The Hindu : International : Annual quota of H1B visas may be raised

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 28, 2005

International

International

Annual quota of H1B visas may be raised

Washington: A proposal to raise the annual quota of H1B visas, which will give more Indian professionals a chance to work in the U.S., received a major boost in the U.S. Congress with the Senate Judiciary Committee voting overwhelmingly in favour of raising the cap from 65,000 to 95,000. During an executive business meeting, Senator Arlen Specter proposed adding 60,000 to the cap, but the committee instead chose to support Senator Diane Feinstein's amendment adding 30,000 H1B visas.

The number of green cards, officially known as Employment Based Immigrant Visas, would be increased through a change in language regarding who is applicable for it, according to the U.S.-India Business Alliance (USIBA), a group of Indian and American businessmen which is backing the proposal for raising the visa cap.

Under current law, spouses and children of green card holders count towards the cap, but the committee proposed that to change this so that spouses and children do not count towards the cap. This proposed change will result in a significant increase in the number of available green cards.

However, there is still a significant amount of work to be done before the proposal takes the shape of legislation.

PTI

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