In a major blow to American technology and manufacturing companies looking for skilled workers from abroad, including India, a measure passed by the US Senate to provide more foreign worker visas for high-tech and other specialty fields has been dropped from a budget bill passed by the US House of Representatives early on Monday.
Had the US Senate plan been cleared, it would have increased the H1-B visas by 30,000 annually. The US Congress had capped the six-year H-1B visas at 65,000 per year in 2004, and that limit has already been reached for 2006 fiscal year that began October 1, 2005.
The Senate plan would also have allowed 90,000 more employment-based green cards that offer permanent residency to skilled workers, and added fees for those.
Those in the US who oppose the increasing of visas say that more foreign workers would mean fewer jobs for Americans.
US lawmakers also decided not to increase fees on L-1 visas, which companies use to transfer workers they already employ in foreign countries to the United States.
