The report also suggests that the ability of H-1B workers to seek better wages from other employers be limited. The H-1B visa has a six-year limit but allows the foreign worker to apply for permanent residency. While visa holders can change jobs, Miano says a worker who changes employers is unlikely to get permanent residency.

The 65,000 H-1B cap for the 2006 federal fiscal year that began in October was reached last year. A proposal to hike that cap this year by 30,000, which was included in the Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 2005, failed to win House approval last month.

Congress is allowing an additional 20,000 H-1B visas to foreign students graduating from U.S. schools with advanced degrees, but that cap is very close to being reached, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. As of Dec. 27, 18,636 visas had either been issued or were pending.