In the journey of studying abroad and immigrating to the United States, maintaining a long-term legal status has become the most challenging "pain point," and the H-1B visa is a critical hurdle that cannot be avoided. For international students, wishing to continue working in the U.S. after graduation and seeking long-term development, the first step is to obtain a job offer, and the second is to ensure that the company hiring you is qualified to provide sponsorship and is willing to enter you into the H-1B lottery. Only if selected can you work legally in the U.S. Currently, the situation regarding employer sponsorship is volatile, adding another major obstacle on the path to staying in the U.S.! Recently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released the list of H-1B employers from fiscal year 2009 to fiscal year 2024 (Q4)! It details 500 companies qualified to sponsor, broken down by year, company, state, and even city.
You can visit the USCIS official website: https://www.uscis.gov/tools/reports-and-studies/h-1b-employer-data-hub
From the perspective of different cities: which companies process a large number of work visas each year in various cities?
o By industry: Employers from various sectors including finance, technology, and marketing
o A large number: A total of over 500 U.S. companies with sponsorship qualifications have been compiled
According to USCIS data, the top ten employers providing H-1B visas are:
Amazon [a major employer sponsor, but has announced that it will no longer provide sponsorship for positions other than Software Development Engineer-related roles]
Infosys
Cognizant
Google [internship positions do not mention sponsorship, but it is clear that there are no opportunities for permanent positions, and the number of H-1B applications submitted in 2024 has decreased by half]
Tata Consultancy Services
Meta [requires a work permit upon employment and must maintain continuous work authorization during employment (supports OPT but does not sponsor H-1B lottery)]
Microsoft
Apple
HCL America
IBM
Overall, technology companies still dominate the industry, but the number of technology companies providing employer sponsorship has sharply declined. Additionally, in the finance and consulting sectors, JP Morgan, Bank of America, Fidelity, Deloitte Consulting, and Accenture are all in the Top 30. However, there are also cases where they no longer provide employer sponsorship for international students.
In other words, even if an employer is on the official list, it cannot be definitively determined that they will provide sponsorship for international students. For international students, without employer sponsorship, it is equivalent to being blocked from the H-1B lottery, and the subsequent path for development in the U.S. becomes bleak.
Even if you have the opportunity to enter the H-1B lottery, the selection rate is very low. This year's H-1B registration shows a total of 479,953 registrations, with 470,342 valid registrations, and the final selection amount is 135,137, resulting in a selection rate of approximately 28.7%. Applicants who are not selected must leave the U.S. within 90 days after their OPT period expires. Even if you are fortunate enough to be selected, if you encounter layoffs, you must find a new job within 60 days, or you must leave the U.S., and all previous efforts and plans may instantly become futile.
Faced with such difficulties, many international students are proactively planning their status, seizing current policy advantages, which may lead to a brighter future! A "green card" can easily resolve all issues from studying abroad to staying.
Currently, the most effective way to quickly obtain a U.S. green card is through the EB-5 rural project under the EB-5 reserved visa category. This project has no waiting period and has priority processing rights with the immigration bureau. At the same time, EB-5 applicants within the U.S., including international students, can file for "concurrent filing," meaning applicants without a waiting period can simultaneously submit the I-526E immigration application and the I-485 adjustment of status application, and can also apply for travel permission I-131 and work permission I-765, allowing them to legally reside, study, and work in the U.S., enjoying the freedoms of a quasi-green card in advance.
It can be said that EB-5 concurrent filing is currently the fastest way to resolve work and immigration status issues among all immigration categories. If you are interested, be sure to act quickly, seize the opportunity, apply early, get approved early, and benefit early!
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