In a message dated 4/14/08 6:12:31 P.M. Central Daylight Time, News@JobDestruction.info writes:
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1854 -- 4/14/2008 >>>>>
Have any of you noticed that so many of the proposed visa increases lately
are now being called national emergencies? First, we had the massive de
facto H-1B increase that the DHS approved to extend the Optional Practical
Training time period. Now we have a bill introduced by Sen. Cornyn that he
says is "emergency relief" for employers. Why doesn't Cornyn feel that his
constituents need emergency job creation?
Sen. Cornyn (R-TX) introduced "Global Competitiveness Act of 2008" in the
Senate (S. 2839). The text of S. 2839 has not yet been released, but the
immigration lawyers seem to have all the information (see below). Of course
that's probably because they wrote the bill.
Cornyn's bill has three co-sponsors. The are:
Sen. Judd Gregg [R-NH]
Sen. Charles Hagel [R-NE]
Sen. Joseph Lieberman [I-CT]
As of this writing, there are 3 House Bills and 2 Senate bills to expand
H-1B and employment based (EB) green cards. I predict that the massive
number of foreign students that get OPT extensions will be used to justify
these bills. There is extreme danger that Congress could meet in conference
and ram one of these increases through simply by putting one or two of the
bills together in some kind of bi-partisan coalition.
The Cornyn bill contains what may appear to be a restriction on how
bodyshops use H-1B visas. Don't be fooled -- bodyshops aren't the most
important issue -- the number of visas available is far more important.
Cornyn was very clever to insert this provision into the bill in order to
split the opposition. It won't stop bodyshops from operating in the U.S.
but it might inconvenience them a little since they will have to change how
they bill their work.
Cornyn's bill also has some verbiage to enforce the law against fraud. As I
have explained before, fraud isn't a major problem in the H-1B visa
program, so the provisions he is offering will do nothing to help American
workers against the huge onslaught of foreigners he wants to import.
NumbersUSA has a fax to oppose this bill. I would highly recommend you send
it out.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - April 10, 2008)
[Page: S2944]
By Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. GREGG, Mr. LIEBERMAN, and Mr. HAGEL):
S . 2839 . A bill to provide emergency relief for United States
businesses and industries currently employing temporary foreign workers and
for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.immigration-law.com/
04/14/2008: Sen. Cornyn (TX) Introduced Global Competitivess Act of 2008 in
the Senate on 04/10/2008
Last Thursday, Senator Cornyn from Texas introduced this bill , S. 2839,
which has been referred for action to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The
following is the outlines of the bill as prepared by the Senator:
H-2B Temporary Worker Program
Extends the H-2B Returning Worker provisions for 3 fiscal years
H-1B Temporary Worker Program
Recaptures 150,000 unused H-1B visas which will be distributed over a 3
year period
Imposes a H-1B recapture fee of $1,500
Increases H-1B visa levels from 65,000 to 115,000 for fiscal years 2009
through 2011
Increases the advanced degree cap for H-1B workers with masters degrees or
higher from 20k to 30k for fiscal years 2009 to 2011
Increases the H-1B petition fee from $1,500 to $2,250
Employment Based Visas
Recaptures approximately 218,000 unused employment-based visas
Distributes 61,000 of the recaptured EB visas to nurses and physical
therapists (and spouses and children accompanying or following to join)
Imposes an EB visa recapture fee of $1,500
Exempts health care facilities in underserved areas from paying the
additional EB recapture fee
Prohibitions on Outsourcing and H-1B Only Recruiting
Requires U.S. employers to provide prospective H-1B applications with a
copy of their approved H-1B petition
Requires all U.S. employers to agree not to advertise the jobs solely to
H-1B or indicate that H-1B workers will be given priority
Prohibits U.S. employers from outsourcing the labor of an H-1B worker by
requiring that the alien work only at the worksite of the employer or its
affiliates and subsidiaries in the United States
Bars U.S. employers who have an employee total that includes more than 50%
H-1B workers from filing more than 1,000 H-1B petitions in a given fiscal
year
Sunsets advertising and outsourcing provisions in 3 years
Early Adjustment Provisions
Authorizes aliens who are seeking permanent employment-based visas to file
for adjustment of status early if the visa number availability date shown
on the State Department Visa bulletin is no more than 24 months out from
the date of filing
Imposes an additional $500 fee for early adjustment filing
Revises distribution of fees to increase funding of STEM scholarship
programs
H and L Enforcement Provisions
Authorizing DHS and DOL to investigate H and L visa fraud
Revising the conditions that will result in finding a violation of the
provisions of a labor condition application
Requires information and document sharing between DHS and DOL for H and L
fraud investigations and noncompliance
Increases frequencies of H and L program audits
Doubles the penalties for violations of the labor condition application
provisions
Adds whistleblower protections for L workers, including requiring back-pay
for those harmed by an employer violation
Limits eligibility for L intra-company transferee status for aliens working
with start-up companies
Miscellaneous Provisions
Extends E-Verify authorization
Modifies the H and L fraud account provisions to allow USCIS flexibility in
terms of use of funds for benefit fraud investigations
Please stay tuned to this webside for the development of this bill in the
Senate Judiciary Committee.
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