The USCIS issued a fact sheet indicating that the number of O-1A extraordinary ability petitions filed has increased from 5,420 in FY2018 to 10,010 in FY2023. This increase in O-1A petitions in STEM fields is likely the product of both an insufficient number of H-1b visas [with approximately 442,000 H-1b registrations for FY2025 compared with 85,000 H-1b visas available] as well as the Biden Administration’s actions to attract STEM talent to the US issued on January 21, 2022.

There was an even more substantial increase in the number of National Interest Waiver [“NIW”] EB-2 I-140 petitions filed between the 2018 fiscal year [8,320] and the 2023 fiscal year [39,810]. As a percentage of all EB-2 I-140 immigrant visa petitions, NIW filings increased from 12% of the total in FY 2018 to 43% in FY2023. At the same time, the number of STEM-based I-140 petitions declined from 54,340 in FY2018 to 53,960 in FY2023.  It does not appear that the Biden Administration’s actions to attract STEM talent has led to increased numbers of STEM-based I-140 petitions. It is more likely that an increasing backlog in other employment categories, including lengthy DOL PERM labor certification processing, and the availability of premium processing has made the NIW I-140 more attractive to applicants.

For more information, please see: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/reports/stem_related_petition_trends_eb2_and_o1a_categories_factsheet_fy23.pdf