US lawmaker moves bill to double H-1B visas: Here are the ‘reasons’ behind his proposal

A US lawmaker has introduced legislation proposing to double the annual intake of H-1B visas. The bill has been introduced by Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Indian-descent Democratic lawmaker. He has proposed to increased the annual quota of H-1B visas from 65,000 to 130,000. Every year, 85,000 workers are hired under this visa. Of these, 65,000 workers are hired from abroad and 20,000 are foreign students enrolled in US colleges and universities. Krishnamoorthi is calling the legislation the HIRE Act, short for High-Skilled Immigration Reform for Employment. The legislation also proposes to address the shortage of skilled workers at home here in the US by funding STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering and Math) streams in schools.