h-1b visa

How did the H1B visa become the 'Indian' visa

2 months ago

The H-1B visa was created in 1990 with a 65,000 cap, but actual annual approvals are about 4.7 times higher due to exemptions for universities, nonprofits, and renewals, totaling around 399,000 in FY2024.
The program is dominated by Indian IT workers, who receive about 71% of H-1B approvals, while the green card per-country cap (7%) creates multi-decade waits, effectively trapping workers and enabling exploitation.
Beyond the H-1B, larger pathways like Optional Practical Training (OPT, over 505,000 workers in FY2024) and H-4 spousal work permits expand the skilled workforce to about 1.28 million, roughly two-thirds of the U.S. software workforce.
Wage protections are weak: the required prevailing wage is often set below market, and the $60,000 exemption for H-1B-dependent employers has not been adjusted for inflation since 1998, allowing widespread underpayment.
Fraud and abuse are documented, including a 2008 audit finding 13.4% fraud, and recent lottery gaming reduction from 408,891 duplicate registrations to under 8,000 after a per-person rule was implemented.
Major Indian IT firms (Infosys, TCS, Cognizant, HCL, Wipro) are the heaviest users, with documented settlements for visa fraud, below-market pay (47-64% less), and discrimination against non-Indian staff.
The visa system fuels India's export-driven economy, with IT services exports of $224 billion and remittances of $129 billion, while a WTO dispute filed by India in 2016 remains frozen to protect its dominant share.
The program creates winners (Indian IT firms, U.S. companies) and losers (American workers displaced, H-1B holders stuck in long green card queues), with some layoffs requiring employees to train their replacements.

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How did the H1B visa become the 'Indian' visa