Work visas for international professional hit the cap in one day

by Yuan Fu

AUSTIN, April 3 -- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the 2008 quota for the H-1B visa, the non-immigrant visa used by U.S. companies to employ international professionals, has been depleted on the first day the department began to accept petitions.

A written statement from immigration services stated that as of April 2, it had received more than 150,000 petitions for H-1B visas, which is nearly twice the 85,000 H1-B quota allowed for fiscal year 2008. With the cap already exceeded, the department could reject any additional petitions for work visas for 2008 received on or after April 4.

This number sets the record for the fastest time the number of visas allowed has been depleted. Last year, the visa supply lasted nearly two months.....(more)

Is Perry playing the numbers with the state lottery?

by Rusty Rothenbuescher

Austin, March 30 - Gov. Rick Perry's announcement Feb. 8 to sell the Texas Lottery Commission to fund public education and cancer research has left many questions looming over the details of the proposal, especially when it comes to the numbers.

The governor's office estimates the lottery could be sold for between $14 and $28 billion based on financial advice provided by the firms Morgan Stanley, UBS Investment Bank, and Goldman Sachs. According to the governor's plan, proceeds from a $14 million sale would then be divvied into three endowments: a $3 billion fund for cancer research, $8.3 billion for public education, and a $2.7 billion...... (more)