Plan to hike H-1B cap to 300,000 seen dead; 130,000 cap still possible
Senate bill could impose large fees for big H-1B visa users, sources say
Computerworld - The
U.S. Senate's comprehensive immigration bill is expected to include an
H-1B cap hike and a higher fee structure aimed at offshore outsourcers.
Work
on the bill is continuing, and a snapshot of its various components
were shared by three independent sources, each familiar with the
discussions.
The eight senator-team, led by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), working on the comprehensive bill has rejected the graduated
300,000 cap
proposed in the so-called I-Squared Act introduced earlier this year by
Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Marco Rubio
(R-Fla.), and Chris Coons (D-Del.).
Instead, the legislation may seek to double the current 65,000 H-1B cap, or to set it in the low l00,000-range.
It's less certain how the Senators will treat a separate cap of
20,000 for advanced degree STEM graduates because of a plan to offer
them permanent residency.
The bill may call for increasing fees for
large H-1B users.
The increased fees would be an alternative to today's so-called 50/50
provision, which limits the number of visas available to a company to
half of its workforce.
Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill),
part of the Senate group
developing the comprehensive immigration, and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
have been the major proponents of thethe 50/50 provision. This new plan
includes a graduated fee structure that sets higher H-1B fees once IT
services providers hit certain thresholds.
For instance, if more
than 30% of a firm's U.S. workforce holds a visa, they may pay a higher
visa fee than firms with fewer visa holders.
A large users would
pay a still higher fee once it declares that 50% or more of its
workforce have visas. If a firm has 70% or 75% or more of its workers on
temporary visas, the bill could either not allow it any more visas, or
would set the fee for new ones at prohibitively high levels.
Offshore
outsourcers, mostly located overseas, are the largest users of H-1B
visas and may bear the greatest impact, depending on how bill is
written.
The bill is expected to include unlimited green cards
for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) advance degree
holders. It would likely set restrictions on eligible schools, similar
to a House bill that limits eligible green card candidates to advanced
degree STEM graduates from research universities.
The tech
industry has been pushing for the provisions in the I-Squared Act, but
there is much hesitancy among lawmakers about H-1B visas, and much more
support for a STEM green card.
Grassley this week reintroduced a bill that would impose a number of restrictions on the H-1B visa.
The
overall immigration bill is expected to run hundreds of pages, and the
high-tech provisions of it will be extensive. Significant details have
yet to be released and many changes are ahead, especially as the House
takes up the issue.
source: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9237808
