Montana Had the Fewest H-1B Workers of Any State in FY 2024
"Average salary of these workers was $86,873"
Montana had the lowest number of H-1B visa workers for a state in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024.
Between October 30, 2023, and September 29, 2024, Montana had 164 visa beneficiaries. The average salary of these workers was $86,873, which comes to $42 an hour, according to Zip Recruiter.
An H-1B visa, according to the Department of Labor, is a program that allows “employers seeking to hire nonimmigrant aliens as workers in specialty occupations or as fashion models of distinguished merit and ability.”
Every year, 85,000 of these visas are given to foreigners.
A total of 60 companies took on foreign workers as employees in the state. The top five biggest employers of H-1B visa holders in Montana during FY 2024 were Fair Isaac Corporation, the University of Montana (UM), Billings Clinic, the University of Montana State (MSU) and Tana Systems, Inc.
The number of 164 H-1B workers decreased from FY 2023 when Montana saw 45 companies employing 175 H-1B visa holders. That year, UM and MSU were the top employers.
Compared to 10 years ago, in FY 2014, 28 employers employed 59 H-1B visa holders. This is a 178 percent increase.
In December 2024, the Department of Homeland Security updated its H-1B visa holder rules with the intent of helping American companies fill job vacancies faster.
However, many issues exist with this foreign worker program. Many technology companies use the H-1B visa program to avoid hiring Americans. For example, Facebook, in 2021, settled with the federal government after it was accused of hiring H-1B visa holders and other temporary visa holders over American workers.
California and Texas had the most H-1B workers in FY 2024.
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Zachery Schmidt is the founder of The Montana Chronicles. If you have any tips, please send them to montanachronicles@proton.me.