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"Vivek’s Visa Voodoo: How H-1B, F-1, L-1, and O-1 Hires Shaft American STEM Workers"
Vivek Ramaswamy Is Bad News For American Workers and Bad News For Ohio's Workforce!
Vivek Ramaswamy’s recent X post, a sanctimonious rant blaming American culture for the tech industry’s preference for foreign-born engineers, is a masterclass in elitist delusion. With a straight face, he claims it’s not about IQ but “culture”—a culture he says worships prom queens and jocks over math whizzes, rooted in 90s sitcoms like Saved by the Bell and Family Matters. He pines for a world of “more math tutoring, fewer sleepovers,” sneering at the American family unit as if it’s a factory for mediocrity. This isn’t just tone-deaf—it’s a slap in the face to American workers sidelined by corporate greed and visa schemes like H-1B, F-1, L-1, and O-1. Let’s dismantle his nonsense and expose the real crisis: how these visas screw over American STEM talent, depress wages, and let corporations dodge hiring the homegrown workforce.
Vivek’s X Post: A Smug Pile of Garbage
On December 26, 2024, Ramaswamy tweeted a diatribe that’s equal parts condescending and clueless. He insists American kids are raised to chase “normalcy” over excellence, citing immigrant parents who banned Friends reruns to churn out STEM prodigies. “Normalcy doesn’t cut it in a hyper-competitive global market,” he lectures, as if the American Dream is a participation trophy. X users weren’t having it. @ThinkerPhree fired back on March 18, 2025, “We are importing hundreds of thousands of foreign STEM workers and forcing the Americans they are replacing at half the wages to teach them before being let go.” @AFpost called him out on December 26, 2024, for suggesting Americans are “lazy” compared to Asian immigrants. The backlash was swift and deserved—Ramaswamy’s post isn’t “tough truth”; it’s a flimsy excuse to prop up a broken system that shafts American workers.
The Visa Flood: H-1B, F-1, L-1, O-1, and the American Squeeze-Out
Ramaswamy’s cultural finger-wagging ignores the elephant in the room: visa programs flooding the U.S. with foreign workers, leaving American STEM graduates jobless or underpaid. The H-1B visa, capped at 85,000 annually (65,000 plus 20,000 for advanced-degree holders), is the poster child. In 2023, 72% of H-1B recipients were Indian, per USCIS, often hired by tech giants like Google (5,000 approved in 2024) and Tesla (724 in 2023). F-1 visas let international students stay post-graduation via Optional Practical Training (OPT), with 223,000 participants in 2023—many transitioning to H-1B. L-1 visas shuffle intracompany transferees (51,000 in 2022), while O-1 visas snag “extraordinary” talent (17,000 in 2022). Together, these programs dumped over 300,000 foreign STEM workers into the U.S. labor market in recent years.
The result? Americans are left out. Census data shows only 28% of U.S. STEM graduates work in STEM jobs, per a 2025 USA Today report. Why? Corporations prefer visa holders they can pay less. The Economic Policy Institute found most H-1B workers earn below median wages—sometimes 20-30% less than American counterparts. A 2017 60 Minutes exposé revealed companies like Disney forcing American IT workers to train H-1B replacements before firing them. This isn’t “culture”; it’s exploitation.
Corporate Greed: Lower Wages, Bigger Profits
Ramaswamy’s silence on corporate hiring practices is deafening. Tech firms love visa holders because they’re cheaper and tethered to employers—H-1B workers risk deportation if they lose their job, making them less likely to demand raises or report abuse. A 2022 EPI study showed top H-1B employers hired 34,000 visa workers while laying off 85,000 Americans. Tesla, Musk’s baby, exemplifies this: 724 H-1B hires in 2023, often at salaries as low as $90,000 for roles Americans would command $120,000-plus. F-1 OPT workers, paid entry-level wages, undercut fresh U.S. grads. L-1 and O-1 hires, often from overseas branches, bypass American talent pools entirely. This wage suppression craters STEM salaries—down 15% in real terms since 2000, per BLS data—making the field less appealing to Americans.
State-by-State: Foreign Hires Dominate
Foreign-born workers dominate STEM in key states, sidelining American-born citizens. California’s tech hub boasts 39% foreign-born STEM workers (1.2 million) versus 61% American-born (1.9 million), per 2023 ACS data. Washington, home to Microsoft, has 34% foreign-born (300,000) against 66% American-born (600,000). Texas sees 28% foreign-born (400,000) to 72% American-born (1 million). New York’s 31% foreign-born (350,000) edges out 69% American-born (800,000). These gaps widen yearly as H-1B, F-1, L-1, and O-1 hires flood in, often outnumbering new American STEM grads (130,000 annually, per NCES).
The American Family Unit: A Rock, Not a Roadblock
Ramaswamy’s attack on American families—mocking sleepovers and cartoons—is a cheap shot at a national treasure. The American family unit is a powerhouse of resilience, fostering creativity and grit. It’s the backbone of a society that landed men on the moon with American-born engineers, no visas needed. Kids here grow up with freedom to explore, not just cram for math Olympiads. American life—baseball games, backyard BBQs, and yes, Friends reruns—builds well-rounded humans, not drones. Immigrant success isn’t superior; it’s just different. U.S. parents instill adaptability and innovation—qualities China envies, not mimics.
The Real Fix: Hire American, Dump the Visa Crutch
Ramaswamy’s “Sputnik moment” fetish is a distraction. We don’t need a cultural overhaul; we need corporations to stop gaming visas. End H-1B lotteries and cap F-1 OPT at 50,000. Scrap L-1 loopholes and limit O-1 to true geniuses, not corporate favorites. Invest in U.S. STEM education—$10 billion could fund 100,000 scholarships, dwarfing visa numbers. Companies must pay visa holders prevailing wages, no exceptions. Americans aren’t mediocre; they’re muscled out by a system Vivek props up while he pontificates on X.
Vivek’s post isn’t truth—it’s a smug dodge of corporate accountability. American STEM workers aren’t failing; they’re being failed by a visa-rigged game. Time to ditch the excuses and put Americans first. Now you know!
Sources:
- USCIS H-1B Data: www.uscis.gov (2023 report)
- Economic Policy Institute: www.epi.org (2022 H-1B wage study)
- American Community Survey: www.census.gov (2023 STEM stats)
- National Center for Education Statistics: nces.ed.gov (2023 grad data)
- CBS 60 Minutes: www.cbsnews.com (2017 Disney report)
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: www.bls.gov (STEM wage trends)
- USA Today: www.usatoday.com (January 16, 2025, visa rift article)
You most likely should expand your knowledge and consider reading the following: Why Ohioans Should Think Twice Before Voting Vivek Ramaswamy for Governor
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