10 companies that badly want visas for skilled immigrant workers

The race for visas to bring highly skilled workers into the U.S. begins on April 1.

That’s when the federal government opens the application process for its coveted H-1B visas, which allow specialized workers, typically with a bachelor’s degree or higher, to enter the country on a temporary basis.

Bringing highly skilled immigrant workers into the U.S. isn’t easy — there’s stiff competition between tech outfits and consulting firms for the 85,000 new visas that will be issued.

The companies applying usually max out the visa allotment in a single day, submitting enough applications to send the process to a lottery.

Who’s getting all the visas? Here are the top 10 companies that were approved for H-1B visas in the 2014 fiscal year, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

You’ll notice some trends: many of them specialize in outsourcing and several are based in India.

1. Tata Consultancy Services
Headquarters: Mumbai, India
Employees: 300,000
Services: Information technology, outsourcing, consulting
H-1B visas: 7,385

2. Cognizant Technology Solutions
Headquarters: Teaneck, New Jersey
Employees: 211,500
Services: Information technology, outsourcing, consulting
H-1B visas: 5,431

3. Infosys
Headquarters: Bangalore, India
Employees: 160,400
Services: Information technology, outsourcing, consulting
H-1B visas: 4,011

4. Wipro
Headquarters: Bangalore, India
Employees: 156,000
Services: Information technology, outsourcing, consulting
H-1B visas: 3,324

5. Accenture
Headquarters: Dublin, Ireland
Employees: 323,000
Services: Information technology, outsourcing, consulting
H-1B visas: 2,522

6. Tech Mahindra
Headquarters: Pune, Maharashtra, India
Employees: 98,000
Services: Information technology, outsourcing, consulting
H-1B visas: 1,661

7. IBM India
Headquarters: Bangalore, India
Employees: estimated 150,000
Services: Information technology, outsourcing, consulting
H-1B visas: 1,357

8. Syntel
Headquarters: Troy, Michigan
Employees: 24,500
Services: Information technology, outsourcing, consulting
H-1B visas: 1,125

9. IGATE
Headquarters: Bridgewater, New Jersey
Employees: 33,500
Services: information technology and outsourcing
H-1B visas: 930

10. HCL Technologies
Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
Employees: 100,240
Services: Information technology, outsourcing, consulting
H-1B visas: 913

Visa Renewals

An H-1B visa is valid for three years and can be extended for three more, leading to a six-year lifespan in total. In addition to the new H-1B visas awarded each year, visas from past years can also be renewed.

Here are the top 10 companies that were approved for H-1B renewals in the 2014 fiscal year:

1. Cognizant Technology Solutions
Visa renewals: 12,883

2. Infosys
Visa renewals: 5,130

3. Wipro
Visa renewals: 2,724

4. Tata Consultancy Services
Visa renewals: 2,218

5. Microsoft
Visa renewals: 1,615

6. HCL Technologies
Visa renewals: 1,393

7. Accenture
Visa renewals: 1,329

8. IGATE
Visa renewals: 1,203

9. Google
Visa renewals: 1,097

10. Intel
Visa renewals: 1,045

Ted Hesson was formerly the immigration editor at Fusion, covering the issue from Washington, D.C. He also writes about drug laws and (occasionally) baseball. On the side: guitars, urban biking, and fiction.