During the 20th century, America's immigration rules evolved from an open-door policy to byzantine restrictions. Most bewildering is the government's reluctance to give strong preference to applicants with advanced training, despite the benefits they bring to the economy and the great demand for skilled workers. In 1990, Congress made a weak effort to attract these workers by authorizing the Immigration & Naturalization Service to issue 60,000 H-1B visas each year, mainly to applicants with higher education. These are good for three years and can be renewed once. Although Congress expanded the number to 115,000 for this fiscal year, the INS has stopped taking applications for this year, since requests exceed the enlarged quota.
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