content: Sanders argues that raising wages of H1B workers will actually discourage businesses from hiring foreign workers. Though this makes sense, the law also states that businesses can only hire foreign workers after they have attempted to find a qualified American worker first.  Sanders is just banking on basic human nature here. Companies will always find a way to get around rules like 'must try to hire a qualified local worker first' - they write the job description to exclude everybody but the foreign worker they want to bring in. It's much harder to get around a clause stating "if you employ a foreign worker you have to pay $$$/year in extra tax."