700,000 Guest-Worker Visas Issued in 2012

A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies has found that the United States issued nearly 700,000 guest-worker visas in 2012. This weekend, labor and business groups agreed on terms that would create a new low-skill, guest-worker program, creating up to 200,000 new temporary work visas each year. Business groups claim the U.S. doesn’t issue enough guest-worker visas, specifically low-skill worker visas.

CIS found that two-thirds of the visas issued required certain skills or education, while the remaining third were for unskilled workers. The data comes from the State Department Non-Immigrant Visa Issuance Report for 2012 and does not include any additional visas that may have been issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Temporary Work Visas Issued, 2012

Visa Category
Type of Worker
Skilled or Unskilled
Number

E
Treaty Worker
Skilled
11,000

F
Student Worker
Skilled
70,000*

H-1B
Professional
Skilled
136,000

H-2A
Agriculture
Unskilled
65,000

H-2B
Seasonal
Unskilled
50,000

J
Exchange Worker
Both
175,000

L
Company Transfer
Skilled
62,000

O
Special Ability
Skilled
16,000

P
Entertainers
Skilled
25,000

Q
Irish Exchange Workers
Skilled
2,000

R
Religious Workers
Both
4,000

TN
Nafta Professionals
Skilled
75,000

Total
 
 
691,000

* Estimates based on official records rather than actual 2012 issuance.

SOURCE: Center for Immigration Studies