Employers are expected to reach the yearly limit for skilled-workers visas within days, the first time since the financial crisis. A total of 65,000 skilled workers can be sponsored each year, many of them for programmers and other specialized workers. If the limit is reached, some visa decisions may be made by lottery. Among the changes proposed for immigration reform is expanding the number of visas granted each year. Some criticize the program, saying that they can displace US workers, while others say that they cannot fill positions without hiring foreign workers.
See "Visa Demand Jumps", Miriam Jordan, The Wall Street Journal, April 2, 2013