Applying for H1B Visa 2009 (FY 2010) – Think Twice!
By HSB
H1B Visa season is coming up in couple of months. Time for the companies to prepare the applications to file H-1B Visa. But, everyone in the world is certainly feeling the pain of U.S. Economy recession. More than 500,000 employees were laid off in Jan 2009 alone. One of Senator has requested Microsoft to lay off H1 B workers before American workers.
More than 1 Million jobs were lost in last few months. Finding a job right now is very difficult. If you follow comments to some of the articles here, many applied for H1 last year, got selected in lottery, but employer haven’t send the approval papers for visa stamping. There are not many job openings available right now and for available openings, more than 1000 people apply for single position. Lots of employees are in bench, trying hard to find any contract position. But, not many positions are open in the job market.
Expected Number of H1B Expected for 2009 ( FY 2010)
Its really hard to predict number of petition USCIS will receive this year, but I feel, it will be 20 to 30% lower than last year. There is certainly fear to apply for H1 from outside US and its very hard to come to US if your consulting firm cannot find jobs for you.
One of my friend said, he would prefer to stay in India and get a better job then applying for H1 and living with uncertainty of not find a job after coming to U.S.
Economy will rebound in 1-2 years. People who got laid off will find new jobs when economy starts to improve. But, how long does it take to find a job when more than applications are applying for a single position? I will let you decide on that time frame. Here’s link to Frequently Asked questions about H1b Visa 2009 lottery process.
Students Extending Graduation Date
Current students in U.S. in F1 visa will also try to delay the graduation and when economy will pickup they will also be in the job market. Overall, things are not good. If you happen to read CNN, you will come across stories like VP who was making $150,000 per year is now working for $10 per hour in retail stores and so many other similar stories. this year is going to be very tough. But, H1B Cap 2009 set to increase?
Related posts:
- I’m applying on April 2009, When Does H1B Visa Start?
- H1B Visa Lottery Canceled for 2009?
- H1B Visa 2010 – Strict Hiring Rules
- H1B Cap 2009
- H1B Visa 2009 Lottery Results
People,
I got my H1B approved last year 2008, my employer sent me my approval notice in Feb 2009 after i pushed them to send my papers. But i haven’t applied for a visa yet because i am worried about the job situation in US.
Is there any body who is moving to US this year in 2009? please share your thoughts.
Regards
Faisal Khan
hello faisal,,
iam planning for H1b visa, well i complted my engg in 2004 and i got 4 years exp in IT,,could pls give some information to appply H1b visa,,its will be helpful to me
PimPin’ AinT EZ.. But AinT No ThinG BuT a ChicKen Wing… Good LucK H1b-ers
hi,
right now iam on h4 and iam in a dilema whether to apply for h1 or not?
and i don’t find any good consultant could you please suggest me what to do
Simple!!!….Dont Apply….WHY THE HELL YOU WANT TO APPLY IF YOU DON’T HAVE A JOB….
Even I am not applying for my wife, being not selected last 2 times in lottery.. If you already on H4, it will be tough to manage the visa status without having a job. As market is gloomy it’s better to wait for 1 more year..