H-1B petitions approved by USCIS for initial and continuing employment, 2011–2013

Year Initial employment for aliens residing outside the U.S. Initial employment for aliens residing in the U.S. Continuing employment in H1-B status Subtotals by year
2011 48,665 57,780 163,208 269,653
2012 74,997 61,893 125,679 262,569
2013 68,785 59,506 158,482 286,773
Totals 192,447 179,179 447,369 818,995

Note: All references to a particular year should be understood to mean the U.S. government’s fiscal year (October 1–September 30).

Sources: USCIS 2014a

View the underlying data on epi.org.