Thursday, May 5 2005 18:31 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The US has announced an additional 20,000 visas to foreign workers in the H-1B category, mainly availed by Indian information technology professionals, thus fulfilling a long-standing demand by American firms and academic groups.

US businesses can submit applications for additional H1-B visas beginning May 12, the Department of Home Security's immigration agency said.

An additional 20,000 such visas would be made available for foreign workers with advanced degrees from US institutions. The announcement ending months of speculation on who qualified for the visas.

The extra 20,000 visas were approved last fall by US Congress. The largest number of such foreign workers have been Indian.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said that the visas would be granted only to foreign workers with at least a master's-level degree from a U.S. academic institution.

Congress approved the additional 20,000 visas last year (2004) after American technology firms and academic groups complained that the reduced 65,000-worker cap was too low to meet demand.

Opponents of the controversial visa cap, which had previously been set at 195,000, argue that the influx of skilled foreign workers is costing U.S. citizens and permanent residents jobs.

The 65,000 H-1B visas approved by Congress for the fiscal year that began last Oct. 1 were completely taken in a day.