USCIS Hits H-1B Work Visa Quota Cap for Fiscal Year 2023 (October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023)
On August 23, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the H-1B annual quota cap for the April 2022 Visa Lottery has been reached. Each Fiscal Year, USCIS selects only 85,000 H-1 lottery registrants for new H-1 work visas. In March 2022, more than 400,000 candidates were registered for new quota-subject H-1 work visas. The H-1B is the most frequently used work visa by employees seeking to hire international professionals (bachelor's degree and above). The next H-1 lottery is expected to be held in March 2023.
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Multiple Bills to Address the Extreme Shortages of Professionals and Highly Skilled Workers in the U.S. Stalled in Congress
As of late August 2022, several proposed law changes that would ease quotas for work visas and decades-long backlogs for green card sponsorships for international professionals and highly skilled workers have died or stalled in the U.S. Congress. The most extreme talent shortages in the U.S. include science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals and health care professionals, including doctors, nurses and researchers.
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New Polls Show Strong Partisan Divide on Immigration Issues - 7 in 10 Americans Say Immigration is Good for America
The results of a new Gallup Poll conducted July 5-26 show increasingly partisan views on immigration. Overall, a majority of Americans say immigration should be increased or remain the same. 38% favor decreasing immigration. 70% say immigration is a benefit for the United States.
