Visa Cap Didn’t Last Long
Some members of Congress want to raise the limit; labor advocates do not.
October 6, 2004
Visa Cap Didn’t Last Long
A visa program called the H-1B allows 65,000 foreign employees to enter the
United States between Oct. 1, 2004, and Sept. 30, 2005. The cap has already been
reached, according to CNET.
High-tech companies are big users of the H-1B. They’re lobbying Congress to
raise the cap, particularly for foreign students who graduate from schools in
the United States with advanced degrees. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a
lobbying group for business interests, says that "28 percent of U.S. Ph.D.
graduates in science and engineering are foreign-born individuals, and it is
imperative that U.S. companies are able to recruit from this talent pool." Among
the other groups lobbying for a higher visa cap is Compete America, a coalition
of 200 corporations.
Unions and labor advocates, including the AFL-CIO, say that there are so many
unemployed technical employees that an increase in the cap is unnecessary.
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