Parth Sane came to the U.S. from India in 2017 for his master’s degree, then got a job as a software engineer in Des Moines, Iowa, last year.
His employer sought an H-1B specialty visa for him in the annual spring registration and lottery for these temporary workers, who are often employed in the tech sector. But he was among the hundreds of thousands who don’t get picked every year, as demand vastly outpaces annual supply of the visas—65,000, plus 20,000 for those with advanced degrees.
To get one of the coveted slots, employers first have to electronically register employees, ...