Thursday, April 5, 2007

U.S. reaches 2008 cap for skilled-worker visa petitions in single day

After the discussion about the "changing geography of work", I found it interesting to see this headline in today's newspapers concerning the limit on H-1B visas.

"U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said Tuesday it reached its limit for 2008 skilled-worker visa petitions in a single day and will not accept any more, to the dismay of technology companies that rely on the visas to hire foreign employees. The agency began accepting petitions Monday for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 and said it received about 150,000 applications by mid-afternoon. The temporary H-1B visas are for foreign workers with high-tech skills or in specialty occupations."

U.S. reaches 2008 cap for skilled-worker visa petitions in single day


While we have discussed the cost issues involved with the off-shoring of call center workers to India, government policies may also be affecting the way U.S. businesses address their need for skilled workers in the changing international labor market.

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