on top of a huge new H-1b increase of up to 180,000 per year, they also propose the H-1a from numbersusa: http://www.numbersusa.com/hottopic/senateaction0507.html Another Cornyn amendment (SA 2141) would establish a new nonimmigrant worker, or "guestworker," program â the H-1A â for "international commuters" (i.e., aliens who live outside the United States, but who commute to and from work in the United States for up to 10 months in any calendar year). Up to 90,000 H-1A visas could have been issued each year, with those visas being valid for three years.