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7. Washington Watch: Utah Congressmen Support Extending Stay for Some Guest Workers   The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) proposed a change to federal immigration law pertaining to H-2A visas that would allow temporary workers in the dairy, goat and sheep industries to legally remain in the United States for three-year stints while employed.  Chaffetz called the amendment necessary for the industries because the workers are required year-round unlike guest workers in seasonal harvesting jobs.  Current law only allows those immigrants to legally stay in America for ten months. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has introduced a nearly identical bill in the U.S. Senate.   http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/52620311-90/allow-amendment-chaffetz-dairy.html.csp   ***** Bill Would Lift Country-by-Country Caps on Employment-Based Visas   The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) introduced a bill to lift the country-by-country cap on employment-based visas.  The bill, HR3012, does not change the overall cap of 140,000 for such visas.  Chaffetz argued that the visas should be distributed on a first come first serve basis in order to fill employer’s needs.  “[Companies] want the best people and they don’t care where they come from,” Chaffetz said.  The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and is backed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of high-tech companies. The bill has been approved by the House Judiciary Committee and will next be considered by the full House of Representatives.   http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/52626376-90/based-bill-cap-caps.html.csp   ***** Lawmakers Hear Testimony on Immigration as Study Finds Indians May Wait 70 Years for Green Cards   The Washington Post reports that the non-profit, Virginia-based National Foundation for American Policy released two reports that found that highly skilled immigrants from India sponsored today on the most common employment-based visa could wait 70 years for a U.S. green card.  The reports detailed the long wait lists for skilled immigrants to obtain permanent residency, the contributions of U.S.-educated immigrants and common misperceptions about the immigration process.  The second report, titled “Keeping Talent in America” proposed changes to immigration law which include getting rid of the per-country limit for employment-based immigrants and raising visa quotas and allowing unused visas from previous years to roll over.   The reports were released just as the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement Oversight held a hearing to cover U.S.-educated immigrants’ growing desire to return to their home countries.  During the Judiciary committee hearing, a panel of academics and professionals testified.  Some, like Washington Post columnist Vivek Wadhwa, asserted that long waits for visas gave “an unintentional gift to China and India by causing highly educated and skilled workers, frustrated by long waits for visas to return home.”  Others, like Lindsay Lowell, Director of Policy Studies at the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University, urged caution in changes to existing law.    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/post/lawmakers-hear-testimony-on-immigration-as-study-finds-indians-may-wait-70-years-for-green-cards/2011/09/13/gIQAfcMYQL_blog.html   ***** Washington University Professor Appointed to D.C. Immigration Post   The Clayton-Richmond Heights Patch (MO) reports that Stephen Legomsky, a Washington University law professor who has earned international recognition as an immigration expert, has been appointed chief counsel for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).  As chief counsel, Legomsky will manage a staff of 160 attorneys, advise the director of the agency on legal and policy issues, and serve as a member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and immigration services leadership teams.   http://clayton-richmondheights.patch.com/articles/washington-university-professor-appointed-to-dc-immigration-post   ***** Senate Measure Regrets 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act   The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the U.S. Senate has passed a resolution expressing regret for the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and subsequent laws that banned most Chinese immigrants from the United States and denied them citizenship.  The resolution, SR201, was sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Scott Brown (R-Mass.).  It passed unanimously by voice vote.  The vote cleared the way for a companion bill in the House which faces tougher opposition where Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said he will refuse to bring it to the floor.  The resolution apologizes for six decades of legislation targeting Chinese immigrants for physical and political exclusion.    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/10/MNJI1LFOT4.DTL   ***** High-Skill Visa Reform Needs Action by Congress, Obama Says   Computerworld reports that in light of recent administration tweaks to U.S. immigration policy, President Obama said that real changes to high-skill immigration policy will require action from Congress.  “On the high-skill immigration area, that’s not something that we can necessarily do on our own,” Obama said at a meeting of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.  Tom Kalil, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy deputy director for policy, introduced some of Obama’s specific goals for skills-based immigration including increasing the number of green cards for high-skilled workers and specific visas for immigrants who create start-ups.  The leading Democratic reform effort so far is by U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) but her bill is not getting Republican support.  In the Senate, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D- N.Y.) has been promising an immigration reform bill, but he has yet to produce one. High-Skill Visa Reform Needs Action by Congress, Obama Says   ***** GOP’s Tech Visa Bill Copies, Literally, Democrat’s Bill   Computerworld reports that U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) submitted legislation that would make foreign students who earn advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering or math at U.S. universities automatically eligible for a green card or permanent residency if they have a job offer.  Rep. Labrador’s bill raised some eyebrows in the House where U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) introduced legislation in June seeking the exact same thing.  A spokesman for Labrador noted that borrowing heavily from similar bills is common practice and that their office “[kept] the good parts and [took] out the parts that Mr. Labrador felt weren’t necessary to create a vibrant STEM reform plan.” STEM refers to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the so-called STEM fields.    Supporters of Labrador’s bill cite data that finds that more than 55% of the master’s and 63% of PhD graduates from U.S. universities in electrical and electronics engineering are foreign nationals.  Labrador’s plan has also raised a significant number of concerns from various detractors.  Rep. Lamar Smith (R- TX) worried that the plan could create an incentive for schools to aim solely to attract tuition-paying foreign students with the “lure of a green card.”  Lindsay Lowell, director of policy studies at the Institute of International Migration, raised the issue of how the bill could affect U.S. graduates, saying the number of U.S. science and engineering graduates is far larger than the science and engineering workforce.    GOP’s Tech Visa Bill Copies, Literally, Democrat’s Bill   *****

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