H-1B Program ‘Alive and Well,’ Latest Visa Lottery Results Show

The Trump administration’s efforts to change the H-1B program and encourage hiring more U.S. workers don’t appear to be having much effect on demand for the skilled guestworker visas.

The number of petitions submitted for this year reached 201,011, about a 6 percent increase from the 190,098 submitted last year. The rise in petitions, the first in three years, came despite a dramatic uptick in the number of H-1B denials in recent months.

All employers seeking H-1B visas send in their petitions the first week of April, the soonest allowed under the law, because the visas run out so quickly. ...