Demand for skilled foreign workers quickly surpassed the nation’s visa limits for next fiscal year, prompting the government to announce this month that it is no longer accepting petitions.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed Monday that it received about 124,000 petitions for visas through the H-1B program after it started accepting paperwork April 1. USCIS had predicted it would hit its annual visa cap by last Friday after thousands of petitions started pouring in.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last week that metro Atlanta’s demand for these skilled foreign workers is among the highest in the nation and that many of them are working for some of the region’s most well-known companies — including Coca-Cola and UPS — and for all levels of government.
USCIS said that because it has received so many petitions for the visa for fiscal year 2014, it will use a lottery system to award them.
H-1B visas are reserved for foreigners who can work temporarily in specialty fields that require some level of theoretical or technical expertise. Many of the jobs require a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent in experience.
By law, the government may not issue more than 65,000 H-1B visas across the nation per year, with some exceptions. Additionally, 20,000 more visas are available for those who have received graduate degrees from U.S. schools.
Congress is now debating whether more H-1B visas should be made available as part of a major overhaul of the nation’s immigration system.
Supporters of expanding the program say employers can’t always find U.S. citizens with the right skills, specifically in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“Reaching the cap so quickly shows that this limit set on recruiting foreign talent just isn’t based on actual labor force demand,” Laura Lichter, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said in a prepared statement. Issuing more visas will benefit the economy, she said.
Critics say the program depresses U.S. wages and that these jobs should go to U.S. citizens, particularly amid high unemployment. They also say the program is vulnerable to fraud and abuse.
“All too many Americans can fill these job slots if only various congressional and other recommendations are followed to drastically curb the notorious fraud and abuse in the program,” said Phil Kent, the national spokesman for Americans for Immigration Control.
