Employers reach quota for foreign workers' visas

SAN JOSE, Calif. — After a slow start because of the recession, applications for the high-tech industry's favorite work visa, the H-1B, reached the cap of 65,000 this month, federal immigration authorities said.

It took nine months to exhaust the supply of visas this year, and a mere day to do so last year.

There was only light demand for the visa in April, when the government started taking applications, but employers finally used them all up in a sign that perhaps high-tech hiring was rebounding.

The visas are issued to employers to hire foreign workers in occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in fields such as science, engineering and computer programming.

They are good for three years and renewable for another three.

The number of H-1B visas issued far exceeds the 65,000 cap because universities and their affiliates, nonprofits and government research organizations are exempt from the limit.

Combined, more than 276,000 H-1B visas were issued in fiscal year 2008, according to the most current data.

For fiscal year 2009, Wipro, an information-technology service company headquartered in Bangalore, India, was the top user, with 1,964 visas, followed by Microsoft, with 1,318 visas. Intel was No. 3, with 723.

With the year's quota exhausted, employers must wait until next April to file new applications.

Next year's visa holders won't start work until Oct. 1, the beginning of the federal fiscal year.