Table 11

Estimated number of temporary migrant workers employed in the United States, 2016 and 2019

Number of workers employed
Nonimmigrant visa classification 2016 2019
A-3 visa for attendants, servants, or personal employees of A-1 and A-2 visa holders 2,162 1,687
B-1 visa for temporary visitors for business 3,000 3,000
CW-1 visa for transitional workers on the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands 8,093 3,263
F-1 visa for foreign students, optional practical training program (OPT) and STEM OPT extensions 199,031 223,308
G-5 visa for attendants, servants, or personal employees of G-1 through G-4 visa holder 1,309 945
E-1 visa for treaty traders and their spouses and children 8,085 6,668
E-2 visa for treaty investors and their spouses and children 66,738 66,738
E-3 visa for Australian specialty occupation professionals 15,628 16,858
H-1B visa for specialty occupations 528,993 583,420
H-2A visa for seasonal agricultural occupations 134,368 204,801
H-2B visa for seasonal nonagricultural occupations 149,491 160,410
H-4 visa for spouses of certain H-1B workers 54,936 74,749
J-1 visa for exchange visitor program participants/workers 193,520 222,597
J-2 visa for spouses of J-1 exchange visitors 10,147 11,781
L-1 visa for intracompany transferees 316,224 337,164
L-2  visa for spouses of intracompany transferees 25,670 25,673
O-1/O-2 visa for persons with extraordinary ability and their assistants 38,706 47,725
P-1 visa for internationally recognized athletes and members of entertainment groups 24,262 25,601
P-2 visa for artists or entertainers in a reciprocal exchange program 97 107
P-3 visa for artists or entertainers in a reciprocal exchange program 8,426 9,848
TN visa or status for Canadian and Mexican nationals in certain professional occupations under NAFTA 50,000 50,000
Total 1,838,886 2,076,343
Economic Policy Institute

Notes: Methodology for calculating the number of workers derived from Daniel Costa and Jennifer Rosenbaum, Temporary Foreign Workers by the Numbers: New Estimates by Visa Classification, Economic Policy Institute, March 2017. All references to a particular year should be understood to mean the U.S. government’s fiscal year (Oct. 1–Sept. 30).

Sources

Bureau of Consular Affairs, “Nonimmigrant Visa Statistics,” U.S. Department of State; USCIS, “Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization, All Receipts, Approvals, Denials Grouped by Eligibility Category and Filing Type, Fiscal Year 2019”; H-1B Authorized-to-Work Population Estimate, Office of Policy and Strategy, Research Division, June 2020; Daniel Costa and Jennifer Rosenbaum, Temporary Foreign Workers by the Numbers: New Estimates by Visa Classification, Economic Policy Institute, March 2017; Letter from Sen. Grassley to Attorney General Lynch and Secretaries Johnson, Kerry, and Perez, June 7, 2016; U.S. Government Accountability Office, Nonimmigrant Investors: Actions Needed to Improve E-2 Visa Adjudication and Fraud Coordination, GAO-19-547, July 2019; Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates and FAIMER, “Save 'Duration of Status,' Protect U.S. Health Care, Advocacy Partner Toolkit” (see infographic on page 10), September 30, 2020, archived at American Immigration Lawyers Association, AILA Doc. No. 20092401 (Posted October 6, 2020). 

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