In what seems like an annual ritual — beginning April 1, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will once again accept H-1B visa petitions from U.S. employers who want to employ foreign professionals.
An H-1B is a working visa used by foreign professionals to enter the United States and work for U.S. employers.
Recently, a client asked me: “Do Pinoy professionals seek H-1B visas?” Of course, my answer was a resounding, yes. Pinoy professionals — like other professionals from many countries around the world — seek H-1B visas, too.
Then, my client asked: “Is there a huge number of Pinoy professionals who seek H-1B visas?” I replied, “Not many — compared to other nationalities.”
Indeed, “not many” Pinoy professionals seek H-1B visas. Pinoys comprise a minuscule segment in the H-1B population.
Let’s look at available statistics from the USCIS. According to the USCIS, of the 217,340 H-1B petitions received and approved for fiscal year 2003 (which figures included new and continuing H-1B visa petitions at the time) only 10,432 H-1B beneficiaries were from the Philippines. It represented a mere 4.8% — a picayune figure in the H-1B statistics.
This information comes as a surprise to many observers. Pinoy professionals, despite their competence and proficiency in the English language, lag behind other nationalities in taking advantage of the opportunity to work in the United States through the H-1B program.
Why? I surmise that one reason is the lack of information about the H-1B visa program and how to go about it.
Thus, to disseminate information about the H-1B visa program, I wrote the book “A Guide to U.S. Visas for Filipino Professionals” that was published by GIC Enterprises & Co, Inc. Copies of the book are available at Conanan Bookstore, 2019 C. M. Recto Avenue, Manila, Philippines. Tel. (02) 735-5582.
The book provides the necessary information about the H-1B visa program and other available work visa options for the Pinoy professionals desirous to work in the United States.
The book has been my own little way to help Pinoy professionals know the various legal requirements and the procedures involved in the H-1B visa sponsorship process.
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