Indian-origin Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on 2 December 2025 formally re-introduced the High-Skilled Immigration Reform and Entrepreneurship (HIRE) Act, proposing to raise the annual H-1B cap from 65,000 to 130,000 and retain the separate 20,000-visa carve-out for US master’s graduates. The bill arrives amid record demand from Indian IT and healthcare employers, who secured over 70 percent of FY 2025 H-1B approvals.
If enacted, the measure would represent the largest single-year expansion of the specialty-occupation programme since its inception in 1990. Business coalitions such as the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum argue that doubling the cap will reduce lottery-driven uncertainty for Indian engineers and allow companies to scale AI, semiconductor and clean-tech projects more predictably.
![HIRE Act Re-Introduced in US Congress, Seeks to Double H-1B Cap—Big Implications for Indian Talent]()
Sceptics in Congress warn of labour-market displacement and have demanded stronger wage-level enforcement and anti-fraud audits as a condition for support. The bill therefore pairs the numerical lift with mandatory E-Verify usage and a tripled penalty regime for labour-condition-application violations. It also earmarks US $1 billion for STEM education in underserved US school districts—an olive branch to critics who say foreign-talent pipelines sap domestic training incentives.
For Indian corporates, the legislation could expand onsite deployment planning horizons from six to 12 months, as additional visas would reduce reliance on the cap-gap and O-1 alternatives. Consultancy mobility teams should model scenario budgets: a 130,000-cap could create roughly 45,000–50,000 extra slots accessible to Indian nationals, depending on demand from other countries.
The road ahead is uncertain; the bill must clear both chambers in an election year. Yet its mere introduction signals bipartisan recognition that talent shortages remain acute. Indian professionals currently stuck in the H-1B lottery mill are watching closely—an expanded quota could be in place as early as FY 2027 if the Act rides on a larger spending package.
If enacted, the measure would represent the largest single-year expansion of the specialty-occupation programme since its inception in 1990. Business coalitions such as the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum argue that doubling the cap will reduce lottery-driven uncertainty for Indian engineers and allow companies to scale AI, semiconductor and clean-tech projects more predictably.
Sceptics in Congress warn of labour-market displacement and have demanded stronger wage-level enforcement and anti-fraud audits as a condition for support. The bill therefore pairs the numerical lift with mandatory E-Verify usage and a tripled penalty regime for labour-condition-application violations. It also earmarks US $1 billion for STEM education in underserved US school districts—an olive branch to critics who say foreign-talent pipelines sap domestic training incentives.
For Indian corporates, the legislation could expand onsite deployment planning horizons from six to 12 months, as additional visas would reduce reliance on the cap-gap and O-1 alternatives. Consultancy mobility teams should model scenario budgets: a 130,000-cap could create roughly 45,000–50,000 extra slots accessible to Indian nationals, depending on demand from other countries.
The road ahead is uncertain; the bill must clear both chambers in an election year. Yet its mere introduction signals bipartisan recognition that talent shortages remain acute. Indian professionals currently stuck in the H-1B lottery mill are watching closely—an expanded quota could be in place as early as FY 2027 if the Act rides on a larger spending package.
