawn a lot of attention in [different](http://associationsnow.com/2017/04/groups-respond-trump-administration-tightens-visa-program/) [sectors](http://associationsnow.com/2017/04/fashion-industry-lends-voice-high-skilled-immigration-debate/) of the economy, but less in the nonprofit space. And there may be cause for concern. Last week, President Donald Trump [signed an executive order (opens in a new tab)](https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/04/18/h1b-visa-immigration-trump-silicon-valley-technology-computer-reform/100621750/) directing a federal review of the process by which the visas are awarded. The president made it clear that he would like the 65,000 H-1B visas granted each year to go to the most highly skilled—and highly-paid—foreign workers. “Right now, H-1B visas are awarded in a totally random lottery, and that’s wrong,” Trump said when he signed the order last week. While the review is [targeted at large technology companies (opens in a new tab)](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/18/technology/h1b-visa-facts-tech-worker.html) , it could have unexpected ripple effects. “Awarding visas to the 65,000 highest-paying jobs every year could force a salary arms race, which would be fine for Google but not so good for companies whose pockets are less deep,” [Vox’s Dara Lind wrote last week (opens in a new tab)](http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/4/18/15340686/h1b-visa-executive-order-trump) . Critics of the plan say that awarding visas based largely on salary would put many mission-driven organizations at a disadvantage. “Organizations without a great deal of money to begin with still have to pay extra fees to hire foreign labor, regardless of how valuable and critical non-American workers can be,” E.A. Crunden [wrote for the progressive news outlet ThinkProgress (opens in a new tab)](https://thinkprogress.org/trumps-crackdown-on-h1-b-visas-goes-far-beyond-tech-workers-3951395915c6) . Another outcome could be a bidding war for talent. “If a company is offering $140,000 for one position and another is offering $70,000, the $140,000 is going to be selected,” noted Kramer Levin Partner Ted Ruthizer, an expert in immigration law, [in comments to USA Today (opens in a new tab)](https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/04/18/h1b-visa-immigration-trump-silicon-valley-technology-computer-reform/100621750/) . Nonprofits have been watching the issue closely since Trump took office. In January, *The NonProfit Times* [quoted Council for Global Immigration Executive Director Lynn Shotwell as saying (opens in a new tab)](http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/news-articles/nonprofits-using-h-1b-visa-program-face-uncertainty/) that the jobs in question are often positions where an equivalent American employee can’t be found. Nonprofits are “hiring people who have a lot of talent, often in areas where there are no Americans available to do the job,” Shotwell said. “My members are watching all of this very closely.” (iStock/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#Immigration Policy](https://associationsnow.com/tag/immigration-policy/) [#nonprofit](https://associationsnow.com/tag/nonprofit/) [#visa policy](https://associationsnow.com/tag/visa-policy/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [Video2025 Summit Award Recipient: National Adoption AssociationOctober 3, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/10/03/2025-summit-award-recipient-national-adoption-association/) - [PodcastNavigating Tax Reform: Advocacy for Associations and NonprofitsDecember 19, 2024](https://associationsnow.com/2024/12/19/navigating-tax-reform-advocacy-for-associations-and-nonprofits/) - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) - [VideoUrban Land Institute- Project Recovery: Rebuilding Los Angeles After the January 2025 WildfiresSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/urban-land-institute-project-recovery-rebuilding-los-angeles-after-the-january-2025-wildfires/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2017%2F04%2F24%2Fcould-h-1b-crackdown-hurt-nonprofit-hiring%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !