Communications of the ACM
Senate’s H-1B Visa Proposal Goes Far Beyond Microsoft’s
Credit: SEO Law Firm
Last fall, Microsoft unveiled a plan to expand the H-1B visa program for highly skilled foreign workers, but the Immigration Innovation Act, introduced on Tuesday (January 29) by a bipartisan group of senators, goes beyond Microsoft's plan by increasing the annual quota of H-1B visas for those workers from 65,000 to 115,000. The bill also calls for the cap to grow every year if demand exceeds supply, potentially up to 300,000 visas per year.
In addition, the bill calls for removing a separate cap of 20,000 visas for foreigners with graduate degrees from U.S. universities. The bill also charges companies an extra $1,000 for each visa, and the money will be used to improve science, technology, engineering, and math education for U.S. students.
However, the legislation is expected to increase the tension between high-tech companies and unemployed workers who are worried they are being displaced by younger, lower-paid foreigners. Rochester Institute of Technology professor Ron Hira estimates that eliminating the cap on foreigners with advanced degrees from U.S. universities could eventually account for 100,000 additional visas per year. The Senate proposal includes an escalator and a decelerator to tie the annual H-1B visas quotas to market demands.
From The Seattle Times
View Full Article
Abstracts Copyright © 2013 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA
No entries found