Strong Computer Programming Demand Drives Visa Applications

Employers in specialized fields like the high-tech industry have more computer programming and other specialized jobs than workers, and the H-1B visa allows them to hire foreign high-tech workers. Employers are quickly closing in on the allowed number of visas for the year, showing how large the demand is for computer programming and other specialties.

More Demand than Supply

Visas are going fast as employers try to fill computer programming and other specialized occupations for many high-tech companies. Employers have already used half of the visas for people with advanced degrees in math and sciences. Generally, there are only about 65,000 available every fiscal year, but during the high-tech boom, Congress increased the number of H-1B visas to nearly 200,000. In April 2005, Bill Gates made a personal visit to Congress to lobby for more visas because high-tech companies still need more specialized workers.

Creating Supply: The H-1B Visa

An H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant classification that allows a foreign individual to be temporarily employed in a specialty occupation. The individual must have at least a bachelor's degree, and a specialty occupation can be computer programming, engineering, law, medicine, among other specialty fields. Employers are required to pay foreign workers the prevailing wage in the industry for a job and to show that a qualified U.S. worker is not being passed over for it.

Shortening the Distance to a Job with Education

If you want to get in on a career that is need of people, computer programming training through a distance education will take you in the right direction. A distance education allows you to cover a lot of ground from your own computer and gets you the programming training that you need. Computer programming training online gives you a flexible program that allows you to keep your day job while building a career in the computer industry. With computer programming training, you will be positioned well for a job, and employers may just jump at the chance to go a shorter distance with less paperwork to find someone with the right education.

Sources
Washington Post Computer Programming Visas
U.S. Dept of Homeland Security H-1B Visas

About the Author
James Tolles is the Managing Editor for hq|publications. He helped write and edit the successful application for Sparks, NV that earned the city honors as a 2004 All-America City Finalist-a title held by only 30 cities in the nation. He is also a freelance writer. He attended a four year liberal arts college and holds two B.A. degrees, one in Creative Writing and the other in History.