The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill allowing the issuance of up to 15-thousand highly skilled work visas to South Koreans seeking jobs in the U.S. every year.

According to diplomatic sources, the House passed the America COMPETES Act last Friday, which included a revision to the Partner with Korea Act.

Jointly introduced by Representatives Gerry Connolly(D-VA) and Young Kim(R-CA), the revision seeks to establish an annual allotment of 15-thousand E-4 visas for South Korean nationals with a college degree in such fields as information and technology, engineering, mathematics, physics and medicine.

The U.S. has accepted skilled foreign workers through the issuance of the H1B visa, but the issuance of this visa is capped at 85-thousand annually. With 20-thousand of these visas reserved for foreign nationals who completed their postgraduate education in the U.S., there is intense competition among visa seekers from around the world.

Currently, citizens of five countries are eligible for special employment visas in addition to the H1B — Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Chile and Australia.

The bill must be passed in the Senate and signed by the president to take effect.