What we know about US H-1B visas Trump supporters are clashing over
Jake Horton & Bernd Debusmann Jr
BBC News, Washington DC, 12/31/2024
An immigration row has erupted between Donald Trump's supporters over a long-standing US visa programme.
The feud is about H-1B visas, which allow US-based companies to bring in skilled workers from abroad into certain industries.
Some immigration hardliners say the scheme undercuts American workers - but proponents say the visas allow the US to attract the best expertise from around the world.
The president-elect has weighed in, saying he supports the programme - despite being critical of it in the past - and tech billionaire Elon Musk has also defended it, saying it attracts the "top ~0.1% of engineering talent".
Here's what the data tell us about who gets into the US on these visas.
How many people are approved each year?
The H-1B visas for skilled workers were introduced in 1990. They are typically granted for three years, but can be extended for up to six years.
Since 2004, the number of new H-1B visas issued has been capped at 85,000 per year - 20,000 of which are reserved for foreign students with master's degrees or higher from US universities.
However, that cap does not apply to some institutions such as universities, think tanks and other non-profit research groups, so more are often issued.
People can only apply for an H-1B visa if they have a job lined up with a US-based sponsor company or institution.
The US government also approves extensions for those already working in the country.
Just over 386,000 H-1B applications were approved in the 2023 fiscal year (October 2022-September 2023), the latest year we have full data for, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) figures.
That includes almost 119,000 new H-1B visas and about 267,000 extensions to existing visas.
The 2023 total is down from more than 474,000 in 2022.
There have been efforts to restrict the H-1B further programme in the past.