Getty ImagesAn immigration dispute has erupted among supporters of Donald Trump over the long-running US visa program.
The dispute is over H-1B visas, which allow US-based companies to bring in skilled workers from abroad in certain industries.
Some immigration hardliners say the scheme undercuts American workers — but supporters say the visas allow the U.S. to draw the best skills from around the world.
The president-elect has weighed in, saying he supports the program — despite criticizing it in the past — and tech billionaire Elon Musk has also defended it, saying it’s “one of the best for engineering talent.” Attracts ~0.1%” above.
Data about who comes to the U.S. on these visas tells us this.
How many people are approved each year?
The H-1B visa for skilled workers was introduced in 1990. These are usually granted for three years, but can be extended up to six years.
The number of new H-1B visas issued since 2004 has been capped at 85,000 per year — 20,000 of which are reserved for foreign students with a master’s degree or higher from U.S. universities.
However, this limit does not apply to some institutions such as universities, think tanks and other non-profit research groups, so are often released.
Individuals may apply for an H-1B visa only if they are employed by a sponsoring company or organization located in the United States.
The US government also allows extensions for those already working in the country.
Only 386,000 H-1B petitions were approved in fiscal year 2023 (October 2022-September 2023), the most recent year for which we have complete data. Data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)..
This includes approximately 119,000 new H-1B visas and approximately 267,000 extensions of existing visas.
The 2023 total is down from 474,000 in 2022.
There have been attempts in the past to further limit the H-1B program.
In 2017, then-President Trump Signed an executive order This led to increased scrutiny of H-1B visa applications. The order sought to enhance detection of fraud within the scheme.
The rejection rate is more than one. All-time high under the first Trump administrationreached 24% in fiscal year 2018, compared to rejection rates between 5-8% under the Obama administration and between 2-4% under President Biden.
However, the total number of approved applicants under the Biden administration has remained the same as under Trump.
In the three years following President Trump’s executive order (2018-2020), approximately 1.1 million applications were approved, of which approximately 343,000 were first-time applicants.
In the first three years of the Biden administration (2021-2023), approximately 1.2 million applications were approved, of which approximately 375,000 were new applicants.
Demand often exceeds the amount of visas granted – in most years thousands more applications are filed than approved.
In cases where more applications are received than visas are available, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) effectively operates the H-1B program as a lottery – which opponents believe the system to be. I highlight a fundamental flaw.
“Ultimately, if you’re going to have a skilled worker program for ‘skilled’ workers, you don’t give these visas out through a lottery,” said Eric Roark, director of research at NumbersUSA, an organization that advocates for tougher immigration. Controls
“Obviously, it’s not like you look the best and brightest.”
We don’t have a full report on the numbers for 2024 yet, but preliminary data suggests that applications have increased sharply.
Number of Eligible Registrations Published by USCIS In fiscal year 2024, there were 758,994 applications, compared to 474,421 in 2023.
After Trump returned to the White House in January, Mr. Roark said he believed resolving the H-1B debate would ultimately be one of the factors that defined his presidency.
“Is this second term going to be pro-worker America, or a return to the old establishment Republican position that immigration is designed to help employers at the expense of American workers?” he said.
“It will be a huge fight in the second term.”
What industries and companies do they work in?
The majority of accepted applicants work in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Most are in computer-related occupations – 65% in FY 2023.
This was followed by architecture, engineering and surveying – around 10% of those admitted in 2023 worked in these fields.
Depending on the companies, Amazon was the top employer. The number of people on H-1B visas in 2024, hiring more than 13,000 workers through the scheme.
Other familiar names like Google, Meta, and Apple feature on the employer list – ranking 4th, 6th, and 8th, respectively.
Tesla, one of the companies owned by Elon Musk — which has supported the program — ranked 22nd, employing more than 1,700 people on H-1B visas.
California and Texas were the states with the most people working on H-1B visas in 2024.
How much do they earn?
The median annual income of people working in the US on an H-1B visa in 2023 was $118,000 (£94,046).
gave Average annual income of people Across the U.S., computer and math occupations make about $113,000 — slightly less than similar fields covered by the H-1B program.
gave Average household income In the US it is about $60,000 a year.
Although opponents of the H-1B system often argue that H-1B holders depress the wages of American workers, some immigration lawyers and experts push back against that idea.
The majority of H-1B holders earn more than the “prevailing wage” for their occupation — a figure set by the Department of Labor that is the average wage paid to similarly employed workers in a particular part of the country. Calculates.
Shiv Dalal Dhini, senior director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told the BBC that while prevailing wages are “not a complete test of the labor market”, they point to the fact that H-1B visa holders are not. Negatively affects the rest of the workforce.
“Let’s say you’re a software engineer in Washington, D.C. You look at the going rate for software engineers in D.C., and you have to make sure you’re paying at least that amount. are,” said Ms. Dalal Dhini, who also worked. As an official at USCIS on H-1B issues.
“You’re not really cutting wages that way.”
Additionally, Ms. Dalal Dhini said, US firms often have to pay significant fees for filing H-1B petitions, in addition to attorney fees.
“Companies that sponsor H-1Bs. [recipients] He said you’re looking at $5,000 to $10,000 in expenses over and above what you’d pay an American worker.
“The bottom line is that if they could find an American worker who was qualified, most companies would probably choose to hire that American worker, because it would be a cost savings.”
Where are people coming from?
Majority of the approved persons are from India.
gave This is reflected in the latest data About 72 percent of the visas were issued to Indian nationals, followed by 12 percent to Chinese nationals.
About 1% came from the Philippines, Canada and South Korea respectively.
About 70% of those entering the U.S. on H-1B visas are men, with an average age of 33.
Additional reporting by Becky Dale.