Sign on to Lobby Congress on H-1B Bills : 
Add your Company's Name!
Posted May 08, 2000

The American Business for Legal Immigration (ABLI) has drafted a letter to the House of Representatives in support of the Dreier-Lofgren H-1B Bill (H.R. 3983), and has invited concerned employers to join the bandwagon. We have reported on this Bill in prior issues of the MurthyBulletin. ABLI is a broad-based coalition of employers and business associations. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) is a member of ABLI, and the letter has also been circulated to AILA members to distribute to U.S. companies who will benefit from the provisions of this Bill.

According to an announcement from AILA, ABLI hopes to gather at least "300 signatures from companies, associations, educational institutions, non-profits and other employers." In order to add a company name, AILA and ABLI need to be sure that they have the proper authorization. Accordingly, the employer or organization needs to send the following information in writing by e-mail to tbrown@aila.org or by fax to 202-371-9449 by end of day on Monday, May 8, 2000:

a) Name of employer or association (as it should appear on the letter)

b) Name, title and telephone number of the person who authorizes the placement of the company's name on the letter

c) City and state where the employer or organization is located.

Please note that only the company or organization name will appear on the letter. The other information will not be disclosed.

We reproduce the letter below, so that you can review it and decide (quickly, please!) whether to include your company's name. Follow the above procedure and take prompt action. Please note that at the end of the letter, the names of several leading companies that have joined in supporting this legislation, have been included.

Dear Republican Leadership:

On behalf of the American Business for Legal Immigration Coalition (ABLI), we want you to know of our strong support for H.R. 3983, the HI-TECH Act introduced by Representatives David Dreier and Zoe Lofgren. The bill, which temporarily raises the cap on H-1B visas, addresses the critical workforce shortage American employers face, particularly for jobs requiring degrees in math, science and engineering. 

Three trends are at the crux of the problem. Unemployment is at a record, thirty-year low. Demand for professionals with highly specialized skills has soared while the number of American students graduating from U.S. universities with degrees in math, science, engineering and other technical disciplines has declined. Finally, the way companies design, manufacture and market products and services around the globe demands international personnel mobility. Unfortunately, American employers are finding it increasingly difficult to locate and recruit professionals to meet current project demands. Failure to raise the cap to allow access to highly educated foreign professionals, many of whom were trained in U.S. universities, will result in lost sales, delayed projects and other setbacks that will threaten the technological preeminence of U.S. industry.

The Dreier-Lofgren bill would provide immediate relief to employers. It would ensure that a number of visas are clearly reserved for individuals with masters degrees and above as well as for individuals working for institutions of higher education. Moreover it would institute changes to the green card process that would help to alleviate some of the pressures that are currently borne by the H-1B program. The bill also directs funds raised by the fee to effective education and training programs that help lay the groundwork for longer-term solutions to the worker shortage issue. The bill enjoys broad bipartisan support from Members across the country.

We appreciate the fact that Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Lamar Smith has acknowledged the need to adjust the cap. However, we believe his bill, H.R. 4227, does not provide the necessary changes to deliver meaningful relief. Indeed, H.R. 4227 imposes burdensome new requirements on the H-1B program that would make the program unusable for many employers.

The HI-TECH Act is currently the only viable, bipartisan vehicle for moving forward on this issue this year. With the cap on H-1Bs already expired, the need to address this issue quickly is acute. We cannot afford to maintain an artificial cap on our technology-driven economy. We look forward to working with you on this critical bill in the weeks ahead.

Sincerely,

ABB
Agilent Technologies, Inc.
AMD
American Council on International Personnel
American Electronics Association
American Immigration Lawyers Association
Armstrong World Industries, Inc.
Association of Independent Research Institutes
BD
Bellsoft, Inc.
Biotechnology Industry Organization
Capital Technology Information Services
College & University Personnel Association
Compaq Computer Corporation
Computer & Communications Industry Association
Computing Technology Industry Association
Dell
Deloitte & Touche LLP
Dupont
Eastman Kodak Company
Electronic Industries Alliance
Employers Association of West Mass, Inc.
Halliburton Company
Harris Corporation
Hewlett-Packard
IEMCA
Information Technology Association of America
Ingersoll-Rand Co.
Intel Corporation
International Business Machines Corporation
International Paper
Keane, Inc.
LPA
Massachusetts Software & Internet Council
Maytag Corporation
Microstrategy, Inc.
Motorola
National Association of Manufacturers
NCR Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Pelton Company
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Sabre, Inc.
SAIC
SEMI
Semiconductor Industry Association
Siemens Corporation
Silvedine Technologies, Inc.
Society for Human Resources Management
Software & Information Industry Association
Solectron Corporation
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Superior Industries International, Inc.
Tektone Sound & Signal Manufacturing, Inc.
Telcordia Technologies
Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)
Texas Instruments
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
The Proctor & Gamble Company
The Timken Company
The Western Connecticut Industrial Council, Inc.
TPI Composites, Inc.
Travelocity.com, Inc.
TRW Inc.
UNOVA, Inc.
Viet My Corporation
Virginia Industries
Wright & McGill Company

[Letter issued for public distribution, by ABLI and AILA]