AMERICA: JOB PARADISE ?
H-1B Visa: allows you to work for 6 years in the USA

The United States of America, or simply America, has been a pole of attraction for a large pool of graduates from most Arab countries. This is not new, US. Government statistics state that Middle Easterners are one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in America. Their number has grown more than seven-fold, from less than 200,000 in 1970 to nearly 1.5 million in 2000 ! Even after September 11, the State Department received some 1.5 million applications from the region for the visa lottery, which awards 50,000 green cards to those who win a random drawing. Assuming no change in immigration policy, 1.1 million new immigrants (legal and illegal) from the Middle East are projected by various studies to settle in the U.S. by 2010.

In addition to this permanent emigration - where one starts by obtaining a Green Card - another option exists for those who seek to reside temporarily in the USA for work. This is a special work permit for employing foreigners in specialty occupations defined as " occupations which require theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge, and attainment of a bachelor's or higher degree for the specific specialization (or its equivalent in experience)." This program is more commonly known as H-1B Visas.

H-1B Visa
The H-1B temporary worker visa is designated for individuals coming to the U.S. to perform services in a specialty occupations (as described before). H-1B visa holders are eligible for a total maximum stay of six years; an initial visa may cover a period of up to three years. It may be extended thereafter for a total of six years, regardless of the number of jobs held in H-1B status. The hiring department of the prospective employer (the US company) requesting to bring over a particular "qualified" non US citizen or permanent resident must provide documentation to prove that the job requires a person with special qualifications and that the foreign individual has those qualifications. The Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS) makes the final determination on whether or not the individual is qualified for the H-1B classification

While the INS requires a company applying for an H-1B slot to state that it searched for and couldn't find a qualified American worker for the job; the INS doesn't verify that a search was conducted unless a complaint is filed. Many hiring managers say they prefer to recruit the best person for the job--and if that person turns out to be a foreign national, so be it. Some unemployed Americans don't believe that most employers conduct thorough searches for U.S. workers before hiring foreign ones.

With regards to salary regulation, the requirement is that H-1B visa holders be paid prevailing wage rates. Employers seeking to hire H-1B workers can base their prevailing wage rate on third-party salary surveys up to 2 years old. An H-1B worker in a job since the beginning of 2001 might still be getting the 1999 prevailing wage. During that time, annual increases in IT salaries averaged about 8%.

So how many apply for an H1-B visa ? and how many are accepted ? and who are they?

Last year (2001) the Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS) reported the following:

Total number of H-1B applications : 342,000
Total number of approved applications: 331,000

In 2000: 299,000 applications were filed and 257,600 approved.

So where do the H-1B visa applicants come from ?

The top two countries from which professionals apply are:
India: 49% 161,000
China: 8% 27,330
Of the top 20 countries representing 85% of applicants non is from the Arab world !

The main occupations of H-1B visa applications:

The average salary for a first job in the USA for an H-1B visa holder is around USD 55,000

Applicants age group distribution:

Applicants highest education reached:

You may also be interested in a previous "Interest Zone" article on IT work opportunities for foreigners in Canada (click here)

More on permanent emigration to the United States:

A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies (by Steven A. Camarota, the Center's Director of Research ) is the first to examine the size, growth, and characteristics of this population. It states that Middle Easterners are one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in America. Their number has grown more than seven-fold, from less than 200,000 in 1970 to nearly 1.5 million in 2000. Of those 150,000, or about 10 percent, are illegal aliens; preliminary Census Bureau estimates show a similar number.

Interest in coming to the United States remains very strong in the Middle East.

The report also indicates that the religious composition of Middle Eastern immigrants has changed dramatically over the years. In 1970 an estimated 15 percent (29,000) of immigrants from the region were Muslims, by 2000 an estimated 73 percent (1.1 million) of all Middle Eastern immigrants were Muslim.

California has the largest Middle Eastern immigrant population with nearly 400,000. Of states with the most Middle Eastern immigrants, Virginia has the fastest growing population, followed by Texas, Michigan, and New York.

Middle Eastern immigrants are one of the most educated immigrant groups in America. In 2000, 49 percent had at least a bachelor's degree, compared to 28 percent of natives. There is little evidence of systematic discrimination in the job market against the group. In 2000, median earnings for Middle Eastern immigrant men were $39,000, slightly higher than the $38,000 for natives.

Middle Easterners have a high rate of citizenship, with 55 percent holding American citizenship, compared to 38 percent of immigrants overall.

Source: INS statistics, Center for Immigration Studies in Washington research, Washington Post.