In a message dated 4/25/08 6:19:36 P.M. Central Daylight Time, News@JobDestruction.info writes:
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1859 -- 4/25/2008 >>>>>
Rep. Zoe Lofgren [D-CA] is introducing a bill that will hand out thousands
of green cards for foreigners who want to take jobs in the U.S. Lofgren's
bill purports to "recapture" visas that weren't issued between 1992-2007,
and it will allow visas to be recaptured in the future.
Lofgren's bill joins three other ones in the House to raise H-1B and two in
the Senate.
There isn't much information on the bill because the text hasn't been
formally introduced yet:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-5882
H.R. 5882: To recapture employment-based immigrant visas lost to
bureaucratic delays and to...
To recapture employment-based immigrant visas lost to bureaucratic delays
and to prevent losses of family- and employment-based immigrant visas in
the future.
Sponsor: Rep. Zoe Lofgren [D-CA]
Cosponsors [as of 2008-04-24] Rep. James Sensenbrenner [R-WI]
It seems that there is one group that has the inside scoop on the bill --
ImmigrationVoice. That group of radical H-1B lobbyists got an unofficial
version and put it online. They have been lobbying for recapture for a long
time, and it looks like they scored big time with Lofgren.
You can see the unofficial version of the bill here (keep in mind it might
change). ImmigrationVoice stamped their name on the document just to let us
know that they own it.
http://immigrationvoice.org/media/LOFGRE_076_xml.pdf
This DHS web page has some statistics on just how many visas Lofgren
intends on handing out:
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/cisomb_annualrpt07__June_11_2007_section3
e_untimelyprocessing.pdf
Employment Based Visas: 218,759
Family members who want to tag along: 200,928
Total Visas (not including 2007-2008): 419,687
Many of those family members will all get jobs too, so Lofgren's bill will
dump a huge new workforce into the U.S.
The DHS document has some other very interesting information.
some have predicted that within a few months as many as
500,000 to 750,000 individuals now residing in the United
States under a temporary worker visa could apply for a
green card.
So, three quarters of a million temporary guest workers that are probably
mostly H-1B and L-1 visa holders, and perhaps STEM students on OPT are
waiting in line for green cards. Approximately 60,000 visas will be given
to nurses, so it's not just techies who will be affected. If Lofgren has
her way, we will give them all green cards so that they can permanently
displace us from our jobs.
IN CONCLUSION: I suspect that Lofgren is offering this bill in tandem with
the Cornyn bill in the Senate. Both bills have recapture provisions,
although Cornyn's bill is far worse because it also has massive increases
in H-1B visas.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://lofgren.house.gov/110th_sponsored.shtml
32. H.R.5882 : To recapture employment-based immigrant visas lost to
bureaucratic delays and to prevent losses of family- and employment-based
immigrant visas in the future.
Sponsor: Rep Lofgren, Zoe [CA-16] (introduced 4/23/2008) Cosponsors
(2)
Committees: House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 4/23/2008 Referred to House committee. Status:
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://lieberman.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=295960
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2008
Contact: Erika Masonhall, 202-224-4041
Cornyn, Lieberman, Gregg & Hagel Introduce Legislation to Help Maintain
U.S. Competitiveness, Grow the Economy at Home
WASHINGTON -- On the heels of Tuesday's announcement by U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS) that it received enough petitions, in just
24 hours, to meet the congressionally-mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas
available for next year, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, announced today
that he and several Senate colleagues are re-introducing legislation to
address this urgent problem by promoting competitiveness, innovation, and
employer access to skilled employees.
Specifically, Senator Cornyn, along with Senators Judd Gregg, Joe
Lieberman, and Chuck Hagel, today introduced the "Global Competitiveness
Act of 2008" (S. 2839) which would give United States employers access to
previously unused H-1B temporary worker visas and permanent
employment-based visas from prior fiscal years. The bill also temporarily
increases the level of H-1B visas in a timely manner while including
reasonable targeted enforcement provisions to combat and investigate fraud
and abuse of the H-1B program. Importantly, under the Cornyn legislation,
H-1B visa holders are only allowed to work in areas where there is a
demonstrated shortage of American workers and are not allowed to act as
"labor for hire" at different job sites, potentially displacing American
workers. Furthermore, participating employers must agree to not rely
exclusively on H-1Bs for their labor needs or advertise solely for H-1B
workers, and make a concerted effort to hire Americans workers first.
"Tuesday's announcement highlights the critical nature of this
irresponsible cap. For businesses in Texas, and across the country, to
continue to grow, prosper, and create more jobs here at home, they must
have the resources necessary to remain competitive in an increasingly
global economy. Just last month, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates testified
before the House Science Committee on the issue of American
competitiveness. He stated that the U.S. economy 'depends on the ability of
innovative companies to attract and retain the very best talent, regardless
of nationality or citizenship.' I agree and we need to do something about
it," Sen. Cornyn said today.
"Well-educated, highly skilled workers are key to our country's
competitiveness. Our outdated system has limited the ability of many
American companies to recruit and retain top-quality talent. We must
address the H-1B visa crisis to ensure that America remains the world
leader in innovation," Sen. Lieberman said.
"Congress must pass critical visa legislation for our small and seasonal
businesses, as well as for companies that fuel economic growth for all
Americans. The unreasonably low caps on H-1B and H-2B visas have made it
difficult, if not impossible, for businesses to augment their U.S.
workforce with foreign labor. Hotels, landscapers, restaurants, and other
businesses in New Hampshire have been hit hard by losing access to the H-2B
program, and some will be forced to reduce operations, lay off U.S.
workers, or close their doors. Moreover, the lack of H-1B visas undermines
our nation's economy," Sen. Gregg said. "Talent is a nation's most
important resource in today's information age, and the lack of immigration
opportunities for highly skilled labor undermines our competitive edge and
forces companies to move their operations overseas, which hurts all
Americans."
"Clearly, the top priority for the Congress must be passage of a
comprehensive immigration reform bill. But the unfortunate delay we have
seen on that effort should not harm the high-tech companies and other
employers who truly need to strengthen their U.S. workforce now and have
played by the rules. This legislation creates interim relief for American
businesses, large and small, to help maintain our competitiveness in a
global market, while at the same time instituting certain enforcement
measures temporarily until we can return to comprehensive immigration
reform. This issue has the support of Senators in both political parties
and I hope the Senate will soon address it," Sen. Cornyn concluded.
OUTLINE OF GLOBAL COMPETITIVENES ACT OF 2008
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
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