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Us Halts Issue Of Temporary Work Permits

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Sujatha Shenoy BSCAL
Last Updated : Aug 29 1997 | 12:00 AM IST

Indian software professionals packing their bags for the US could find a hitch in their plans: the Immigration and Naturalisation Service has put a temporary ban on granting H-1B visas. We have temporarily stopped adjudicating on the applications for the visas, an INS spokesman told Business Standard. We believe that we are very close to the legal cap of 65,000 a year.

Under US immigration rules, the H-1B visas, basically temporary work permits given to qualified professionals, are not allowed to exceed 65,000 a year. Although the visas are given to professionals in various fields, software specialists attracted by the rapidly expanding US hi-tech industry account for the bulk of the work permits.

INS is checking the number of H-1B visas granted this year. If the cap has been reached, the agency will continue adjudicating on new applications, but the actual visas will be valid only from the new fiscal year beginning October 1.

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The temporary hiatus has sparked fresh lobbying by the info-tech industry. Industry sources say efforts are on to try and increase the cap on professional visas. The industry already has a major immigration victory to its credit; it successfully fought off an effort by former labour secretary Robert Reich to impose new restrictions on hiring skilled, foreign workers under the H-1B category. Good programmers are in great demand in the US. In an article, Businessweek magazine detailed the predatory practices prevailing within the industry and some of the incentives offered to retain software professionals.

Still, the computer industry was hardly unaware of the impending INS ban. A top software recruiting firm Mastech, officials planned for the temporary ban by training existing employees for new projects. and applying early for visas. We knew the INS ban was coming. We were prepared in advance, said corporate spokeswoman Maggie Oberst.

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First Published: Aug 29 1997 | 12:00 AM IST

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