The government deadlock in the immigration crisis is putting some strains on the evolving tech industry in the United States. So much so that executives in the industry are lobbying Congress to open up more specialized visas for immigrants who are highly skilled in technology.

For immigrants seeking visas, the tech industry may be a good chance to stay in the U.S. if they have the required science and computer training. The fear that people such as Olga Vidisheva, a Russian immigrant and startup website founder, and Alexis Ohanian, are trying to instill in government officials is that if the U.S. doesn't open the doors to more skilled tech people from other countries, then the country will lose it's place as a tech giant.

The State Department issued 12,359 over the last year, which was an increase over the 10,590 that were issued in 2012. 

"Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is trying to drum up support for increasing the number of O1A visas given to highly-skilled foreign workers, a possible workaround to the cap on H1B visas that tech companies have been lobbying to lift," summarized the website Techpresident.com.

And although the tech industry is pushing for creating access for more O1A visas for potential workers, it's not only in the sciences that immigrants coming here can show prowess. While this might not put a large dent into the current immigration crisis, it's on loop-hole that can be exploited since the U.S. is always on the lookout for talented people who want to come here.

As the U.S. immigration service explains: The O-1 nonimmigrant visa is for the individual who possesses extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements.

For the tech minded, the interest in getting immigrants an O1A visa could rely on support from startup funds, or investors. Also, a person's contribution to open-source programming could be seen as a highly skilled job function and one that could get the visa granted. 

"This sort of idea has been proposed before," reports the Washington Post. "Most recently through a bill from Sens. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) last year that would create an employment-based visa for startup founders with significant funding from U.S. investors or revenue from U.S. customers. The proposed law would allow them to stay for at least two years to build up their businesses.  But that legislation has been caught up in the gridlock over immigration reform."