Support migrant centric journalism today and donate
Less than 1,000 United States H-1B visa applications are lodged every week, highlighting what is still a somewhat lackluster job market in the US. At the same time it should be noted that the US remains the biggest economy in the World. If you have the right skills and qualifications you may still be able to find work in the US. If you do find work and have at least a bachelors degree, the current availability of H-1B visas means that you will probably be able to come under the H-1B visa.
The United States H-1B non-immigrant visa enables US employers to hire foreign workers with at least a bachelors degree or equivalent in occupations such as science, technology, and engineering.
Each year, the United States makes 65,000 regular H-1B visas available. An additional 20,000 visas are made available for applicants with a Masters degree or higher.
As of 18 August 2011, only 23,500 regular H-1B petitions have been lodged, leaving 41,500 available. The cap-exempt visas for people with a Masters degree or higher have been, proportionately, more popular. Only 5,300 remain out of the 20,000 are still available for fiscal year 2012. The earliest start date for an H-1B visa is 1 October 2011.
Previous to the 2008 global financial crisis, H-1B visas were very popular. In some years, all H-1B visa places were taken up on the first day that they were made available.
The low demand for H-1B visas this year suggests that there are still significant problems for the US economy. The good news is that there are plenty of H-1B visas available for an employer that wishes to employ graduate level staff from abroad.
