US increases H1-B visa limit to 85,000

NEW DELHI: The US has passed the Omnibus Spending Bill increasing the H1-B visa limit for Indian nationals from 65,000 to 85,000. However, the increase is only for foreign nationals who have received masters or doctoral degrees from American universities.

The Bill is part of the $388 billion Appropriations Bill for the year 2005. Senator Saxby Chambliss (Republican from Georgia) and Representative Lamar Smith (Republican from Texas) sponsored the bill.

After heavy lobbying by businesses that wanted to raise the cap on the number of H1B visa approvals, in 2000 the US government had raised the limit from 115,000 to 195,000 for years 2001-2003.