LOS ANGELES, Oct 29: The US Justice Department is facing an enormous pressure from various powerful groups such as computer giant, Intel, to increase the working visa (H1-B) quota to 100,000 for fiscal 2003-2004 (Oct-Sept).

Since the start of the new fiscal year from Oct 1 the cap has fallen down by two-third to 65,000 from 195,000. But experts say the actual availability might even be less than 35,000 if pending cases are taken into account.

The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), a powerful South Asian business group has suggested an increase to 130,000 while the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has suggested an increase of up to 115,000.

But Intel has given the most unique proposal, suggesting an exemption from working visa for all who have advance degrees in computer science, specially those who have obtained their degrees from the US.

Meanwhile, lawyers at the AILA told Dawn that there were great chances that the Justice Department might take a middle ground by raising the cap to 100,000.—Correspondent