HCL 5th among top 10 tech firms that received H1-B certifications in US

New Delhi, Feb 16 (IANS) At a time when the US move to limit H1-B visas has left major tech companies perturbed as it will seriously affect their ability to get and retain talented staff, Indian company HCL has secured 5,085 foreign labour certification for the H-1B work visas.

HCL America had 2.9 per cent share of all foreign labour certification for the H-1B work visas for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2019 that ended December 31, revealed latest H-1B visa statistics by the US Department of Labour.

Deloitte Consulting topped the list with 18,306 H-1B specialist occupation labour certifications, followed by Apple with 16,426 H-1B speciality occupations.

Professional staffing agency KForce was third with 10,292 visa certifications and Amazon.com Services was listed fourth with 5,485 certifications.

Social media giant Facebook was seventh, receiving 4,133 H-1B visa certifications for the quarter.

Others in the top 10 list were Cognizant Technology Solutions, Qualcomm Technologies, Intel Corporation and Oracle America.

Indians are the biggest beneficiaries of the temporary H1-B visas, 76 per cent of which went to professionals from India last year, according to government statistics.

In November, the Trump administration announced changes to the H1-B visa system to give preferences to applicants with advanced degrees.

A total of 85,000 H1-B visas are available each year under regulations imposed by the Congress. Of these, 20,000 are reserved for those graduating with advance degrees from US universities.

Immigration authorities have reportedly intensified their crackdown on H1-B visa fraud and some Indians as well as Indian companies have been caught in it.

One of the immediate concerns for H1-B visa-holders is the Trump administration's plan to end permission for their spouses - who are on H-4 visas - to work, which had been granted by the administration of former President Barack Obama.