Washington: Reflecting the dire straits of the US job market and strict regulations imposed by the Congress, over 18,000 of the H-1B visas, once the most sought after by Indian professionals, is yet to be grabbed.
According to the latest figure update by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), approximately 46,700 of the H-1B visas in the general category were filled up by September 25; against a Congressional mandated figure of 65,000.
Thus, more than 18,000 H-1B visas or over one-fourth of the slot are still to be filled up, even as the financial year began on Thursday.
Primarily meant for professionals from computers and information technology sectors, the H-1B visas have been one of the most sought after visas for foreign professionals in previous years. The US Citizenship and immigration Service (USCIS) have been receiving several times the number of the
allocated quota.
However, this is for the first time in several years that thousands of H-1B visas are still to be filled up even at the start of the financial year.
This is unlike the previous years when the entire 65,000 visas were grabbed on day one. Many a times, the USCIS had to resort to a computerised lottery to determine the successful candidates.
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