The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced last week that it was adding another 20,000 spaces for H-1B visa applicants, news that may sound like music to many Indian American skilled workers waiting in the wings to come to this country.

Meanwhile, there has been some softening of attitudes in Congress over H-1B visas and the dramatic reductions it saw in the last two years has, according to one Congressman, been the reason for increased outsourcing.

In a March 8 advisory, USCIS said it is currently preparing regulations for the implementation of the Omnibus Appropriations Act for fiscal year (FY) 2005 which created a new exemption from the annual H-1B congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 visas. “Pursuant to an exemption established under this Act, USCIS will be able to process additional petitions for H-1B workers for FY 2005,” the department announced.

Furthermore, it added, the available petitions for FY 2005 will be applied to all qualified H-1B nonimmigrant aliens, and will not be limited to those individuals holding a master’s degree or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher learning.” Rep. Chris Canon (R-Utah), a member of the House Judiciary Committee reportedly contended that the reduction in H-1B visas may be one of the causes for the increased outsourcing by American companies, an issue that became hot during the last Presidential elections of 2004. “If we had continued the H-1B process at an appropriate level, I suspect we would have had less of a downturn in 2000 and not had that problem with offshoring of high tech jobs,” he told India Abroad newspaper.

The USCIS had previously reported that the applicable provisions of the H-1B Visa Reform Act became effective on March 9, 2005. The correct effective date, it now noted, was March 8, 2005. However, it advised employers not to file H-1B petitions seeking approval for workers who may benefit from these provisions until USCIS publishes a rule concerning the Visa Reform Act and related issues. “USCIS will reject any new H-1B petition that is received prior to the filing date set forth in the regulations,” it said and added that complete information, including the exact date and address for filing, will be published in the Federal Register as soon as possible.

Till date of going to press, the Federal Register did not carry the notice. However, the USCIS said that the filing date announced in the regulation may occur shortly after publication of the regulation and that employers should monitor the Federal Register and USCIS web site and prepare their filings accordingly.