The debate is ongoing over H-1B temporary visas for highly skilled employees and whether the annual cap on them should be raised. However, a report released this month by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, aimed to shed light on the arguments, explores H-1B request data — and lists the companies that made the most requests throughout the entire US for federal fiscal years 2010 to 2012. Those firms include Infosys, Deloitte, Tata Consultancy, Wipro and Microsoft.
Among the findings: Demand for H-1B workers is not solely to address a shortage in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) skills in New England as proponents claim, according to the report. On the other hand, H-1B visas are not used principally to outsource work to less costly locations as opponents claim.
H-1B visas go to multiple uses, according to the report, which also calls for policy discussion as a first step in putting together criteria for admitting H-1B workers based on a defined goal.
“Current policy discussions about how to improve the H-1B program suffer from limited analysis of its intended use in the region,” said Robert Clifford, senior policy analyst at the New England Public Policy Center and author of the report. “Our analysis of the demand for these visas illustrates that there are a myriad of uses for the program and suggests the need for clearer policy goals.”
Analysis in the report found New England to have some of the largest demand for H-1B visas per 1,000 workers at 3.7 request per 1,000 workers in 2012. However, the states, including Washington DC, with the highest H-1B demands per 1,000 in total payroll employment (for federal fiscal year 2012), according to the report:
- New Jersey, 6.6
- Delaware, 5.2
- Washington DC, 4.9
- California, 4.8
- New York, 4.7
- Massachusetts, 4.6
- Connecticut, 4.4
- Washington, 4.3
- Illinois, 3.6
- Texas, 3.2
The 10 metropolitan areas with the most H-1B requests per 1,000 total payroll employment (for federal fiscal year 2012):
- San Jose, Calif.; 23.9
- Columbus, Ind.; 18.6
- Bloomington-Normal, Ill.; 17.6
- Trenton, N.J.; 10.9
- San Francisco; 8.9
- New York; 6.9
- Durham, N.C.; 6.6
- Bridgeport, Conn.; 6.6
- Seattle, Wash.; 6.6
- Peoria, Ill.; 5.8
The report also found the driving force behind demand for H-1B visas in New England is employers seeking computer and mathematics workers.
It also found a small number of outsourcing firms account for a large share of H-1B requests in a handful of New England metropolitan areas. In addition, the report included a list of the top 20 requestors of H-1B visas in the US:
Source: From the report “Demand for H-1B visas in New England: An analysis of employer requests for highly skilled guest workers” by Robert Clifford.
To download a copy of the report, click here.
