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News

• H-1B cap is reached with 'high number' of visa requests

  The H-1B cap has been quickly reached, the U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Service said Tuesday. The agency said it received a "high number" of visa petitions, but did not have a final count.

• Rand Paul's tangled approach to H-1B visas

  As president, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) will support increasing the H-1B visa cap. Although Paul keeps specifics about his plans for high-skilled immigration nuanced and vague, the final outcome would be little different from Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) plan to <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/article/2900126/ted-cruz-the-presidential-candidate-who-wants-to-increase-the-h-1b-cap-by-500.html">raise the H-1B cap by 500%</a>.

• White House making it easier to get an L-1 visa

  The White House has released a memo intended to give clarity over how businesses may use the temporary L-1 work visa, a document derided by critics of the H-1B visa.

• Ted Cruz, the presidential candidate who wants to increase the H-1B cap by 500%

  It's going to be hard for the Republicans to field a presidential candidate as enthusiastic about the H-1B visa as U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

• IT workers' voices heard in the Senate, confidentially

  WASHINGTON - A Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today on the H-1B visa offered up a stew of policy arguments, positioning and frustration.

• H-1B battle to take center stage in Senate on Tuesday

  The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on the H-1B visa that will bring together the temporary visa's most outspoken critics and supporters.

• The White House's $100M, H-1B funded tech job plan comes under fire

  The White House has established a $100 million program that endorses fast-track, boot camp IT training efforts and other four-year degree alternatives. But this plan is drawing criticism because of the underlying message it sends in the H-1B battle.

• Grassley's position on H-1B called ‘protectionist'

  WASHINGTON - India and the tech industry view any type of restrictions on the H-1B visa as "protectionist" -- and so does Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).

• So. Cal. Edison's IT layoffs are ‘heartless,' says Sen. Grassley

  Southern California Edison (SCE) IT workers replaced by H-1B contractors have become the latest Exhibit A in Congress for reformers of the visa program.

• So Cal Edison's IT layoffs are abuse of H-1B program, says U.S. lawmaker

  Southern California Edison's decision to <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/article/2879083/southern-california-edison-it-workers-beyond-furious-over-h-1b-replacements.html">replace IT workers with H-1B visas workers</a> employed by contractors is drawing more criticism from U.S. lawmakers, the latest from U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.).

• Rep. Issa calls So. Calif. Edison tech layoffs 'deeply disturbing'

  The layoffs of IT workers at Southern California Edison (SCE) has drawn the attention of U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, (R-Calif.), who called reports that the H-1B visa program is being used to replace part of SCE's workforce "deeply disturbing."

• Southern California Edison IT workers 'beyond furious' over H-1B replacements

  Information technology workers at Southern California Edison (SCE) are being laid off and replaced by workers from India. Some employees are training their H-1B visa holding replacements, and many have already lost their jobs.

• Obama, in India, will get earful about the H-1B visa

  In India, the H-1B visa is seen in an entirely different light than in the U.S. The visa is essential to free trade, and legislative moves by Congress to restrict it <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/article/2525167/government-it/us-protectionism-could-lead-to-trade-war--says-nasscom.html">are called protectionist</a> and a threat to India's IT industry.

• Anti-H-1B senator to head immigration panel

  The biggest enemy facing U.S. Senate Republicans in raising the H-1B cap are Senate Republicans.

• Silicon Valley's H-1B immigration position has some holes

  In November, <a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/11/20/7250255/immigration-reform-obama-executive-action">President Obama outlined a sweeping executive order that would overhaul the immigration system</a> with provisions that would provide work permits for up to five million undocumented workers and provide for more software engineers and entrepreneurs to work in the U.S. Meanwhile, Silicon Valley has been pushing for immigration reform for many years, claiming a labor shortage at a crucial period of market growth.