When did the United States of America (USA) launch the H1-B visa. Let's find out
The US Congress created the H-1B programme in 1990. The law initially capped the number of H-1B visas issued per fiscal year at 65,000.
Since 2004, the number of new H-1B visas issued has been capped at 85,000 per year. Out of this chunk, 20,000 are reserved for foreign students with master’s degrees or higher qualifications from American universities.
Though granted for three years, these visas can be extended up to six years. Individuals can apply for an H-1B visa only if they have secured a job with a US-based sponsoring company or institution.
The US government also grants extensions for those already employed in the country.
How many are granted
As per the latest information available with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), some 3,86,000 H-1B applications were approved in 2023 (October 2022 - September 2023).
This includes nearly 1,19,000 new H-1B visas and approximately 2,67,000 extensions of existing visas. The total number of visas approved for 2023 is a decrease from over 4,74,000 in 2022.
The latest data revealed that approximately 72% of visas were issued to Indian nationals, followed by 12% to Chinese citizens.
H1-B visas are always in high demand. The number of eligible registrations published by the USCIS showed 7,58,994 applications in 2024, compared to 4,74,421 in 2023.
When the number of applications surpasses the available visas, the USCIS goes for a lottery system — a process many critics argue exposes a fundamental flaw in the system.
The majority of approved applicants work in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. The largest group is in computer-related jobs, accounting for 65% of visa approvals in the 2023 fiscal year.
Approximately 10% of those approved in 2023 were employed in architecture, engineering and surveying.
While these changes are administrative in nature, the fear is that the special visa category could be headed for more changes under the weight of political compulsions during Trump 2.0.
