Amazon, Infosys have highest H-1B visa approvals in draws

While visa denial rates have indeed fallen, the low cap remains an issue for employers looking to bolster their workforces in the US

A new study has found that Amazon, Infosys, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) are the biggest benefactors of the H-1B visa in the US, for which 85,000 new applications are allowed each year for companies.

An H-1B visa allows American employers to employ highly skilled foreign workers.

According to a new analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), titled 'H1B Petitions And Denial Rates In FY 2022', Amazon had the most number of approved H-1B visa applications in FY22, with a total of 6,396 approvals. Notably, the Jeff Bezos-led giant also had the most new H-1B applications approved in FY21 and FY20.

A distant second is Infosys, which had 3,151 H-1B petitions approved in FY22, around 2,000 fewer than its figures in FY21.

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TCS closely followed Infosys in FY22, with 2,725 approved H-1B applications.

These three leading companies were followed by Cognizant (2,521), Google (1,562), Meta/Facebook (1,546), HCL America (1,260), and IBM (1,239).

However, the 85,000 annual applications allowed each year represent only 0.05 per cent of the 165 million people in the US labour market, which has been struggling with a worker shortage that has been exacerbated by the low annual limit imposed on H-1B visa applications.

While visa denial rates have indeed fallen, from 4 per cent in FY21 to 2 per cent in FY22, the low cap remains an issue for employers looking to bolster their workforces in the US.