Notable decline in H1B visa approvals! Trump effect?

The H-1B Visa which is a popular one among the IT sector professionals has registered a noteworthy decline ranging to about 10% in the fiscal year 2018. The H1B visa will be granted by the US authorities through which the employers in the US can hire the skilled workforce from outside of the country for various projects. The year 2018, registered a sharp decline in the number of H1B visas granted by the US authorities in comparison to the stats of the year 2017.

As per the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stats, 335,000 H-1B visas were approved including both new and renewable in comparison to 373,400 in the previous fiscal year of 2017. The approval rate of H-1B also declined from 93 percent in 2017 to 85 percent in 2018. However, the approval rate has plummeted to 79 percent by the end of March, reduced down from 85 percent of the last year. It is observed that the US administration has been aggressively pursuing strategies to reduce the issuance of visas under the H-1B program which is visible in the yearly stats.

Also, the latest data shows that in 2018, the USCIS completed 396,300 H-1B application against a number of 403,300 in 2017. In 2018, 396,300 H-1B beneficiary petitions were processed, which is 13 percent more over the last five fiscal years and two percent less from 2017.

It is also noteworthy that in 2018, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services completed 850,000 naturalization requests, the highest in the last five year with a grant of about 1.1 million green cards. Trump’s policies have been affecting most of the sectors in the US and the same effect is visible here.