Reduce Unnecessary Worker Visas

S.

H.R.

H.R. 4740, the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act, would extend for three years an exemption for any H-2B alien (for temporary, or seasonal low-skill workers) who has been counted against the 66,000-visa cap during any of the three previous three fiscal years. H.R. 4740 has the potential to triple the number of H-2B workers in the United States at any given time.

S. 2454, the Securing America’s Borders Act, would increase chain migration through a one-time increase of 105,660 visas for exempt families of "unused" employment-based visa holders, plus a one-time increase of 115,000visas for "unused" family-preference holders, plus a permanent increase of 254,000 per year in the family-preference categories. The bill would also increase worker visas by a one-time increase of 90,000 for "unused" employment-based visas, plus a permanent increase of 754,000 employment-based visas per year, plus a permanent 100,000 increase in H-1B visas.

H.R. 1325 would repeal the H-1B visa category for temporary workers in specialty occupations.

S. 1033, the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, would: 1) increase permanent, legal immigration by adding an extra 254,000 family-based visas annually; 2) reward virtually all illegal aliens (except those with criminal records or terrorist connections) with amnesty, potentially rewarding 9 million illegal aliens; and 3) create a brand new guest worker program that would bring in 400,000 unskilled workers the first year, potentially allowing for a total increase of anywhere from 10 to 20 percent each year thereafter.

H.R. 3322, the USA Jobs Protection Act, would implement reforms of the H-1B and L-1 visa programs aimed at preventing American high-tech workers from being displaced by foreign workers. It includes important protections for American workers, including prevailing wage and no-layoff provisions. It also extends current no-layoff provisions for H-1B dependent employers to all H-1B employers.

H.R.

H.R. 1758 would authorize DHS to issue up to 65,000 additional H-1B “high skill worker” visas per year (exempt from the extant 65,000-per-year cap) – fiscal years 2008 through 2012 – to aliens who meet H-1B admission requirements and who possess post-graduate degrees; would require an employer petitioning for such an H-1B nonimmigrant worker to make “qualified scholarship payments” to a U.S.

H.R. 1843, the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act, would exempt any alien who has been present in the United States as an H-2B nonimmigrant worker for any one of the previous three fiscal years and who is returning to work as an H-2B from counting against the 66,000-per-year cap on H-2B visas. This potentially triples the number of workers in a year and would make these provisions effective for five years.

S. 1092, High-Tech Worker Relief Act of 2007, would raise the cap on H-1B high skill nonimmigrant workers from 65,000 to 115,000 for fiscal year 2007 and to 195,000 for fiscal year 2008 and would return the cap to 65,000 for fiscal year 2009 and beyond; would eliminate the 20,000-per-year cap on visas for nonimmigrant workers who have earned a master's or higher degree from a U.S.

S. 1035, the H-1B and L-1 Visa Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, would reduce much of the fraud associated with the H-1B and L-1 visa programs by, among other things, requiring employers to attest that they had tried to hire U.S. workers before importing a foreign worker and requiring H-1B and L-1 visa holders be paid prevailing wages.

The bill would cap annual issuance of L‐1 “intracompany transferee”/”specialized knowledge”
nonimmigrant visas at 35,000 (currently, no cap), but would clarify that this cap: (1) applies
only to principal aliens and not to their spouses or children; and (2) does not apply to an L‐
1 worker who is employed, or has received an offer of employment from, an institution of
higher education or a nonprofit research or governmental research organization;
• Would establish three years as the maximum period of authorized stay for an L‐1 worker;

The bill would prohibit employers who employ H-1B high-skill nonimmigrant workers from transferring them from a worksite in one state to a worksite in another; would require employers of H-1Bs to share information exchanged with Federal agencies with prospective, current, and former H-1B workers upon request; would authorize the Department of Labor (DOL) to investigate applications that have clear indicators of fraud or misrepresentation, instead of simply checking for completeness and inaccuracies (as current law provides) and would eliminate the current statutory provision that requires t

The bill would authorize adjustment to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status for aliens with E-2 “treaty investor” nonimmigrant visas only if certain capital investment levels are met and specified numbers of new jobs are created; would authorize 3,000 E-2 visas to be made available each fiscal year to principal aliens (i.e., no cap on spouses or children); and would grant LPR status to any E-2 nonimmigrant alien who has been present in the United States for at least five years, provided they meet the new criteria.

The bill would exempt elementary and secondary schools from payment of H-1B (i.e., “skilled worker”) visa petition fees.

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt elementary and secondary schools from the fee imposed on employers filing petitions with respect to non-immigrant workers under the H-1B program.

H.R. 1358 would create a new nonimmigrant visa category (i.e., the W visa) for aliens coming to the United States to work as professional nurses; would initially cap annual issuance of W visas to 50,000, but would provide that if that cap is reached in any year, the next year’s cap would be increased by 20 percent (no reduction if the cap is not reached – just a maintenance of the current cap); would exempt from the annual cap: (1) nonimmigrants working in geographic areas designated as “health professional shortage areas”; and (2) spouses and children of W nonimmigrants.

S. 388, Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2009, would allow an alien to return as an H-2B nonimmigrant worker without counting against the annual 66,000 cap if they had used an H-2B visa during one of the three previous fiscal years, effectively tripling the number of H-2B workers.

S. 2005, the Irish Immigration Recognition and Encouragement Act, would expand the E-3 visa category to include up to 10,500 Irish nationals each year. As the Obama administration has a stated policy of waiving inadmissibility requirements for illegal aliens, and because this bill does not prevent the administration from doing so, this bill acts as a de facto amnesty for illegal Irish aliens in the United States.

H.R. 6429, the STEM Jobs Act of 2012, would cancel the visa lottery program and transfer the 55,000 yearly visas that would have been granted through the visa lottery into two new priority categories (doctorate and masters degree) under 203(b). For the first two fiscal years of the program, unused visas for which petitions or applications for labor certification have been filed will be added to the total visas for the next fiscal year. Following the first two years, remaining unused visas do not transfer to the next fiscal year.

S. 1965, the Startup Act of 2011, would create 50,000 new STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) visas for foreign students who graduate from a U.S. college with a master's degree or a Ph.D. The bill also creates a new visa program for 75,000 new immigrant "entrepreneurs" -- individuals who already hold an H-1B visa and would be allowed 3 extra years to remain in the U.S. and operate a new business.

S. 1983, Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011, would expand the E-3 visa category to include up to 10,500 Irish nationals each year and to amnesty the Irish nationals who have overstayed their visas.

S. 1258, Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011, would allow Liberian refugees to transition from Temporary Protected Status to permanent resident status, even though the conflict in Liberia has long since ended.

The bill would provide green cards to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) graduates from U.S. universities. Specifically, it would allow graduating students to convert their student visas into H-1B visas (exempting them from the numerical limitations) and later allowing them to adjust their status. Furthermore, it would allow a graduating student to extend their visa on an annual basis until their H-1B credentials have been certified.

H.R. 714, the Startup Act 3.0, would establish 125,000 new conditional permanent resident visas: 50,000 for graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and 75,000 for qualified immigrant entrepreneurs. STEM graduates must remain “actively engaged” in a STEM field for 5 years in order to retain the visa, which includes a year of diligently searching for employment and the remaining years employed in the U.S. in a STEM field.