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The US' H-1B visas for Master's Degree graduates are disappearing fast, according to the latest update from US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), which says that just 1,364 visas are now available under this category.
Against the cap of 20,000 visas under the H-1B Master's Degree program for fiscal year 2006, as many as 16,478 visa petitions had been approved, and 2,158 additional petitions were pending in December-end 2005, according to latest data by USCIS.
The rush for these visas before the limit runs out is apparent from the fact that while 3,302 such visas were available on November 29, 2005, only 1,364 visas remain on offer now.
Under the current law, while the annual cap on the H-1B category is 65,000 (down from 195,000 in financial year 2003), Congress has created an exemption for 20,000 foreign nationals earning advanced degrees from US universities.
H-1B visas allow employers to have access to highly educated foreign professionals who have experience in specialised areas and who have at least a bachelor's degree or the equivalent.
Given the high demand for skilled temporary workers in the US, the 65,000 H-1B visas cap was reached even before the start of the Federal Government's fiscal year 2006 (which began on October 1, 2005), prompting organisations such as IT Association of America (ITAA) to demand a significant increase in the number of visas for the current year and future years.
