H‑1B workers are leaving their initial H‑1B employers more than ever, as per a report by David J Bier, director, immigration studies at Cato Institute.
From fiscal year 2005 to 2023, H‑1B workers changed jobs over 1 million times (1,090,890). The number of switches grew from about 24,000 in 2005 to a record 130,576 in 2022—a more than fivefold increase. In fiscal year 2023, H‑1B workers changed jobs 117,153 times, a slight decline from 2022.
Bier's authored report says that on another front, H‑1B job shifting is more common than H‑1B workers starting H‑1B employment for the first time.
“In 2023, about 61 per cent of all H‑1B workers starting with a new employer were existing H‑1B workers hired away from other employers in the US. This means that American employers are more likely to hire an H‑1B worker already in the country in H‑1B status.”
The labor market has generally been tighter, leading to more job switching in general. In addition, more H‑1B workers are employed in the US now for other employers to poach, and because the H‑1B cap has been so quickly met every year since 2014, there is more reason to poach. The government also made it somewhat easier to switch H‑1B jobs in 2017 by giving them a sixty‐day grace period to find a new job after losing a job.
Finally, the jump in switching in 2021 is at least partially attributable to the record number of green card applications filed that year. After 180 days, H‑1B workers who have filed a green card application may change jobs without the employer being forced to restart the green card process, easing the job‐switching process.
However, in 2022, the number of pending employment‐based green card applications declined from 2021, so this is only part of the story.
What are the challenges?
The report points out that “Of course, it is true that H‑1B workers are still not treated equally in the labor market. New H‑1B employers have to pay hefty fees to poach them, and the shortage of green cards for Indian workers can wrongly make those workers feel that they have to stick with their existing employer to complete that process. The best solution would be to make the conversion to a green card automatic rather than requiring a renewal a after three years.”
It adds “The sixty‐day grace period to find a new job is still not long enough to give many workers the confidence to simply quit a problematic job without a new one already lined up.”
What is the process for a job transfer for an H-1B holder?
