Science Applications International Corp., the largest privately held defense contractor, plans an initial public stock offering early next year. The company says it hopes to raise $1.7 billion, nearly as much as Google raised in its IPO in 2004.

SAIC’s shareholders are more than 35,000 current and former employees, who will be able to cash in on the rapid growth in defense and homeland security spending since 9/11. The employee-owners will retain control of the company after the IPO, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Nearly two months before the beginning of fiscal 2006, applications for H1-B visas for technology workers hit the ceiling set by law. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stopped taking applications for 2006 visas Aug. 10.

The Information Technology Association of America says that underscores the need for a significant increase in the number of such visas allowed. Federal law currently caps the number of H1-B visas at 65,000 per year, but several thousand are reserved for South American workers.

“The H1-B visa program is important to U.S. competitiveness in high technology,” ITAA President Harris N. Miller said. “We believe a significant increase is required to meet the need for specialized skills and keep companies—and as a result jobs for US workers—growing at a steady pace.”

SBA is terminating the waiver of the Nonmanufacturer Rule for Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing, NAICS 339920, because the agency has discovered a small business manufacturer for this class of products. The waiver will be terminated effective Sept. 20.

SBA is considering granting a waiver of the Nonmanufacturer Rule in the following categories, because the agency knows of no small business that is supplying these classes of products to the government:

Commercial Cooking Equipment, NAICS 333319;

Household Cooking Equipment,. NAICS 335221;

Commercial Laundry Equipment, including Commercial Laundry Manufacturing, Dry Cleaning Equipment Manufacturing, and Pressing Machine Manufacturing, NAICS 333312;

Household Laundry Equipment, including Laundry Equipment (washers and dryers) and

Household Type Manufacturing, NAICS 335224; and

Household Refrigerator Equipment, NAICS 335222.

Comments are due Sept. 9.