Most H-1B approvals aren’t new hires, they’re workers staying longer

A significant share of H-1B approvals in fiscal 2025 relate to continuing employment rather than first-time entrants into the programme, according to the latest USCIS annual report. That suggests employers continue to retain skilled foreign workers for multiple years, reflecting the long-term nature of many specialised positions.

Among H-1B extensions specifically, workers born in India accounted for 77.6% of approvals, an even higher share than their 69.9% of overall H-1B approvals. Immigration policy experts point to continuing delays in employment-based green card processing for countries such as India as a key reason employers keep extending rather than transitioning workers to permanent status.

The broader data shows an H-1B programme increasingly dominated by highly qualified professionals. In fiscal 2025, 58% of beneficiaries held a master’s degree or higher, and computer-related occupations accounted for 62% of all 4,06,348 approvals.

The report comes amid renewed debate over skilled immigration in the US, with recent proposals aiming to tighten eligibility standards and place greater emphasis on higher-paying positions. Yet the data shows employers are increasingly using the programme to recruit highly educated professionals for specialised, high-skilled roles rather than lower-skilled positions.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/by ZTebaykina