Coming under tremendous pressure from the anti-immigration lobby, the US government plans to restrict entry of foreign IT workers, including those from India.
The cap for 2004 and future years -- unless Congress changes its mind -- has been placed at 65,000 against the temporary surge of 195,000 a year in fiscal 2001, 2002 and 2003, it said.
The United States H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa, which allows a US company to employ a foreign individual for up to six years. As applying for a non-immigrant visa is generally quicker than applying for a 'Green Card', staff required on long-term assignment in the US are often initially brought in using a non-immigrant visa such as the H1B.
Even while the US economy is witnessing a upswing, propaganda by anti-immigrant groups against outsourcing and import of technical personnel has intensified.
Some members of the Republican Party have written letters to President George W Bush and the Speaker of the House of Representatives protesting the 'guest worker' progamme.
The Democrats on the other hand have proposed a more liberal regime. They favour giving the 8 to 12 million estimated illegal immigrants in the US legal residency, which is the stepping stone to citizenship.