Tech companies maxed out the number of H-1B visas allowed this year even earlier than 2005, reaching the cap of 65,000 permits for temporary workers last week. Those visas are intended to be used over the next fiscal year, starting in October. Meanwhile, the immigration bill passed by the Senate would nearly double the cap to at least 115,000.

How would this affect our local tech economy? Bill Gates recently said he favored doing away with the whole program. But even in an economy that has been generally on the upswing, not every qualified IT worker here can find a job.