Analyzing government data, the Migration Policy Institute has issued a report finding that total issuance of visas to come and stay temporarily in the U.S. declined by 17% between FY 2015 and FY 2018.
U.S. immigration law provides dozens of categories of nonimmigrant visas for individuals coming to the U.S. for temporary purposes. The most common include visas for visitors, international students, and temporary workers ranging from agricultural or non-agricultural seasonal workers to professional, managerial, and extraordinary ability workers and artists.
The decline in visa issuance has a real economic impact. As we’ve noted previously, a drop in international student enrollment not only represents a loss of economic activity during their studies, but also of future members of the U.S. workforce. A 14 million decline in the number of visitors to the U.S. since FY 2015 has resulted in an estimated $59 billion in lost spending, translating to 120,000 lost jobs.
You can read the report here.