US H-1B visas in great demand

United States, 29th May: The US H-1B visas are in great demand, once again.

These US visas are used by firms to hire foreign skilled workers in the US.

42,000 US H-1B visa(cap subject)petitions received—As per the information revealed by the USCIS(US Citizenship and Immigration Services), as many as 42,000 US H-1B petitions have been received till 18th May, 2012.

And this is significantly high considering the number of US H-1B visa petitions received by the US immigration agency last year during the same period.

Around 42,000 US H-1B visa petitions filed with USCIS until 18th May this year are out of the maximum limit of 65,000 US H-1B visas available annually.

16,000 US H-1B petitions for US degree holders—It may be worth mentioned that apart from 42,000 US H-1B visa cap subject petitions received by the US immigration agency, around 16,000 petitions for US H-1B visas are from foreigners having advanced US degrees.

These 16,000 US H-1B visa petitions are liable to an annual cap of 20,000 US H-1B visas.

record high number of US H-1B visa petitions received by the US immigration agency highlight increasing popularity of these US visas. It also shows that out of 20,000 US H-1B visas available each year, only 4,000 visas are left now for those with advanced US degrees.

This is despite the fact that the US began accepting petitions for US H-1B visas only from 2nd April, 2012. So, in such a short span of time, the US visa slots are filing up.

US H-1B visa applications are made by firms for bringing in foreign workers with specialized skills to come to the US. Such foreign workers can live and work in the US for a period of three to six years and not beyond that.

US H-1B visas are highly popular for hiring foreign workers having IT or technical skills. Hence, such visas are used by IT or telecom firms to hire high-skilled professionals for working in the US.

Increasing US H-1B visa demand-a sign of improving US economy—Rising popularity of US H-1B visas is an indicator of improvements in the US economy, quips executive director of American Council on International Personnel, Lynn Shotwell.

The organization is a representative of firms hiring foreign skilled workers in the US. He further maintains that the US is suffering from a mismatch between available jobs and skills personnel in the US.