Demand for H-1B visas hit record numbers with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services receiving as many as 2.3 lakh applications. For the third straight year, requirement for H-1B visas have outstripped supply within five days.

Every year, the US government allots 65,000 visas and Indian outsourcing companies take away the lion’s share, according to industry watchers.

Allotment on May 11 The allotment will be done by May 11, according to the information on the DHS website. The Indian IT industry has been asking for more visas as clients are increasingly demanding that engineers be present on-site but the US government has not increased the cap on visas as it looks to address the unemployment issue in its own backyard.

USCIS also said that it has received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the US advanced degree exemption. A maximum of 85,000 of the work visas, including 20,000 for holders of master's degrees, are available each year under limits set by Congress.

Tech companies have been batting for more H-1B visas as they feel that this would help the economy create local jobs and address the issue of talent.

According to estimates from Compete America, a coalition of tech companies such as Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon, the US loses about five lakh jobs a year because of the limits on H1-B visa cap.

This also points to increased outsourcing demand despite a sluggish US economy.

According to Rajkamal Rao, CEO of Rao Advisors and an immigration expert, Indian engineers are able to fill the lack of engineering talent, which, in turn, helps the US economy.

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