H-1B visa cap for FY '05 already reached

Computerworld - WASHINGTON -- The cap on H-1B visas granted to foreign workers was reached on Friday -- the same day the new federal fiscal year began. Never before has the limit been reached on the same day it took effect.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said late Friday that because the 65,000-visa cap had been reached, it won't accept any more petitions for this year's allocation.
The government allows applications to be filed six months before the fiscal year begins, and by August, the agency had already received 45,900 H-1B petitions.
The cap for 2004, which was also set at 65,000, wasn't reached until about five months into that fiscal year.
There has been a push in both houses of Congress, including an effort by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), to increase exemption limits for foreign-born individuals who have earned Ph.D.s or master's degrees from U.S. universities.
But action on that measure before the scheduled Oct. 8 congressional adjournment is now seen as unlikely. "I would be surprised if it actually went through this year," said Lynn Shotwell, executive director of the American Council on International Personnel in Washington.
Vic Goel, an immigration attorney in Greenbelt, Md., said the quick closing of the cap means employers can't hire highly educated foreign professionals for nearly a year. "If we are making that educational investment, we need to reap the return of that investment," he said.
But Russ Harrison, legislative representative for the IEEE-USA, said the visa program "creates a strong incentive to push down wages and discourages employment of American workers."
The H-1B visa, which is heavily used by high-tech employers, allows skilled foreign workers to get jobs in the U.S. for up to six years.
The number of H-1B visas was set at 195,000 for fiscal years 2001, 2002 and 2003 before dropping to 65,000 in fiscal 2004.