by, Sachin Ramesh Raval, Esq.

I love Statistics. I love it… just as long as I can avoid it. Thankfully, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification crunched the numbers and presented us with selected statistics for the H-1B Specialty Occupation Labor Condition Program (for Q1 of 2016) and it’s pretty interesting.

The Office issued 93371 determinations, of which 1275 were denied. All were processed timely and they certified 225449 H-1B positions in total!

What I found the most interesting was the fact that 62780 positions were filed for Computer Systems Analyst making it the top occupation for the H-1B Temporary Specialty Occupations Labor Condition Program. However, recent trends suggest that USCIS is increasing the number of H-1B RFEs for Computer Systems Analyst position. This signals to me that USCIS has been scrutinizing this occupation because of its (possible) excessive use. My colleagues in the industry also suggest that California Service Center puts Computer Systems Analysts under the microscope. Our recommendation is to make sure your job duties clearly articulate that it is a specialty occupation.

What I also found interesting is the following chart of Top 10 Employers. Not sure why I found it interesting… perhaps I need to send them some marketing material.

Here is a link to the full page of stats.

Over the next few days we’ll be posting some interesting material on immigration law that will be applicable for employers, students and professionals.

Stay tuned and stay warm.