The INS this week issued statistics on the usage of H-1B visas during the first three quarters of fiscal year 2002 (October 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002). Only 60,500 cases subject to the annual cap of 195,000 were approved during these nine months, a significant decline from prior years, when, in some years, the cap had been reached by this time of the year. For example, by this time last year, 130,700 petitions subject to the cap had been approved.
Not all H-1B petitions are subject to the annual cap; in fact, according to the INS, only about half of those filed are. The most significant number of cases not subject to the cap are those involving extensions of H-1B status and applications for modification to employment. Other cases not subject to the cap involve employers who are educational institutions any nonprofit research organizations.
Overall, during the first nine months of fiscal year 2002, 159,000 H-1B petitions were filed, down substantially from 270,000 in 2001 and 220,000 in 2000. In total, 147,600 of the applications filed in 2002 were approved, and 42,700 of these were filed before the start of the fiscal year.
The INS also recently provided statistics on the composition of the H-1B workforce for fiscal years 2000 and 2001, the first reports submitted under the 1998 American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act. During fiscal year 2000, there were 299,046 petitions filed, and 257,640 approved. More than half, 136,787, of these were for new employment. Of these, 75,785 were filed on behalf of employees currently outside of the US.
The vast majority, a total of 235,528, of H-1B petitions was filed on behalf of employees under the age of 40. 134,126 of the employees possessed a bachelor’s degree, and 96,654 had completed education beyond the baccalaureate level. The median salary for all H-1B employees was $52,800.
The following tables show the country of origin of H-1B employees and the occupations in which they were employed in the US for fiscal year 2000.
| COUNTRY OF BIRTH | Total | Percent |
| Country of birth known | 257,077 | 100.0 |
| India | 124,697 | 48.5 |
| China | 22,570 | 8.8 |
| Canada | 8,365 | 3.3 |
| United Kingdom | 7,937 | 3.1 |
| Philippines | 7,396 | 2.9 |
| Taiwan | 5,420 | 2.1 |
| Japan | 4,919 | 1.9 |
| Korea | 4.815 | 1.9 |
| Pakistan | 4,651 | 1.8 |
| Russia | 3,983 | 1.5 |
| Germany | 3.534 | 1.4 |
| France | 3,415 | 1.3 |
| Mexico | 2,711 | 1.1 |
| South Africa | 2,299 | 0.9 |
| Malaysia | 2,253 | 0.9 |
| Brazil | 2,243 | 0.9 |
| Hong Kong | 2,216 | 0.9 |
| Colombia | 2,082 | 0.8 |
| Australia | 1,936 | 0.8 |
| Indonesia | 1,738 | 0.7 |
| Others | 41,279 | 16.1 |
| OCCUPATION | Total | Percent |
| Occupation known | 255,556 | 100.0 |
| Computer related | 148,426 | 58.1 |
| Architecture, engineering and surveying | 31,384 | 12.3 |
| Administrative specializations | 18,419 | 7.2 |
| Education | 12,648 | 4.9 |
| Medicine and health | 10,065 | 3.9 |
| Managers and officials | 7,781 | 3.0 |
| Social sciences | 5,179 | 2.0 |
| Life sciences | 5,010 | 2.0 |
| Miscellaneous professional, technical and managerial | 4,748 | 1.9 |
| Mathematics and physical sciences | 4,276 | 1,7 |
| Art | 3,046 | 1.2 |
| Writing | 1,501 | 0.6 |
| Law and jurisprudence | 1,132 | 0.4 |
| Fashion models | 781 | 0.3 |
| Entertainment and recreation | 727 | 0.3 |
| Museum, library and archival sciences | 330 | 0.1 |
| Religion and theology | 103 | 0.0 |
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk. The information provided in this article has not been updated since its original posting and you should not rely on it until you consult counsel to determine if the content is still valid. We keep older articles online because it helps in the understanding of the development of immigration law.