Indians bagged 3.01 lakh H-1B visas during fiscal 2021 – 74% of the total
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A new report released by the US Department of Homeland Security shows that India-born people continued to bag a significant portion of H-1B visas allotted during fiscal 2021.
During fiscal 2021, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approved 4.07 lakh H-1B applications, a figure slightly lower than that of the earlier year, which remained at 4.26 lakh. In the two years, India-born people bagged more than 74% of the approved visas.
Of the H-1B applications approved in 2021, 74.1% were from India (as opposed to 74.9% in the earlier year). In numerical terms, these translate to 3.01 lakh and 3.19 lakh successful beneficiaries.
Indians bagged 3.01 lakh H-1B visas for FY 2021
China, the second most common nation of birth, lagged behind significantly with just 50,328 China-born people obtaining an H-1B visa – this was 12.4% of the total approved during 2021. Similarly, in the earlier year, 51,597 China-born people (or 12.1% of the total) were successful in obtaining an H-1B visa.
Top 3 countries of birth: H-1B visa allotments
| County | Number (2021) | Percentage (2021) | Number (2020) | Percentage (2020) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 301,616 | 74 | 319,494 | 75 |
| China | 50,328 | 12 | 51,597 | 12 |
| Canada | 3,836 | 1 | 3,987 | 1 |
| Global total | 407,071 | 100 | 426,710 | 100 |
As usual, the highest number of H-1B applications that were approved during fiscal 2021 were of workers in computer-related occupations. 2.80 lakh people were from this sector, which is 68.8% of the total approved applications.
[Mandatory Use of ESTA for Visitors on Visa Waiver Program]
The highest educational attainment of 56.6 % of beneficiaries with an approved H-1B petition in FY 2021 was a master’s degree. Moreover, 33.7 % of approved petitions were for workers with a bachelor’s degree, 6.8 % had a doctorate, and 2.9 % had a professional degree. With an overall median age of 33 years, of the people who acquired an H-1B visa, the median salary worked out to $ 108,000 a slight rise of 6.9% over fiscal 2020.
