Two Related Senate Bills Also Win EIA Backing

Congress should reform the H-1B and employment based visa programs this year to allow U.S. technology companies to hire the skilled workers they need to compete, the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) said today.

U.S. Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., introduced the Securing Knowledge Innovation and Leadership (SKIL) Bill on Wednesday. The legislation includes provisions crucial to companies in the U.S. information and communications technology industry that employ highly educated foreign professionals. An identical measure, S. 1083, was introduced last week by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

EIA urged lawmakers to make the proposal part of any comprehensive immigration reform package. The skilled worker reforms were part of the comprehensive immigration bill that passed the Senate last year.

"American companies need more hands and more minds to succeed in the global marketplace," said Storme Street, EIA's vice president of government relations. "These visa programs have a proven track record of enabling businesses to innovate, contribute to the economy and, ultimately, create more U.S. jobs. I commend Congressman Shadegg for his thoughtful leadership on this issue."

Specifically, the SKIL Bill will:

• Raise the H-1B cap from 65,000 to 115,000. If that figure is reached in subsequent years, the limit automatically increases by 20 percent. Exempted are professionals with a U.S. master's or higher degree and those who have been awarded a medical specialty certification;
• Apply the current 20,000 cap exemption to those with a master's degree or higher from an institution of higher education in a foreign country, not just U.S. advanced degrees;
• Raise the limit on employment based (EB) visas from 140,000 to 290,000 per year. The bill would apply retroactively, allowing companies to recapture unused visas from fiscal years 2001-2005 as well as carry unused visas forward to future years. Exempted from the EB cap are those with a U.S. master's or higher degree; physicians in training; those with a science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) master's or higher degree who have worked 3 years in the U.S.; professionals in “shortage occupations” as designated by the Secretary of Labor; and spouses and minor children of employment-based professionals;
• Extend post degree employment for “optional practical training” (OPT) to 24 months for all F visa students, streamlining the green card process and eliminating the need for H-1Bs in many cases;
  Create a new F-1 visa for students coming to pursue a U.S. STEM bachelor's or higher degree;
• Create a pre-certification program to streamline the adjudication process for nonimmigrant and immigrant petitions for employers with a track record of compliance; and
• Permit domestic visa revalidation/renewal, so that certain professionals working in the U.S. who have complied with all immigration laws do not have to leave the country to revalidate their visas.

EIA also commended U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., for his swift reaction last week to news that the H1-B allotment was met on the first day for 2008 applications. Recognizing the crisis many U.S. technology employers currently face, Hagel sponsored The High Tech Worker Relief Act (S. 1092), to make more H-1B visas available in fiscal years 2007 and 2008 and exempt U.S. advanced degree holders from the cap.