Temporary nonimmigrant work visas issued, including principal and derivative beneficiaries, 1987-2023
Note: The Immigration Act of 1990 was enacted on November 29, 1990. J-1 visa section includes 11 J-1 programs that authorize employment and excludes 8 non-work programs.
Source: Author's analysis of U.S. Department of State, Nonimmigrant Visa Statistics; Interagency Working Group on U.S. Government-Sponsored International Exchanges and Training; U.S. Department of State, “Bridge USA” (formerly the J-1 Visa Website); Government Accountability Office, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: DHS Implementation of Immigration Laws, Statement of David Gootnick, Director, International Affairs and Trade, GAO-19-376T (February 27, 2019); U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, “International Student and Exchange Visitor Data,” Student and Exchange Visitor Program; USCIS, I-765 approval data, various years.
This chart appears in:
- New evidence of widespread wage theft in the H-1B visa program: Corporate document reveals how tech firms ignore the law and systematically rob migrant workers
- Testimony prepared for the U.S. House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections for a hearing on “Second-class workers – Assessing H-2 visa programs’ impact on workers”
- Costa Senate Testimony just for charts
- Costa charts for Senate testimony 2023 in order DO NOT USE
- Testimony prepared for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary for a hearing on ‘From Farm to Table, Immigrant Workers Get the Job Done’
- Immigration FAQ 2024
- Immigration report 2024
- Immigration FAQ 2025 – for updates
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