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H-1B UPDATE
The INS has told the American Immigration Lawyers Association that it has told the four regional Service Centers to process H-1B applications that are subject to the cap that were filed through February 25.  It seems that the INS will continue this method of adjudicating – instructing the Service Centers to deal with cases filed through a certain date – until the cap is officially reached.  The agency stressed that this does not mean February 25 is the date by which petitions must be filed to make it under the cap.  Once the Service Centers reach that date, the INS will examine the situation and determine which target date to announce next.  The INS also said that it has instructed the Service Centers to continue working on non-cap cases. 
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There were a number of important developments in the past week related to legislative proposals to raise the H-1B cap. In a nutshell, the House Judiciary Committee appeared to be on the verge of accepting an H-1B bill that looked a lot like Lamar Smith’s recently proposed bill. A deal was apparently reached, but Chairman Hyde has been holding matters up. We have not received word on when the bill will proceed. In the meantime, President Clinton has stepped into the debate by proposing his own H-1B bill. Here is a summary of postings on the H-1B Emergency Update section on our web site at http://www.visalaw.com/h1bpage.html: 
May 8, 2000<ぐ颵ᇏ芻ꨀ봀௎噓�۷?譗Ѿ੷譟廎沔> 
The House Judiciary Committee is expected to take up H.R. 4227, Lamar Smith's H-1B bill, tomorrow. The competing bipartisan bill, which is favored by industry, may be offered as a substitute by the bill's sponsor, California Silicon Valley Democrat Zoe Lofgren. Lofgren's bill has more than 60 co-sponsors from both parties as opposed to Smith's two Republican co-sponsors. Even though the bipartisan bill enjoys much greater support, many believe that Republican leaders fear Lamar Smith and are reluctant to confront him on this issue. Other observers believe that the more controversial provisions in the Smith bill will not survive and that a compromise bill will pass. Even in this case, however, most expect that some of the anti-fraud worker protection measures would remain. 
  
May 10, 2000 
House Republican leader Dick Armey predicted at a press conference on the Republican's technology legislative agenda that the H-1B bill will pass this month. 
  
May 10, 2000 - EXTRA<ぐ颵ᇏ芻ꨀ봀௎噓�۷?譗Ѿ੷譟廎沔> 
The movement to increase the H-1B quota overcame another major hurdle yesterday as the House Judiciary Committee reached consensus on passage of an H-1B bill. The committee lacked a quorum yesterday and could not vote on the bill, but a compromise has been reached and approval is expected today. 
The bill will end the H-1B quota all together for the next three years as reflected in Lamar Smith's H.R. 4227. A number of the provisions in H.R. 4227 that most worried industry were removed, however. Among the provisions in the bill that will pass today: 
- a minimum salary of ,000 for most H-1B workers 
- company sponsors would have to show at least 0,000 in assets 
- H-1B employers will have to review salaries annually for US workers to ensure they remain level or increase 
- a new 0 anti-fraud fee will be due and the funds will be evenly divided between the State Department and the INS 
- a General Accounting Office study of minority hiring in the high tech sector would be mandated 
Lamar Smith originally opposed implementing an increase or elimination of the H-1B quota until Department of Labor regulations for the 1998 H-1B legislation are issued. He dropped that demand yesterday. 
Not everyone was happy about the compromise and many are still awaiting details of some of the changes before making judgments. Representative Lofgren, the sponsor of one of the original bills, was not happy that her proposal to raise the worker retraining fee from 0 to 00 was not in the final version. And many employers are concerned about what will be required to document the salary review measure.  
The next hurdle is passage of the bill by the entire House of Representatives. We will alert readers when we receive information on a possible date for this action. We will also have a complete summary of the legislation shortly as well as the full text of the latest version of the bill. 
 
May 11, 2000   
President Clinton is now weighing in on the H-1B bill. Today, the White House released a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde setting out the President's own preferences for a revised H-1B program. The letter states that the President's aim is to come up with a plan that will be truly bipartisan and propel the H-1B bill to passage. Among the measures in the proposal - 
lift the H-1B cap to 200,000 for the next three years 
mandate an increasing proportion of the visas go to individuals with 
Master's degrees or higher (40% in 2001, 45% in 2002 and 50% in 2003 
Universities will be guaranteed 10,000 H-1B visas 
increase the fees to 00 for most employers and 00 for H-1B dependent employers (80% of the fee increase would be allocated to new worker retraining and new education programs; the remainder would be allocated to improving service at the INS and Labor Department). 
include the Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 1999 in the bill to allow certain nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Haiti an opportunity to adjust status to permanent residency (currently, only Nicaraguans and Cubans benefit) 
the new "amnesty" Registry Date legislation would be attached to allow certain long-term immigrants of good moral character who have been in the US for at least 15 years to apply for legal resident status. 
The full text of the proposal is as follows: 
May 11, 2000 
The Honorable Henry J. Hyde
Chairman 
Committee on the Judiciary 
U.S. House of Representatives 
Washington, DC 20515 
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary   
For Immediate Release                                          
The Honorable Henry J. Hyde
Chairman 
Committee on the Judiciary 
U.S. House of Representatives 
Washington, DC  20515 
Dear Chairman Hyde: 
The House of Representatives is currently considering a variety of proposals designed to address both the industry's immediate need for high-skilled workers and the nation's need to prepare its own workers to fill these and future jobs created by the information technology revolution.  The first and primary policy for increasing the availability of high skilled workers must be focused on increasing the education and training of U.S. workers.  However, at times U.S. businesses need additional access to the international labor market to maintain and enhance our global competitiveness, particularly in high-growth new technology industries and particularly in tight labor markets.<ぐ颵ᇏ芻ꨀ봀௎噓�۷?譗Ѿ੷譟廎沔> 
In addition, as we consider allowing more foreign temporary workers into this country to meet the needs of our high tech industry, it is critical that we take this opportunity to correct two long-standing injustices currently affecting many immigrants already in our country.  The Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) should be amended to provide equitable treatment for other Central American immigrants, and the Date of Registry should be changed to offer long-term immigrants with longstanding ties to this country the opportunity to apply for legal resident status. 
 There are a number of ideas currently being discussed in Congress regarding the H-1B visa issue.  For example, the bill by Rep. Smith and Rep. Jackson Lee is pending before your committee.  In addition, Chairman Dreier and Rep. Lofgren have a proposal that makes important contributions to this discussion that are worthy of serious consideration.  
The bipartisan proposal reported out by Chairman Goodling's Committee on Education and the Workforce makes considerable progress on the education and training component of this issue.  Yet despite these efforts, no single proposal has emerged which represents a comprehensive, bipartisan compromise that members of Congress and the Administration can all support. 
Therefore, in an effort to advance the prospects for a bipartisan solution, the President proposes the changes to current law outlined in the following attachment.  The President's proposal represents a balanced approach of a reasonable increase in the number of H-1B visas, significant provisions to protect and prepare the U.S. workforce, and measures of fairness and equity for certain immigrants already in the U.S. 
 I have attached the details of the President's proposal for your review.  We look forward to working with you to reach a constructive bipartisan resolution on this important matter. 
                      Sincerely, 
                      Gene Sperling 
                     Director, National Economic Council & Assistant to the President for Economic Policy 
  
                  President Clinton's H-1B Visa Proposal 
  
1.  Raise the Cap on H-1B Visas for FY 2001, 2002, and 2003 
  
|-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------|
| Current Law      | Administration Proposal           | 
| 2001     107,500                  | 2001      200,000                 | 
| 2002      65,000                  | 2002      200,000                 | 
| 2003      65,000                  | 2003      200,000                 | 
|-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------| 
2.  Ensure a Significant Set-Aside for Highly Educated Workers 
?   Currently, the INS estimates that 40% of H-1B visas go to individuals holding a Master's or higher degree.  The President's proposal preserves that proportion in the coming year, and slightly increases it in 2002 and 2003, while still significantly increasing the number of visas available to professionals with no more than a Bachelor's degree.   
      Administration Proposal 
2001     40% for Master?s Degree and Above 
2002     45% for Master?s Degree and Above 
2003     50% for Master?s Degree and Above 
  
 ?   In addition, 10,000 visas are to be set aside for institutions of higher education and other research institutions.<ぐ颵ᇏ芻ꨀ봀௎噓�۷?譗Ѿ੷譟廎沔> 
  
3.  Additional Fees for Building the Skills of US Workers   
  |---------------------------+--------------------------------------|
  | Current Law               | Administration Proposal               |
  | 0 Fee for H-1B Visa    | ,000 for Most Employers  |
  |                           | ,000 for H-1B Dependent Employers  |
  |                           |                       (as defined in |
  |                           | current law)                         |
  |---------------------------+--------------------------------------| 
  
4.  Additional Resources for Education and Training 
?   50% of Total H-1B Fees for Training American Workers:   
?   DoL, in consultation with the Department of Commerce (DoC), will fund effective and innovative private-public partnerships to train American workers.<ぐ颵ᇏ芻ꨀ봀௎噓�۷?譗Ѿ੷譟廎沔> 
?   Preponderance will go to education and training for incumbent and dislocated worker training, and a smaller proportion for youth opportunity programs.<ぐ颵ᇏ芻ꨀ봀௎噓�۷?譗Ѿ੷譟廎沔> 
?   Special emphasis will be put on funding innovative projects that focus on groups underrepresented in the IT industry, such as women, minorities, and Americans with disabilities.   
?   30% for educational activities including National Science Foundation (NSF) programs for scholarships for low-income students in computer science, math and engineering, Graduate Research Fellowships, and merit-based scholarships; the Department of Education's Teacher-Loan Forgiveness, Upward Bound and Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) programs; and programs for and better coordination of economic dislocation assistance through the Department of Commerce Community Economic Adjustment program.<ぐ颵ᇏ芻ꨀ봀௎噓�۷?譗Ѿ੷譟廎沔> 
?   20% for dramatically improving customer service at INS and DoL by speeding up application processing, reducing backlogs, and improving enforcement of employer-based immigration programs.<ぐ颵ᇏ芻ꨀ봀௎噓�۷?譗Ѿ੷譟廎沔> 
5.  The Administration strongly supports the inclusion of the "Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 1999" (HR 2722 and S. 1592) and Registry Date legislation (HR 4172 and S. 2407) within H-1B legislation.<ぐ颵ᇏ芻ꨀ봀௎噓�۷?譗Ѿ੷譟廎沔> 
?   Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 1999 -- amends the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) to provide certain nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Haiti an opportunity to apply for adjustment of status under that Act.  Currently, NACARA applies only to Nicaraguans and Cubans.<ぐ颵ᇏ芻ꨀ봀௎噓�۷?譗Ѿ੷譟廎沔> 
?   The proposed Registry Date legislation would allow certain long-term immigrants of good moral character who have been living in the United States for a long time (fifteen years or more) to apply for legal resident status.<ぐ颵ᇏ芻ꨀ봀௎噓�۷?譗Ѿ੷譟廎沔> 
?   The registry date provision has been in effect since 1952, and a comparable provision has been part of U.S. immigration law since 1929.  The current registry date, January 1, 1972, was adopted 14 years ago. This proposal moves the registry date up an additional 14 years, to January 1, 1986.<ぐ颵ᇏ芻ꨀ봀௎噓�۷?譗Ѿ੷譟廎沔> 
In  addition,  the  Administration  supports  extension  of the attestation requirements  and  DoL  investigative  authority  granted  in  the American Competitive  Workforce  Improvement  Act of 1998 (ACWIA) throughout the cap increase  -- until October 1, 2003.  Currently, the provisions sunset along with the ACWIA cap increase in October, 2001.