Looks like federal agencies are making it harder for companies to get temporary visas for foreign workers.  And it's creating a burden for firms that can't run their businesses without such employees.

Industries that depend on seasonal workers, agricultural laborers, and professionals such as computer programmers are having a particularly bad time. According to BloombergBusinessweek, for example, H-2B visas for seasonal workers decreased 52 percent last year. And a recent report by the ombudsman at the US Citizenship & Immigration Service found that agency requests for more evidence from companies seeking H1-B visas for programmers and other professional jobs almost doubled in 2009.