The Hindu : Front Page : U.S. announces 20,000 more visas in H1B category

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 06, 2005

Front Page

Front Page

U.S. announces 20,000 more visas in H1B category

WASHINGTON: The U.S. has announced an additional 20,000 visas to foreign workers in the H1B category, mainly availed of by Indian information technology professionals, thus fulfilling a long-standing demand by American firms and academic groups.

U.S. businesses can submit applications for additional H1-B visas beginning May 12, the Department of Home Security's immigration agency said. An additional 20,000 such visas would be made available for foreign workers with advanced degrees from U.S. institutions. The announcement ended months of speculation on who qualified for the visas. The extra 20,000 visas were approved last autumn by the U.S. Congress. The largest number of such foreign workers have been Indian.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said the visas would be granted only to foreign workers with at least a Master's-level degree from a U.S. academic institution. Congress approved the additional 20,000 visas last year after American technology firms and academic groups complained that the reduced 65,000-worker cap was too low to meet the demand. Opponents of the controversial visa cap, which had previously been set at 195,000, argue that the influx of skilled foreign workers is costing U.S. citizens and permanent residents jobs. The 65,000 H1B visas approved by Congress for the fiscal year that began last October 1 were completely taken in a day.

The release of the 20,000 additional visas comes after a delay and some controversy. Last month, USCIS roiled backers of the cap increase when it said the 20,000 additional visas would be available to all qualified applicants — not just those holding an advanced degree from U.S. universities. Sandra Boyd, who heads Compete America, a Washington-based group representing over 200 corporations and universities, said the change would be contrary to the intent of the H1B Visa Reform Act of 2004. Evidently, USCIS agreed, IT weekly Computerworld noted. In an interview to Computerworld, Ms. Boyd said the agency had made the ``right interpretation'' of the law with regulations that would be published in the Federal Register on May 12. — PTI

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

News Update

Stories in this Section

Another perfect launch by ISRO

President at home

NDA making false charges: Manmohan

Manipur encounter deaths: Army orders probe

India, Pakistan to hold talks on Siachen, Sir Creek

Erring companies liable for criminal prosecution, rules Supreme Court

U.S. announces 20,000 more visas in H1B category

Vajpayee calls for BJP meet