H-1B Applications Lead to More U.S. Jobs, Says a New Report

24 Mar 2008

A report published earlier this month by the National Foundation of American Policy (NFAP), a non-profit public policy organization, shows that for each H-1B petition requested, U.S. high tech companies increase their U.S.-based workforce by an average of five workers. After reviewing all H-1B applications or LCA filings submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor between 2001 and 2005 by leading high tech companies, NFAP found that tech companies with 5,000 or more employees added an average of five workers for every H-1B request; companies with less than 5,000 employees averaged an increase of 7.5 workers for every H-1B request.

NFAP points out in their research publication that, based on data, it appears that new H-1B professionals entering the U.S. are complementing other U.S. hires and not displacing them, as many critics to the H-1B program have stated. According to NFAP, “preventing companies from hiring foreign nationals by maintaining an artificially low limit on H-1B visas is likely to produce the unintended consequence of pushing more work to other countries.”