H-1B Visa Numbers Announced for FY 2001

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) released the H-1B visa numbers for fiscal 2001 today. Employers received 163,200 visas for high-skilled workers from abroad in fiscal year 2001, which ended on September 30. Another 29,000 petitions were pending at that time, for a total of 192,200, close to the cap of 195,000 set by Congress last year, which lasts through 2003.

It is not known how many visas were granted on a per-quarter basis. The relatively high number probably reflects the continued growth in the economy in the first half of the last fiscal year, which also included a race by employers to file before a higher fee was implemented. INS is required to release quarterly use reports but so far has not been able to do so.

It is also not known what employers are filing for and receiving approvals of such petitions. INS now is required to collect data on the employer, including industry information, but has not released this data in FY 2001.

The calculation does not include the visas that fell into the “exempt” category, which includes employees hired at research institutions, certain non-profits, and higher education. INS could not say at this time how many exempt visas were approved in FY 2001.

In the wake of a slowing economy, there are calls to curtail visa use still further. Colorado Republican Thomas Tancredo, chairman of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, last week filed a bill, H.R. 3222, that would cut the number of available H-1B visas to 65,000, the number that was first proposed and enacted in 1990. Such efforts, however, ignore the fact that legitimate visa use in a recession will reflect the economy – as it appears is already happening in a probable decrease in H-1B visa filings.