New Publications and Items of Interest

Characteristics of H-1B specialty occupation workers. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has released “Characteristics of H-1B Specialty Occupation Workers” for fiscal year (FY) 2009 (PDF Report). Highlights of the report include:

• The number of H-1B petitions filed decreased 15 percent from 288,764 in FY 2008 to 246,647 in FY 2009.
• The number of H-1B petitions approved decreased 22 percent from 276,252 in FY 2008 to 214,271 in FY 2009.
• Approximately 48 percent of all H-1B petitions approved in FY 2009 were for workers born in India.
• Two-thirds of H-1B petitions approved in FY 2009 were for workers between the ages of 25 and 34.
• Forty-one percent of H-1B petitions approved in FY 2009 were for workers with a bachelor’s degree, 40 percent had a master’s degree, 13 percent had a doctorate, and 6 percent were for workers with a professional degree.
• About 41 percent of H-1B petitions approved in FY 2009 were for workers in computer-related occupations.
• The median salary of beneficiaries of approved petitions increased to $64,000 in FY 2009, which was $4,000 more than in FY 2008.