Last month Bill Gates appeared before the House Committee on Science and Technology to appeal for an increase in the number of H1B work visas issued for specialty workers brought in to the US from overseas (in recent years, the "specialty" in question has been primarily information technology). While he received no joy from Congress, it appears that someone was listening, because CIO Magazine is reporting now that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is increasing the time allowed in the country for holders of F-1 student visas... potentially allowing H1B applicants already in the States to work under their F1 status for up to 29 months.

Although this isn't the increase in the H1B cap that Bill was looking for, it could have a similar effect in the short term by increasing the pool of foreign IT workers available to fill US positions. Despite the leaps and bounds that off-shoring has made in recent years, there is still a large supply of foreign workers who are interested in US based positions, and a great deal of demand from US based corporations.

It's not clear if the F1 time increase is directly related to the H1B issue or not, but the ambiguity of the issue may be one indication that it is; foreign workers are a hot-button topic in a presidential election year when US employment numbers are already falling. The powers that be get their campaign walking around money from powerful businessmen and businesses and need to appease their demand for more foreign workers, but at the same time can't afford to be seen by the general electorate as shipping in foreign nationals to take over jobs which may otherwise have gone to out of work Americans.