Democrats seek major H-1B, green card reform

Computerworld - WASHINGTON - Silicon Valley's U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren has proposed a sweeping reform of the H-1B visa and green card in a new bill released Tuesday.

The bill, which will likely be the benchmark Democratic proposal in Congress on the tech visa reform, makes green cards available to students who earn advanced degrees at certain schools.

It also makes a green card available to foreign entrepreneurs who create new businesses, while seemingly discouraging use of the H-1B visa by offshore firms, in particular.

In a time of high unemployment, this bill seeks to frame visa reform as a job creation issue. The legislation's very name underscores this message, the Immigration Driving Entrepreneurship in America (IDEA).

"More than 52% of Silicon Valley startups were founded or co-founded by immigrants, and immigrant-founded companies produced $52 billion in sales and employed 450,000 workers in 2005," Lofgren said in a statement. "Immigration has historically made our economy stronger. My bill embraces that history and encourages the world's thinkers and doers to join us."

President Barack Obama has made tech visa reform a priority, but may have left the details to Congress.

Lofgren's bill includes provisions that may make it harder for some firms to use the H-1B visa.

The H-1B visa is granted for three years and then is routinely extended for another three years. But this bill eliminates the three-year extension for "exclusively temporary workers," a move that may hit offshore IT services providers that rely heavily on the H-1B visa.

Lofgren has 13 Democratic co-sponsors, including George Miller, also from California, who is chairman of the House Democrat Policy Committee and the ranking Democrat on the House Education and Labor Committee. Another sponsor is Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, who is chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force, and one of the leaders on comprehensive immigration reform.

Supporters of broader immigration reform have previously opposed a piecemeal approach on visa reform issues. This bill, however, has some Dream Act-like provisions that provide permanent residency to some students.

But there are no Republican co-sponsors on the bill, which means it may have trouble moving forward.

Lofgren "is working to secure bipartisan support, and she's confident she can," said her spokesman, Pedro Ribeiro.

Lofgren also serves on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, which is chaired U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who has voiced support for doubling the H-1B cap. Smith has not introduced legislation to accomplish this yet.

But Smith wants to make the E-Verify system, an electronic system for checking an employee's credentials, mandatory, and it is possible that he could include some visa reforms in this proposal as well.

The new category for advance degree STEM graduates seeks to limit the eligible schools to those classified by the National Science Foundation as a research institution "or as otherwise excelling in STEM instruction."

The green card-seeking student will also need a job offer in a field related to the graduate's degree and with wages that meet or exceed the prevailing wage of the particular occupation.

The "start-up business and job creation visa," provides "conditional green cards" for entrepreneurs that can show sponsorship by a venture capital company, angel investor or qualified employer and an investment of at least $500,000.

More at....

http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...0&pageNumber=1

would there be a loophole that would allow dreamers to qualify for this?

http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...0&pageNumber=2

This is an excellent news for DREAMers.

1. If you are a STEM Dreamer pursuing an advanced degree, then you are all set. You will be able to apply for green card as if you were legal upon graduation and being hired.

2. If you are not a STEM Dreamer, then you can at least get a student visa so that you can adjust your status to H-1B upon graduation or something like that. Good luck trying to find an H-1B job as a liberal art graduate, but at least you can try.

I hope my school is one of them.

This is better than Dream Act. No age cap ^__^

so can we apply for legal status when we get our BS, or when we get a master or phd?

you need to be pursuing a master or phd to qualify for this

does this mention which school or programs you have to be in.

So if someone has a Bachelor's already and this candidate applies to study for Master's before it passses then the person is qualified for a Student Visa? What if this person drops out of the Master's program after getting a Student Visa?

Which Schools?

I found this after searching Google. It's pretty much what's already been posted, but it is available in a single PDF for those who are interested in reading it.

And I can't find a list of NSF research institutions for those who asked about which schools would make you eligible.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you would only need to be accepted into a Master's program to qualify for the student visa, right? Or would you need to have already started your Master's?

STEM means Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. So, you'd have to be in one of these programs. It's a PDF.

Actually you need a diploma and a job offer to qualify for the STEM green card.

Pursuing is not good enough.

You can apply for student visa while in school regardless of major. That makes you legal and can apply for other legal status after graduation.

Only the advanced STEM degree holders may apply for the green card program.

You just need to be in college with any major for the student visa. Reading the text, I think even the community college is good enough.

It is sort of like Dream Act, but you get a student visa instead of a provisional green card.