FY2010 H-1b Visas Remain Uncapped After First Week

USCIS announced April 8 that only about half of the 65,000 H-1b visas under the general cap for FY2010 had been accounted for at the end of the first week of availability and that petitions would continue to be accepted for filing. At the same time, the 20,000 H-1b visas set aside for holders of advanced degrees earned in the U.S. were close to cut-off. This would be the first time since 2006 that the general cap visas were not exhausted immediately once available, and the first time ever that demand for Masters Cap visas has outpaced demand for those in the general pool.

The weak economy and mordant employer hiring in many sectors no doubt account for much of the reduction. Additionally, the de facto bar on hiring new H-1b employees by recipients of TARP funds kept several major H-1b employers out of the FY2010 pool altogether. In 2007, eight TARP recipients accounted for 3108 new H-1b petition approvals, accounting for about 4% of the total combined visa pools. Moreover, public concern over the U.S.’ high unemployment rate has reportedly caused a number of large U.S. corporations to opt out of this year’s H-1b program to date, presumably to avoid a public backlash over claims they are favoring foreign workers.

A final factor may be heightened efforts in Congress to inhibit U.S. employers’ use of the H-1b program absent a showing of a good faith effort to recruit U.S. workers for the same job. Continued high demand for H-1b visas by U.S. employers – including demand from India-based Wipro, Infosys, Satyam, and Tata, the four largest 2007 H-1b filers– in the face of the highest unemployment rates in a generation would undoubtedly hasten Congressional action. Call it the wisdom of crowds.

Back to Top

<<Home