Two American lawmakers have introduced a legislation in the Senate to cut the number of H-1B visas by 15,000, reported PTI on Wednesday. Bill Nelson of the Democratic Party and Jeff Sessions of the Republican Party have proposed that the priority for the visa should be given to the highest wage-earner. Nelson said that the bill "directly targets outsourcing companies that rely on lower-wage foreign workers to replace equally-qualified US workers".
An annual cap of 85,000 H-1B visas can be issued currently, which includes 20,000 for those who completed higher education in science, technology, engineering and math. The bill would also necessitate the Department of Homeland Security to prioritise allocation of the remaining 70,000 H-1B visas to foreign workers based on their salary, according to the report.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields to employ foreign workers. The work visa has been given to a large number of IT professionals from India over the years.
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