New Bill Introduced Re: H1B Quota and Other Benefits
Posted Feb 14, 2000

A new Bill, Senate Bill 2045, was introduced yesterday, on February 9, 2000, by Senator Orrin Hatch increasing the H-1B quota and addressing some very creative and useful solutions for those undergoing the green card process, who should not be subject to the H1B 6-year limit on stay, or the per country limit for immigration if certain conditions are met. This Bill, if passed, will be called the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000. This Bill can be found on the web, in its entirety at http://rs9.loc.gov/ (in the search By Bill Number, type SB2045).

Only a Bill, Not the Law. Please note that although your sources may advise you of the provisions of the Bill, and many of us would like this Bill to become the law, it is merely a Bill and it is NOT the law and may never become the law. Nevertheless, the importance for us of Bills pertaining to the immigration process is to help us understand the minds of our lawmakers and the trend of immigration laws in years to come!

Some of the key features of this Bill are as follows:

Increase of H1B Quota. The Bill hopes to raise the H1B quota from the existing numbers to 195, 000 in each fiscal year starting from this year (FY 2000).

Certain categories of professionals will be exempt from the count:

(a) Those employed at colleges or universities or affiliated research organizations, or government research organizations. The exemption from the H1B quota applies to the job and not the person.

(b) Those who earned an advanced degree or degree from a college or university in the six months prior to the H1B filing date.

Per Country Limit for Green Cards Does Not Apply if the Number of Green Card Applications is greater than the Number of Visas Available : The per country limitation of 7% of the worldwide allotment for employment-based permanent resident applicants will not apply if the total number applications submitted in the five employment-based immigrant visa categories is greater than the number of visas available (as is usually the case). The purpose is to ensure that visa applications do not get unused like last year.

Annual Renewal of H1B after the 6 Year Limit Reached : For an H-1B employee whose employment-based immigrant petition or labor certification is pending at least one year, the H1B employer may petition for annual extensions on behalf of such an H1B employee even after the six year limit, until the INS approves the adjustment of status or the person obtains the immigrant visa.

Work Commencement After Filing H1B Petition with INS : Another interesting provision would allow the H1B employee to commence working for the new H1B sponsoring employer after filing the H-1B petition, instead of awaiting the H1B approval!

Reallocation of Revoked H1Bs : If an H1B beneficiary was issued the H1B visa and later on the H1B Petition is revoked for fraud or willful misrepresentation, then the H1B number utilized for such a beneficiary should be added back to the H-1B allocation for the year in which the H1B Petition is revoked, even if the H1B Petition was issued in an earlier year!

Needless to say, these provisions are exactly what the business immigration community has been working towards for several years. It is the efforts of companies and their immigration attorneys to have a Bill with such pro-business immigration provisions. As mentioned above, these provisions are not the law yet and we at the Law Office of Sheela Murthy will keep you updated of any developments with this Bill. The Bill appears to have considerable support in Congress and it is an opportunity for employers to lobby their elected representatives to support this measure to benefit their companies and the U.S. economy.