In that speech, Bush said there was a need to fill high-tech jobs in the U.S. "And so one way to deal with this problem, and probably the most effective way, is to recognize that there's a lot of bright engineers and chemists and physicists from other lands that are either educated here, or received an education elsewhere but want to work here. And they come here under a program called H-1B visas," said Bush.

Bush called on Congress last year to raise the cap, but it failed to do so, leaving the limit at 65,000. There are exemptions, however, including 20,000 additional visas for foreign nationals who graduate from U.S. colleges and universities with advanced degrees.

In supplemental material prepared by the White House about the president's State of the Union address, the issue of temporary workers from other countries was discussed. It said, in part: "Such a program will serve the needs of our economy by providing a lawful and fair way to match willing employers with willing foreign workers to fill jobs that Americans have not taken."

Ron Hira, vice president of career activities at IEEE-USA, a unit of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., said he and the IEEE "wholeheartedly endorse this principle. But the H-1B program does not meet it."

Under the H-1B program, "employers do not have to search for Americans, and can prefer an H-1B [visa holder] over an American citizen or green card holder. So, if the President is arguing to reform the H-1B program, then this is great. But I doubt he is."