(Reuters)
- Applications for H-1B visas allowing U.S. businesses to hire foreign
workers in science, engineering and computer programming totaled a
record 233,000 for fiscal 2016, according to government figures released
on Monday.
A
maximum of 85,000 of the work visas, including 20,000 for holders of
master's degrees, are available each year under limits set by Congress,
despite years of heavy lobbying by tech companies to raise the cap.
U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services on Monday used a
computer-generated lottery process to dole out the visas, and will start
processing them by May 11, the agency said on its website.
"Year
after year, the government falls back on a lottery system to determine
which U.S. employers will 'win' the ability to hire top world talent,"
Lynn Shotwell, executive director of the Council for Global
Immigration, an industry lobby group, said in an email on Monday in
response to the figures.
"This
year, employers had a mere 36 percent chance of being granted an H-1B
visa. U.S. economic growth should not be left up to this gamble,"
Shotwell said, adding U.S. employers were frustrated.
The
United States loses about 500,000 jobs a year because of those limits,
according to estimates from Compete America, a coalition representing
tech giants including Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft. But some labor organizations have criticized the program, saying it keeps down wages in the tech sector.
President
Barack Obama's move last November to ease immigration rules using his
executive authority largely disappointed tech industry leaders. They
made it easier for entrepreneurs to work in the United States and
extended a program letting foreign students who graduate with advanced
degrees from U.S. universities to work here temporarily.
But
major changes require congressional action, and there appears to be
little promise for such legislation in the current political atmosphere.
(Reporting by Eric Walsh; Additional reproting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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