Senators in the USA have all but agreed that the H1B visa allowance should increase from its present level of 65,000 to 115,000 next year.

The increase would provide an extra 50,000 spaces for the best candidates to work in the USA, but a bi-partisan group of senators is lobbying for an even greater jump.

“There are provisions for H1B,” according to senator Edward Kennedy.

“There have been others who wanted to see an expansion of that programme and there are some members who are concerned about the fact that some of the existing H1B have been more involved in shipping jobs overseas rather than creating jobs here.

“This is an evolving issue. I’m not sure we’ve reached our final position on it,” he concluded.

An increase in the number of H1B slots forms part of the comprehensive immigration reform bill that president George Bush is keen to implement.

Commerce secretary Carlos Guttierrez revealed earlier this week that steps to up the threshold for the number of people able to work in the USA were crucial, in order to make the country more economically competitive.