The Senate Judiciary Committee of the US has voted to increase the number of H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers as part of a controversial immigration Bill that faces a tough light in the Congress before it becomes law.

This measure to double the number of temporary visas to H-1B skilled-workers to 1,15,000 with an option of raising the cap 20 per cent more each year, was buried in the Senate's giant 300-page Immigration Bill, that got approved 12-6 on Tuesday. The Bill, once adopted by the Senate and the Congress, would open the country's doors to highly skilled immigrants for science, mathematics, technology and engineering jobs from India, China and other nations. The H1-B visa provision were incorporated in to the immigration legislation at the insistence of Silicon Valley tech companies and enjoys significant bipartisan support amid concerns that the US might lose its edge in technology. Silicon Valley high-tech companies are strongly backing the proposed increase in H-1B visas, which currently are capped at 65,000 a year, according to the California based Mercury News. Various exemptions in the program for certain types of jobs, such as those with non-profit organizations, would mean that around 2.2 lakh foreigners a year now actually receive the six-year visas.

The proposal on H-1B visas, as approved by the Committee would increase the annual cap of H-1B visas from 65,000 to 1,15,000 beginning in 2007, while keeping all those existing exemptions. It effectively would boost the number of H-1B visas to nearly 3 lakh a year.

The plan, written by the Republican Committee Chairman, Mr Arlen Specter of Pennsylvannia, would also automatically boost the annual cap by 20 per cent after any year in which the Government reaches the limit. Besides, the legislation would create an unlimited number of F-4 visas for students pursuing advanced university degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics that would allow them to seek permanent residence in the US if they find a job here.

The high-tech companies say they need more H-1B visas because the growing economy has made it difficult for them to find enough qualified Americans in fields such as mathematics and engineering.