New bill give foreign students priority in getting an H-1B visa

[greensboro]

A new bill in Congress would give foreign students who graduate from U.S. schools priority in getting an H-1B visa.

The legislation also "explicitly prohibits" the replacement of American workers by visa holders.

This bill, the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act, was announced Thursday by its co-sponsors, U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), longtime allies on H-1B reform. Grassley is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which gives this bill an immediate big leg up in the legislative process.

This legislation would end the annual random distribution, via a lottery, of H-1B visas, and replace it with a system to give priority to certain types of students.

"Congress created these programs to complement America's high-skilled workforce, not replace it," said Grassley, in a statement. "Unfortunately, some companies are trying to exploit the programs by cutting American workers for cheaper labor."

Another bill in Congress would give remote understudies who move on from U.S. schools need in getting a H-1B visa. 

The enactment additionally "unequivocally precludes" the substitution of American specialists by visa holders. 

This bill, the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act, was declared Thursday by its co-supports, U.S. Legislators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), long-lasting partners on H-1B change. Grassley is executive of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which gives this bill a quick huge leg up in the administrative procedure. 

This enactment would end the yearly irregular appropriation, by means of a lottery, of H-1B visas, and supplant it with a framework to offer need to specific sorts of understudies. 

"Congress made these projects to supplement America's high-talented workforce, not supplant it," said Grassley, in an announcement. "Sadly, a few organizations are attempting to abuse the projects by cutting American specialists for less expensive work." 

Foreign nationals in the best position to get one of the 85,000 H-1B visas issued yearly will have earned a propelled degree from a U.S. school, have a well-paying paying job offer, and have favored abilities. The particular aptitudes weren't distinguished, yet will probably be STEM-related. 

It will be up to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service to build up this priority system.
The bill requires "all employers who seek to hire H-1B visa holders to first make a good-faith effort to recruit American workers." This is something Grassley and Durbin have long sought in prior bills, but faced opposition from industry.

IT administrations firms that utilization H-1B workers to seaward work will confront new confinements. The bill disallows a firm with "more than 50 workers, of which in any event half are H-1B or L-1 holders, from contracting extra H-1B representatives." 

President-elect Donald Trump's organization – which takes office Friday at twelve – is additionally considering changes to the visa lottery framework, and it's totally conceivable that he could arrange changes ahead of time of enactment. 

Among the thoughts that are flowing is a dispersion framework that offers need to pay and additionally supports non-subordinate H-1B-utilizing firms over H-1B-subordinate firms. A reliant firm is an order given to a business that has at least 15% laborers on a visa. 

There are a great deal of different arrangements in the Grassley-Durbin charge. It would "improve" the capacity of the U.S. Branch of Labor to direct examinations. It would require new information announcing, including the sex of H-1B laborers, something the administration has not made accessible. 

The bill appears to raise the wages of L-1 workers, and includes new enforcement and audits. The L-1 is used for intra-company transfers.

"For years, foreign outsourcing companies have used loopholes in the laws to displace qualified American workers and facilitate the outsourcing of American jobs," said Durbin. "The H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act would end these abuses and protect American and foreign workers from exploitation.