US Employers can’t Secure Foreign Staffs Due to Low H-1B Visas Annual Cap
Following the low annual cap for awarding H-1B visas, American employers need help hiring foreign workers.
The National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) recently published a paper titled “H1B Petitions and Denial Rates in FY 2023” that came to this result. And according to the report, the limited number of H-1B visas approved each month is the only issue with these visas.
H-1B visa denial rates were formerly exceptionally high under the Trump administration; however, following the administration’s defeat in federal court, the situation reversed.
The H-1B visa, also termed a Person in Specialty visa, enables US firms to hire qualified foreign nationals working in particular professions, such as professors, IT specialists, accountants, architects, and accountants.
The study states that there is an annual cap of 85,000 H-1B visa allocations. Yet, US firms submitted approximately 4,83,000 H-1B registrations in April of last year, according to data compiled by the United States Citizenship Immigration Services (USCIS).
A total of 85,000 H-1B visas are distributed each year, of which 20,000 are reserved for employees with advanced degrees from American universities. The remaining 65,000 visas are granted through a lottery system.
According to reports, foreign nationals make up the majority of students in US universities, and around 70% of full-time electrical engineering and computer and information science graduates come from outside the country.
Stuart Anderson, the executive director of NFAP, made this point in a statement.
“Despite the end of the Trump administration’s immigration restriction policies that made US businesses less competitive in the international battle for talent, companies in America must, however, cope with the low annual cap on H-1B petitions and employment-based green cards,“
It has been emphasized that internationals substantially contribute to the US economy. A recent NFAP survey indicated that at least one immigrant founder might be identified in around 55% of American startup companies valued at $1 billion or more.
According to a recent NFAP report, Amazon received the first employment approval for most of its H-1B petitions in 2023, and it was mentioned that the business had 6,396 applications approved last year.
The Mint research also noted that after most tech firms cut their workforce by dismissing their employees, layoffs for US workers may be more complex because they are required to locate another employment in the US to maintain their H-1B status.
