During the last 11 years, more than 21 lakh Indian professionals in the tech industry have applied for H-1B work US visas. This is according to an official report from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which refuted allegations that the applicants did not have the necessary qualifications to be accepted.
The average salary for these immigrants in the last 11 years is $92.317, with the majority holding Masters or Bachelors degrees. Reports compiled between 2007 and June 2017 show that US Citizenship and Immigration Services received as many as 3.4 million H-1B US visa applications, with 21 lakh from India. In the same period, 26 lakh people were given H-1B US visas, although the USCIS report does not include a nationwide breakdown.
In the 2007-2017 US visa applications, China follows India with 296,313 applications, followed by the Philippines, with 85,918, then South Korea, with 77,359, and Canada, with 68,228. 23 of the lakh given US visas were between the ages of 25 and 34, with 20 in the occupation category related to computers – the most popular category in all the applications. Computing was followed by engineering, surveying and architecture, education, administrative specializations, and health and medicine.
Over 2000 immigrants, aged 65 or over, have received H-1B US visas in the 11 years, with 122 allocated this year. The H-1B US visa policy is currently under review by the Trump administration, following criticism that US companies are misusing it to hire cheaper foreign workers ahead of Americans.