Senators Orrin Hatch and Ted Cruz have introduced amendments to increase the annual H-1B visa cap from 65,000 to between 300,000 and 325,000.
Walt Disney staff were reportedly replaced with Indians holding H-1B.
The United States will start accepting the applications for H-1B visas, most sought after by Indians, from April one for the fiscal 2011.
Walt Disney has laid off about 250 employees and replaced them with Indians holding H1-B visas.
Once the most sought after H-1B American work visa is still having nearly 20,000 slots open seven weeks after the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) started receiving applications for the financial year 2010 beginning October this year.
Indo-US firm has been indicted by federal authorities on charges of fraud in the H-1B visa category.
The issue was raised by the visiting CII's CEO Mission led by Bharati enterprise chairman Sunil Bharati Mittal, who among others met Lawrence Summers, Director of the National Economic Council, at the White House on Wednesday. During the meeting, the delegation comprising top Indian CEOs brought to the notice the concerns about the recent developments in the US with regard to H-1B work visa programme and certain provisions in the stimulus bill.
A legislation has been introduced in the US Senate on reforming the H-1B and L1 visa programmes, popular among Indians, under which the American firms looking for skilled foreign professionals are required to make a "good faith" attempt to recruit local workers first.
Asking the Obama Administration and Congress to increase the cap of H-1B work visas, popular among Indian professionals, from the present 65,000 to 195,000 per annum, two eminent scholars from a US think tank have said such a move would help stimulate economic growth and generate tax revenue.
Let's fix the system, end the abuses but make sure we recognise the role of immigrants in creating jobs: Khanna.
CEO and founder of popular site LinkedIn Reid Hoffman on Thursday urged the US Congress and the Obama Administration to remove the cap on H-1B visas, which enable foreign nationals to live and work in the United States.
In the first-ever indication of its stand on H-1B visas popular among Indian professionals, the Obama Administration has informed a court that the US needs this scheme to avoid "competitive disadvantage" the American companies could face otherwise.
From June 16, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin accepting Premium Processing Service requests for Forms I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker) filed on behalf of the alien workers whose six-month stay allowed under H1-B visa will expire within 60 days.
H-4 is issued to the spouse of H-1B visa holders, a significantly large number of whom are high-skilled professionals from India.
Industry leaders say President-elect Obama will be good for enhanced US-India commercial ties.
Indian employers account for just 11.9 per cent of the total H-1B visas issued in 2008 and their share has been declining over the years, a US think-tank has said days after new curbs were announced on such visas.
More companies can now get the visa rather than very few taking a lion's share.
The top uncapped employers are the nation's largest research institutions and universities from across the country, including the University of Michigan, the University of Texas at Austin, the National Institutes of Health, and the Johns Hopkins University.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services has received about 22,000 petitions for the much sought after H-1B work visas in the first four days after it started accepting applications on April 2, officials said.
Indian IT firms - which have to incur an additional burden of about $400 million annually - have called it "discriminatory".
The Senate immigration plan would dramatically increase the number of high-skilled foreign workers allowed into the country and give permanent legal status to an unlimited number of students who earn graduate degrees from US universities in science, technology, engineering or math, Washington Post reported quoting people familiar with the negotiations.
Officials at a Congressional hearing cited last year's figure of 26 per cent denial to H1B visa applicants, that was the highest in recent years, and also pointed out instances where the visas were denied for flimsy reasons.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services has received only half the 65,000 H1-B applications it requires to fill up the general quota category in the first five day after it began receiving applications April 1.
The proposed changes are forward-looking and non-specific, said Nasscom
In a proposal that will hit Indian IT companies the most, US software giant Microsoft Corporation has suggested a whopping fee of $10,000 (over Rs 5 lakh) for a new category of H-1B visas and $15,000 (more than Rs 7.5 lakh) for permanent residency or Green Card.
A federal lawsuit in Iowa alleges that two men orchestrated a scheme to underpay workers who came into the country on H-1B visas
Immigration law attorney David Ware answered questions about the complicated and controversial H-1B visa process
Former Massachusetts Gover Mitt Romney has said that while he is for increasing the quota for H1B visa, a majority of whose aspirants are Indians, the exact figures would depend on a number of things including the strength of the US economy and the implications for the local workforce.
The bill moved after months of closed-door meetings by a group of eight bipartisan lawmakers, known as the Gang of Eight, aimed at striking a balance between enforcement provisions sought by Republicans as well as Democrats, including making citizenship widely accessible to those illegally in America.
India has no work visa similar to the H-1B, nor a reciprocal arrangement with the US. India does not provide employment authorisation to spouses of those who hold an Indian employment visa.
Google urged the US government on Thursday to raise the number of H-1B visas by highlighting the contributions of its co-founder Sergey Brin and the company's principal scientist Krishna Bharat, both foreign-origin workers.
Many foreigners, including Indians, have benefitted from the immigration visa.
'The cooperation in technology is one of the most important aspects of the visit.' 'It will have a long-lasting impact because it will shift the entire paradigm in the context of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.'
IT firms in the US are struggling to find quality and right number of professionals
A Nasscom letter to US senators calls for attention to the fact that there is a considerable body of evidence pointing to the contributions made by H-1B visa holders to innovation and entrepreneurship in the US.
A top US Democratic lawmaker, known for his pro-immigration credentials, has cast serious doubts on the ability of the Congress to finalise a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform law.
The Coalition's mandate is to spread the word that American competitiveness requires global integration, including value-added IT enabled support from overseas.
'The policies announced by his administration are implemented faster.'
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