The H-1B visa is designed specifically for highly skilled foreign-born workers. One could make certain assumptions about the distribution, one of which would be that Silicon Valley and Seattle with their tech-heavy economies would be metro areas that secure these visas. However, the world famous Pew Research Center has recently concluded a study that tracks where foreign-born workers go. The results may surprise some in that large East Coast hubs as well as Texas metro areas are seeing the highest levels of visa approvals.
The leaders
According to the study that examined labor statistics between 2010 and 2016 (which is the most recent data available), about 29 percent of the 247,900 H-1B approvals went to employers in the New York City metro area. The Dallas metro area was second with 74,000, Washington, DC was third with 64,800 and Boston was fourth with 38,300 approvals. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara is further down the list with 22,200 approvals and Los Angeles is much further down the list (behind Trenton, New Jersey and Detroit, Michigan) with 9,000 approvals.
No surprise
We have discussed on a number of occasions the need for high-skilled workers visa. While employers in other parts of the country may be attaining more visas, the fact remains that employers across the country are finding it harder and more complicated to get the highly skilled foreign-born workers who either come to this country in the short term for a job or thrive in the work environment and eventually gain citizenship. These workers earn an average of more than $80,000 while also contributing greatly to such areas as medicine, engineering, education and technology.
Workers and employers who seek these opportunities have to apply for an H-1B visa, but an attorney knowledgeable in immigration law can help clients with the application process.
