SALT LAKE CITY — The nation’s cap on high-skilled visas could more than double under legislation sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
Last week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it had received 233,000 applications for 85,000 high-skilled visas. The cap allows for 65,000 visas for international workers with bachelor degrees and 20,000 for those with graduate degrees. The application window for the 2016 allotment of H-1B visas opened April 1, and the cap was met in less than five business days.
“The current cap is preventing American companies from hiring tens of thousands of high-skilled workers needed to grow businesses, develop technologies and compete in today’s economy,” Hatch said during a news conference Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
