US Senate introduces legislation to reform and stop abuse of H-1B visa system

Seeking to comprehensively overhaul the H1B and L1 visa programmes a bipartisan group of influential senators have introduced a legislation in the US Senate which they argued will protect American workers and crack down on foreign outsourcing companies that exploit these popular visa programmes to deprive qualified Americans of highskilled jobsThe H1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and ChinaThe L1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of work in L1 status It is valid for a relatively short amount of time The H1B visa programme is the most soughtafter work visa among foreign professionals including IndiansThe H1B and L1 Visa Reform Act will reduce fraud and abuse provide protections for American workers and visa holders and require more transparency in the recruitment of foreign workers the senators saidIntroduced by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senator Chuck Grassley Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee the legislation is cosponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal Tommy Tuberville Sherrod Brown Bill Hagerty and Bernie SandersThe H1B and L1 Visa Reform Act will require US Citizenship and Immigration Services to prioritise for the first time the annual allocation of H1B visasThe new system would ensure that the best and brightest STEM advanced degree students educated in the United States receive preference for an H1B visa and also prioritise other US advanced degree holders those being paid a high wage and those with valuable skills STEM stands for Science Technology Engineering and MathematicsThe legislation explicitly prohibits the replacement of American workers by H1B or L1 visa holders and clarifies that the working conditions of similarly employed American workers may not be adversely affected by the hiring of an H1B worker including H1B workers who have been placed by another employer at the American workers worksite a media release saidReforming the H1B and L1 visa programmes is a critical component to fixing Americas broken immigration system Durbin said For years outsourcing companies have used legal loopholes to displace qualified American workers exploit foreign workers and facilitate the outsourcing of American jobsOur legislation would fix these broken programmes protect workers and put an end to these abuses he said Reforming the H1B and L1 visa programmes is a critical component to fixing Americas broken immigration system Durbin saidFor years outsourcing companies have used legal loopholes to displace qualified American workers exploit foreign workers and facilitate the outsourcing of American jobsCongress created the H1B and L1 visa programmes to complement Americas highskilled workforce not replace it Unfortunately some companies are trying to exploit the programmes by cutting American workers for cheaper labour We need programmes dedicated to putting American workers first Grassley saidWhen skilled foreign workers are needed to meet the demands of our labour market we must also ensure that visa applicants who honed their skills at American colleges and universities are a priority over the importation of more foreign workers Our bill takes steps to ensure that the programmes work for Americans and skilled foreign workers alike he addedAccording to the senators the legislation will target outsourcing companies that import large numbers of H1B and L1 workers for temporary training purposes only to send the workers back to their home countries to do the same job Specifically the bill would prohibit companies with more than 50 employees of which at least half are H1B or L1 holders from hiring additional H1B employeesThe bill gives the US Department of Labor enhanced authority to review investigate and audit employer compliance with programme requirements as well as to penalise fraudulent or abusive conduct Specifically the bill would prohibit companies with more than 50 employees of which at least half are H1B or L1 holders from hiring additional H1B employeesIt requires the production of extensive statistical data about the H1B and L1 programmes including wage data worker education levels place of employment and gender In addition the H1B and L1 Visa Reform Act includes several reforms of the L1 visa programme including the establishment of a wage floor for L1 workers authority for the US Department of Homeland Security to investigate audit and enforce compliance with the L1 programme requirements assurance that intracompany transfers occur between legitimate branches of a company and do not involve shell facilities and a change to the definition of specialized knowledge to ensure that L1 visas are reserved only for truly key personnel the media release saidThis story has been sourced from a 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