The committee's included talk of expanding the use of Green Cards, particularly for foreign advanced degree graduates of U.S. universities, as an alternative to H-1B visas. President Barack Obama has signaled he would amenable to such a change in his State of Union address.

But no bill on changing visa policies that could win approval has yet emerged yet. Previous sessions of Congress have blocked piecemeal approaches to the H-1B visa pending debate on comprehensive immigration reform. It remains unclear whether the current Congress feels the same way.

The H-1B visa cap is set at 85,000, with 20,000 earmarked for foreign students who graduate from a U.S. university with an advanced degree. Although there remains interest in increasing the cap, the major push recently has been to make it easier for foreign students to get a Green Card.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE-USA) supports expanding the green card program, a position outlined today by Bruce Morrison, a former Democratic U.S. representative from Connecticut who played a key role in in 1990.

Morrison testified on behalf of the IEEE at the hearing.