As Brief, Competitive Window for Employers to Apply for H-1B Visas Nears, MPI Finds Most Such Visas Are Issued Outside the 85,000 Cap

WASHINGTON – With demand for H-1B high-skilled visas far outstripping supply, employers are gearing up to mail in applications on April 2, the day the lottery opens this year for 85,000 of the temporary visas. But most H-1B visas are awarded outside the cap, with an average 212,000 such petitions approved annually in the last five years. A new Migration Policy Institute issue brief finds that the rising demand for uncapped H-1Bs is driven in large measure by the delays employers face in getting a green card for their H-1B workers.