Report refutes claims that those who applied for the visa were not highly qualified

Over 21 lakh Indian technology professionals have applied for H-1B work visas in the past 11 years, an official report has said.

The report by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has also refuted the impression that those who applied for the visa were not highly qualified.

On an average, their salary over the last 11 years has been $92,317, and an overwhelming majority of them are masters or bachelor’s degree holder.

According to the report, from 2007 to June 2017, the USCIS has received 3.4 million H-1B visas applications. During the same period, the US issued H-1B visas to 26 lakh people, the USCIS said in its report, which however does not give countrywide breakdown.

In terms of number of H-1B applications between 2007 and 2017, India is followed by China with a distant 296,313, Philippines (85,918), South Korea (77,359) and Canada (68,228).

The report said majority (23 lakh) of the beneficiaries of the visas were in the age group of 25-34, and 20 lakh came from computer-related occupations. Computer was followed by architecture, engineering, and surveying (318,670), education (244,000), administrative specialisations (245,000), and medicine and health (185,000).

Sometimes, people post their retirement age have been given H-1B visas. In these 11 years, more than 2,000 foreign nationals of more than 65 years of age received H-1B visas. This year alone 122 H-1B visas have so far been allocated to those above 65 years of age.

The report said the custom computer programming services industry received the maximum number of H-1B visas (999, 901) in these years. It was followed by computer systems design services (287,000), and college universities and professional schools (229,00).

Contrary to the general perception, the average salary of H-1B visa holders have increased significantly since 2007, when it was $68,159. In 2017, the average salary of a H-1B foreign guest worker is $92,317.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year.

The Trump administration is currently reviewing the H-1B policy as it thinks the visa is being misused by companies to replace American workers.

Reforming the H-1B visa system was one of Donald Trump’s major election promises.