Republicans, Lieberman Want More H-1B Visas

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, joined by two other Republican senators and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., reintroduced legislation late Thursday that would let American employers recruit more highly skilled foreign workers and temporarily increase the level of H-1B visas.

Comment on this article in The Forum.The effort came in the wake of Tuesday's announcement by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that it had received enough petitions within 24 hours to meet the congressional cap of 65,000 H-1B visas available for next year.

The bill, whose other GOP sponsors include Sens. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., comes amid heavy lobbying from high-tech firms and support from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In a statement, Cornyn said passing an immigration bill should be a top priority, but his spokesman said there is "little appetite for immigration reforms this year by the [Democratic] majority."

The bill "falls short," said Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill. "All employers seeking H-1B visas must first be required to make a good-faith effort to hire an American worker," he said. "I will fight any H-1B proposal that does not include the fundamental principle of hiring Americans first."

The proposal would call for targeted enforcement provisions to combat abuse of the H-1B program while lifting the current cap, which Cornyn described as "irresponsible" and which Gregg deemed "unreasonably low."

H-1B visa holders would be allowed to work in areas only where there is a demonstrated shortage of U.S. workers, and they would not be permitted to act as "labor for hire" at different job sites, which could potentially displace American workers, according to the Cornyn news release. Participants would also have to agree to not rely exclusively on H-1Bs for their labor needs.

Last month, House Judiciary ranking member Lamar Smith, R-Texas, introduced a bill that would lift the H-1B ceiling to 195,000 through fiscal 2009, and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., offered her own measure to double the number of spots available next year.

Separately, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., introduced a bill to exempt any foreigner who has received a Ph.D. from a U.S. institution within the past three years from employment-based visa limits.

Microsoft lobbyist Jack Krumholtz said today Cornyn's measure is a "good and positive step toward addressing the nation's critical shortage of high skilled workers in science and technology." Compete America, whose members include Cisco Systems, Intel, Google, Motorola and others, also lauded the bill. The AFL-CIO, which has been critical of visa expansion proposals, has not taken a position on the bill, a spokeswoman said.