The Republican majority reached an agreement among themselves yesterday to raise the limit on the number of skilled foreign workers allowed to seek employment in the US from 65,000 to 115,000 a year for the next three years. They will come under H1-B visas.

The high-tech industry in the US faces a shortage of skilled workers and has been campaigning aggressively for the legislation in this regard.

However, safeguards will be built in to ensure that American workers are not passed over in employing foreigners.

India is the largest supplier of skilled foreign workers to US and its nationals accounted for 44 per cent of the visas issued under H1-B category in the first half of the current financial year.

65,000 H1-B visas for various skilled jobs are currently issued yearly under theH1-b programme. However, the shortage of people with the skills required by US industry is so severe that the Republican majority in both houses of Congress has agreed to raise the number gradually to 115,000 a year over four years.

Six of the top seven recruiting companies for computer programmers are Indian.

While some of the contracts call for a 10,000 to 20,000 dollar compensation to the employer of the programmer brought under the visa moves to another job, and an Indian computer programmer may earn `only' 50,000 dollars a year against 70,000 by an American, the Washington Post calls it exploitation akin to indentured labour or slavery. But those interviewed by the paper are divided on that issue.

The programme is designed to help companies fill specialised jobs for which American workers are not available.

American workers complain that employers prefer ``cheap'' Indian labour, and moreover the Indians, Chinese and others work extra hours every day without demanding overtime in the hopethat their employer will sponsor them for the green card.