H-1B visa applications have declined for the first time in years, according to a recent report from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The department announced last month that it received 199,000 applications this year — 37,000 fewer than last year.
Looking Beyond H-1B Visas to Find Tech Talent
H1-B visa applications have declined for the first time in years, according to a recent report from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This is concerning to tech companies, many of whom expected a huge increase in applications due to the program’s uncertain future. Many have doubled down on their recruitment efforts by increasing their spending on LinkedIn and Facebook ads or by attending local networking events to attract the right candidates. But there is one strategy that could have an even bigger impact that HR pros don’t seem to be using — leveraging civic data insights to build more targeted hiring and recruitment programs. Tech companies can make use of the massive amount of information that’s put into the public domain by the U.S. government, from sources including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Economic Census, and the American Community Survey, which come from the U.S. Census Bureau. Employers can then use the insights gleaned from this civic data to geo-target ads on career websites such as LinkedIn and Glassdoor, so these messages reach candidates in markets with fewer high quality job opportunities.