[IP] Bill adds 20,000 H-1B visas
Begin forwarded message:
From: EEkid@xxxxxxx
Date: November 22, 2004 11:32:46 PM EST
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Bill adds 20,000 H-1B visas
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9589_22-5462983.html
Bill adds 20,000 H-1B visas
By Ed Frauenheim CNET News.com November 22, 2004, 12:01 PM PT
Up to 20,000 more guest worker visas will be available annually to
foreigners who earn advanced degrees in the United States, under a bill
passed by Congress this weekend.
In a catch-all spending bill, Congress agreed to a number of changes to
the controversial H-1B and L-1 visa programs. President Bush on
Saturday said he plans to sign the legislation.
Among the visa program changes in the bill are a requirement that
companies attest that an H-1B worker will not displace a U.S. worker
and a $500 "antifraud" fee tied to visa applications. In addition, up
to 20,000 foreigners who earn a master's degree or higher from a U.S.
institution will not be counted toward the annual cap of 65,000 new
H-1B visas.
Businesses have pushed for such a change. The government announced on
Oct. 1, the first day of the 2005 federal fiscal year, that that year's
limit had already been reached.
"Granting this exemption puts America first by giving U.S. employers
access to this talent and giving U.S. taxpayers a bigger return on the
tax dollars they invest every year in U.S. institutions of higher
learning," Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology
Association of America trade group, said in a statement Monday.
"Foreign students make up 50 percent or more of attendance in many
advanced math, science and engineering programs. Forcing foreign
students to return home after earning their advanced degrees sends that
public investment packing."
H-1B visas, which allow skilled foreign workers to work in the United
States for up to six years, have frequently been used by technology
companies. Exemptions to the cap already exist for institutions of
higher education, nonprofit research groups and governmental research
organizations. L-1 visas allow companies to temporarily bring in
employees from other countries for managerial or executive work, or for
work that entails specialized knowledge
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