If you’re a science or engineering graduate, head to the US for a job

At a time when job market in India seems to be collapsing, Uncle Sam’s nation has had enough job applicants. With most graduates ready for a brain drain, applications for H-1B visas allowing US businesses to hire foreign workers in science, engineering and computer programming totalled a record 233,000 for fiscal 2016, according to government figures released on Monday.

As per a news report by The Economic Times, a maximum of 85,000 of the work visas, including 20,000 for holders of master's degrees, are available each year under limits by Congress, despite years of heavy lobbying by tech companies to raise the cap.


As mentioned in the website of the agency, US Citizenship and Immigration Services on Monday used a computer-generated lottery process to dole out the visas.
"This year, employers had a mere 36% chance of being granted an H-1B visa. U.S. economic growth should not be left up to this gamble," Lynn Shotwell, executive director of the Council for Global Immigration, an industry lobby group said to the financial daily.

The US loses about 500,000 jobs a year because of those limits, according to estimates from Compete America, a coalition representing tech giants including Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft.

But some labour organizations have criticized the program, saying it keeps down wages in the tech sector. President Barack Obama's move last November to ease immigration rules using his executive authority largely disappointed tech industry leaders.

They made it easier for entrepreneurs to work in the United States and extended a program letting foreign students who graduate with advanced degrees from U.S. universities to work here temporarily.

(Image: reuters)