H-1B: Government issues first-ever official estimate of visa population in U.S.

[Adam]

The federal government on Friday issued a first-ever official estimate of the number of people in the U.S. who hold the  H-1B work visa.

At the end of September, there were “approximately” 583,420 people on the H-1B living in the U.S, according to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration report. The agency provided estimates going back the previous three years, but gave total numbers of people whose H-1B applications were approved, rather than the total it believes have been living in the country. The larger “approved” numbers don’t factor in withdrawals of approval or changes in visa status.

The estimates start at the end of September 2016, when the “approved” population was 564,663, and have fluctuated significantly since, dipping below 600,000 in two quarters and rising to a high of almost 650,000.

Furor over the H-1B — intended for jobs requiring specialized skills — escalated this week when President Donald Trump ordered suspension of entry into the U.S. of H-1B holders until the end of the year. Major technology firms attacked the move, with Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai both saying on Twitter they were “disappointed,” and connecting immigration with American prosperity. Facebook said the order would “keep highly skilled talent” out of the U.S.

While Silicon Valley’s tech giants rely heavily on the visa, critics point to reported abuses and say companies including major tech firms and staffing and outsourcing companies use the H-1B to supplant U.S. workers, drive down wages and facilitate outsourcing.

Research by Daniel Costa, of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, and Howard University political science professor Ron Hira, found that 60% of H-1B workers receive lower-than-average wages for their job and region. Google, Facebook and Apple “take advantage of program rules in order to legally pay many of their H-1B workers below the local median wage for the jobs they fill,” Costa and Hira said in an Economic Policy Institute paper.

The vast number of foreign citizens on the visa has resulted in large part from backlogs in the green card system, where per-country caps have meant citizens of India and China, a great many on the H-1B, wait years, and sometimes decades, for a green card, Costa said. Relatively few H-1B holders leave the program every year by getting green cards, but 120,000 to 140,000 new ones come in, Costa pointed out.

Citizenship and Immigration said in its report that coming up with a number for H-1Bs living in the U.S. “is complex, as no electronic data system tracks or houses this information.” Costa said the government’s estimates fit with those he and others have made. “That’s been everybody’s best guess,” he said. “It’s right around where you would expect, and knowing what we know about the green card backlog it looks about where I would expect it to be.”

 

link : https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/06/26/h-1b-government-issues-first-ever-official-estimate-of-visa-population-in-u-s/

[Peter123]

mega

[bhaigan]

1 minute ago, Peter123 said:

mega

typo #MAGA

[Peter123]

2 minutes ago, bhaigan said:

typo #MAGA

ok 

[AndhraneedSCS]

Oka 550,000 US lo undi untaru. Most others may be outside of US for various reasons.

 

ee 550K lo oka 100K -200K ki GCs vachestayi ani @Repo and @Iriswest asalu kalpincharu. emi jarugutundo chudali 

[ring_master]

3 minutes ago, AndhraneedSCS said:

Oka 550,000 US lo undi untaru. Most others may be outside of US for various reasons.

 

ee 550K lo oka 100K -200K ki GCs vachestayi ani @Repo and @Iriswest asalu kalpincharu. emi jarugutundo chudali 

[Rendu]

44 minutes ago, bhaigan said:

typo #MAGA

#KAGA

[DummyVariable]

1 hour ago, Adam said:

 

The vast number of foreign citizens on the visa has resulted in large part from backlogs in the green card system, where per-country caps have meant citizens of India and China, a great many on the H-1B, wait years, and sometimes decades, for a green card, Costa said. Relatively few H-1B holders leave the program every year by getting green cards, but 120,000 to 140,000 new ones come in, Costa pointed out.

 

How is this possible? Only 85k H1Bs issued every year. 120-150k every year antadu enti?

[SnehamKosam]

2 minutes ago, DummyVariable said:

How is this possible? Only 85k H1Bs issued every year. 120-150k every year antadu enti?

Maybe including cap-exempt H1Bs 

[r2d2]

@eve

[DummyVariable]

37 minutes ago, SnehamKosam said:

Maybe including cap-exempt H1Bs 

Anni cap exempt h1bs aa? 

[tom bhayya]

CPT , OPT oka 250-300k untaaru anukundham inka L1's H4 eads kalipithey 1 million avuthaaru 

[DummyVariable]

1 minute ago, tom bhayya said:

CPT , OPT oka 250-300k untaaru anukundham inka L1's H4 eads kalipithey 1 million avuthaaru 

There are more than 10 million illegal immigrants in the US. How are the legal ones the biggest problem now?

[MagaMaharaju]

6 minutes ago, DummyVariable said:

There are more than 10 million illegal immigrants in the US. How are the legal ones the biggest problem now?

kaasina chettuke debbalu

[Catalpha]

7 minutes ago, DummyVariable said:

There are more than 10 million illegal immigrants in the US. How are the legal ones the biggest problem now?

How will illegal immigrants take high paying American jobs?