Fewer Work Visas Issued in Fiscal Year

The number of U.S. work visas issued to foreigners has fallen by half in the last fiscal year, a drop analysts attributed more to the foundering U.S. technology industry than to a post-Sept. 11 visa crackdown.

About 60,500 temporary visas for foreigners with special computer-related or other technical skills were issued from Oct. 1, 2001, to June 30, compared with 130,700 issued in the same period during the previous fiscal year, according to the Justice Department’s Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Lucent Technologies Inc. and Motorola Inc. were among the companies applying for fewer H-1B visas as they shed thousands of jobs. Demand for foreign workers has slumped along with the computer technology industry, analysts said. The American Stock Exchange Technology Select Sector Index of 90 companies fell 17.25% for the first nine months of the fiscal year.