The US Treasury Secretary, Mr Timothy Geithner, has said that he is in favour of expansion of H-1B visa programme offered to highly skilled professionals and students to live and work in the country.

“I agree with you on H-1B,” Mr Geithner said in his testimony before the Senate Committee on Finance when Senator Orrin Hatch from Utah said that expansion of H-1B visa programme would help the US in a big way in competing with countries like India and China.

“One of the things that would help you with great deal, would help our country great deal, is to expand the H-1B and allow these PhDs, who are educated here, who want to stay here, who are brilliant and who could help us in the high-tech world and other worlds to stay here,” Mr Hatch said.

“It is ridiculous that the administration doesn’t weigh in on that. And I know why they don’t, but it’s ridiculous not to. We have now created real competitors in India and in China and just to mention two places, but others as well,” he said.

“Even in healthcare we’ve had competitors in Thailand and all over those areas that are much more competitive than we are. And we’re not doing the things that really we ought to do to get competitive.

“I agree with you on H-1B, by the way. It’s just a question of how best to do it. But, you know, the great thing (is to expand it),” Mr Geithner said in response.

“Expand it. Allow more people who qualified,” the Senator said.

“I agree. That’s the way you have to do it,” Mr Geithner said in response to the remarks from the Senator.

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