A ruling from a U.S. district court judge in New Jersey has blocked an attempt by H-1B visa opponents to stop an extension of student visas from one year to 29 months. The measure, which was put in place earlier this year, was a move that the Bush administration claimed would give students a better chance to get an H-1B visa. The 85,000-visa cap, which includes 20,000 visas for foreign workers with advanced degrees, is being reached before the close of the academic year, making it difficult for new graduates to get a new visa before their old visa expires.

The Programmers Guild, the Immigration Reform Law Institute and other groups sought an injunction to stop the visa extension, arguing that such a measurer is, in effect, a backdoor visa increase that will hurt U.S. workers.

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