America's Bad Immigration Law And The H-1B Visa Lottery

In the most recent H-1B lottery, USCIS rejected up to 82% of the applications for high-skilled foreign nationals. on the other hand, under the Global Skills Strategy, Canada has no limit on high-skilled temporary visas, and many high-skill temporary visa applications are approved within 2 weeks.

Members of Congress have ignored the global competition for talent or, more remarkably, introduced legislation that makes it even harder for companies to hire foreign-born scientists and engineers.

For high-skilled foreign workers, including international students, H-1B visas are the only practical way to work in the US for an extended period. The process of obtaining PR in the U.S. is flawed, with many Indian individuals waiting decades to receive green cards.

Immigration policy plays a majorrole in highly skilled individuals to decide where to study and build careers.

"The number of international students from India studying at Canadian colleges and universities increased 182% between 2016 and 2019. At the same time, the enrollment of Indian students in master's level science and engineering programs at U.S. universities fell almost 40%," NFAP analysis.

The facts show the H-1B visa category is vital for retaining and bringing talent to the US.

They have attempted to diminish H-1B professionals' talent by arguing that companies hire H-1B visa holders because they are "cheap labor" or because U.S. law gives incentives to hire foreign-born workers. As the data below show, the reality is far different and says more about those making the arguments.

According to USCIS, nearly 70% of H-1B visa holders approved for initial employment in FY 2021 earned a master's degree or higher.

"The number of jobs for U.S.-born workers in computer-related industries would have grown at least 55% faster between 2005-2006 and 2009-2010, if not for the denial of so many applications in the recent H-1B visa lotteries," concluded the economists.