IT's share in H-1B visa drops

Information technology professionals, one of main reasons for introduction of the H-1B visa by the US, are gradually losing out their share of the temporary visa programme to teachers and doctors, a study reveals.

"IT was the reason for the development of the permit, but the visas are now very, very widely applied in many occupational groups including teachers, doctors and state government administrators. IT still has about two-thirds of all H-1B workers, but that share has been steadily declining," according to Lois Wise, an immigration expert who studies insourcing of short-term specialised workers into the US.

Wise attributes the reason for such shift to the IT employers' desire for young foreign workers. "The great majority of workers hired on H-1B visas are between the ages of 25 and 34. Within the IT industry, there exists a taste for discrimination that favours young people and also favours international employees," she said in the study, posted on Indiana University's website.

Teachers are a significant labour pool for H-1Bs. "State requiring bilingual education or funding English language proficiency programmes address the shortages by insourcing foreign teachers. Education, in general, is a fast growing occupational group for H-1B users."

Texas is the biggest user of H-1Bs for this purpose, with five-to-six thousand people hired in that state alone. "There is a shortage of maths and science teachers around the country. H-1B workers are being recruited to fill this need," the study added.

Highlighting the high number of foreign doctors and nurses working in many hospitals, Wise said, "Some research hospitals would collapse without the H-1B visa. Some of the reasons for hiring foreign doctors and nurses include locations in undesirable areas and wages that are not at the top of the scale."

The H-1B non-immigrant visa allows a US company to employ a foreign individual for up to six years. However, the programme is designed to be used for staff in 'speciality occupations', which require a high-degree of specialised knowledge.

As applying for a non-immigration visa is quicker than applying for a Green Card, staff required on long-term assignment in the US are often brought in using the H-1B visa.