WASHINGTON — The number of foreign high-tech workers who will be admitted to the United States each year will more than double under the terms of an immigration deal Senate lawmakers were hammering out yesterday, business sources told The Post.
Even as a bipartisan group of lawmakers continues to fine-tune a 1,500-page bill, sources close to the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” say a final deal will meet a key demand of businesses ranging from Google to top New York hospitals: letting companies hire foreign workers who have high-tech and advanced skills.
“There’s a broad expectation that this bill will recognize the need to bring in highly skilled talent as well as those who will work hard from both ends of the spectrum,” said Matt Sonnesyn of the Business Round Table.
Senators and staff were negotiating throughout the day yesterday on the bill’s fine print, including a new guest-worker program and other items, including high-skilled workers.
The visas, known as H-1B, will go from the 65,000 temporary-worker visas under current law to 115,000 under the bill, according to a source.