Ohio Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Bill Redpath wants to end country-based limits and government caps on employment visas, Hindustan Times reported, but left the affected visa programs unspecified.
In the interview, Redpath said the change should be permanent. He argued that legal routes would allow the U.S. to vet people seeking entry. Separately, he said broader migration would benefit workers, including those in entry-level jobs.
U.S. law sets different rules for temporary H-1B visas and immigrant visas. The annual H-1B limit is 65,000. A further exemption covers as many as 20,000 workers with qualifying U.S. master’s or higher degrees; certain higher-education and research employers are also exempt from the cap. For immigrant visas, one foreign state is generally limited to 7% of the combined annual family-sponsored and employment-based allocation, subject to exceptions.
Redpath’s campaign website says open immigration could increase Gross World Product by 50% to 150%. Economist Michael Clemens’ 2011 review separately describes economic model estimates in a range of 50% to 150% of world GDP. Clemens also examined a hypothetical in which half the population of poor regions migrated. In that scenario, he said changes in wages and returns to capital could leave nonmigrants worse off, unchanged or better off.
Republican Sen. Jon Husted has backed a separate H-1B wage bill. It would replace a $60,000 test with a threshold equal to twice the Social Security Administration’s national average wage index for exempting certain workers at H-1B-dependent employers from additional recruitment and non-displacement requirements. Husted’s separate H-1B wage-threshold proposal concerns employer requirements, not visa caps.
The official Ohio ballot lists William B. Redpath as the Libertarian candidate for the Senate’s unexpired term, which ends Jan. 3, 2029. The election is scheduled for Nov. 3.
