According to the Associated Press, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) approved 10,000 more applications for visas for high-tech and specialty workers than Congress permitted for this fiscal year. 

The AP stated in an article last week that the mistake was made with H-1B visas, which are available to foreigners with a bachelor’s degree or higher who want to fill US jobs in architecture, engineering, medicine, biotechnology and computer programming. 

Although Congress let the department exempt from the limit 20,000 foreigners with graduate degrees from American universities, only 65,000 H-1B visas are supposed to be given out this fiscal year.   According to the article, agency representatives told the press that a last minute surge in applications was responsible. The USCIS has not stated whether the over-issuance of visas has anything to do with the 22 day delinquency by the USCIS in accepting applications under the new 20,000 bonus quota. Congress mandated that the USCIS begin accepting those applications on March 8, 2005.