Update on Bills Regarding H1B Cap
Posted Jan 04, 2000

As most of you are aware, the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA) increased the number of H-1B Petitions to115,000 new admissions each year for Fiscal Year (FY) 1999 and FY 2000, then to 107,500 in 2001, and then reverting to 65,000 from October 1, 2002.

The reason the U.S. Congress passed legislation to increase the H1B quota was the recognized shortage of computer based and other skilled professionals in a low unemployment era. As has been mentioned in previous editions of the Law Office of Sheela Murthy's Immigration Law Bulletin, the U.S. is experiencing one of the lowest unemployment rates in 35 years. With the explosion of the internet and the computer based industry, the shortage of skilled workers is felt more acutely by various sectors of the U.S. economy. Despite this shortage, there are fears that the Congress will not increase the H1B quota. Ideally, the H1B quota should be eliminated since the initial quota numbers were arbitrary and have no relevance in today's society.

Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) and Representative David Dreier (R-CA) introduced Bills, namely, in the Senate, S. 1440 and in the House of Representatives, H.R. 2698. These Bills call for increasing the H-1B quota to 200,000 for fiscal years 2000, 2001 and 2002, to thereafter revert back to 65,000. Similar to ACWIA, these Bills make provisions for exempting from the cap H-1B professionals with at least a Masters degree who receive total compensation of at least $60,000, as well as those with at least a bachelor's degree who work at colleges and universities. In addition, these Bills would entitle H-1B professionals working at universities to be exempt from ACWIA's attestation requirements, provided they have at least a bachelor's degree.

Then we had Senator John McCain who introduced S.1804, the 21st Century Act on October 27, 1999, which, while primarily focusing on U.S. Department of Commerce's initiatives to encourage science, math and technology education, would temporarily eliminate the H-1B cap through FY 2006.

A related measure, H.R. 2687, was introduced by Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). H.R. 2687 would create a new "T-visa" for certain highly skilled, temporary workers who have completed degrees at U.S. universities in the sciences. H.R. 2687 would charge a $1,000 fee for a T-visa (and $500 for an extension), and user fees would go into a high-tech education fund providing science-related scholarships for school children in the U.S.

Senator Charles Robb (D-VA) has introduced S. 1645 which would similarly create a new T visa category. This measure only would impose strict labor attestations that would possibly delay the approval of the T visa and accordingly, the usefulness of this program.

Most recently, on November 18, 1999, Representative David Wu (D-OR) introduced H.R. 3508. This Bill would allow up to 65,000 H-1B visas each year, in addition to the 65,000 existing under law prior to ACWIA. These additional H1B visas could only be used for advanced-degree professionals as long as their employers make scholarship contributions for each year of their employment.

As mentioned in previous editions of the Law Office of Sheela Murthy's Immigration Law Bulletin, U.S. employers would not take the time, trouble and tremendous expense involved to hire foreign nationals if there were sufficient qualified U.S. workers. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) believes that "the H-1B cap is a cap on U.S. economic expansion." America is the world leader in technology, with Asia and Europe competing on its heels. If we snooze at this juncture, we will lose to our competition. The U.S. needs the ability to hire highly skilled employees TODAY and for at least the near future.

Please contact your elected representatives to support laws for the increase of the H1B quota since the present numbers will not be sufficient for the insatiable demand for skilled professionals and for the continued growth of the U.S. economy.