Judiciary Committee Approves Smith-Jackson-Lee H1B Bill
Posted Jun 10, 2000

In recent issues of the MURTHYBULLETIN, we have been reporting on the various legislative proposals with respect to increasing the H1B cap and other immigration related matters. While the discussion of Senate proposals has centered on S. 2045, the Hatch/Abraham bill, on the House side there are two competing bills: S. 3983 (Dreier/Lofgren bill), which is similar to S. 2045, and H.R. 4227, proposed by the anti-immigrant Representative Lamar Smith.

After heated debate, and ultimate dismissal of the original H.R. 4227, the House Judiciary Committee approved a modified version of H.R. 4227. This H1B bill sponsored by Representatives Smith (R-TX) and Jackson-Lee (D-TX) was approved by all Republican members of the Committee and opposed by all but two Democrats, Representatives Jackson-Lee and Rick Boucher (D-VA). This Bill sets a minimum salary of $40,000 for H1B workers (except for teachers), eliminates the provision which allows employers to substitute work experience for the educational requirements for the H1B visa, requires the employer to have at least $250,000 in assets –or file additional paperwork, requires H1B recipients to work at least 35 hours per week, and eliminates the employer’s ability to bring in H1B-eligible professionals using other business visas (such as L-1, E-1 etc.) An additional amendment allows a fee waiver for schools that sponsor H1B applications.

The new substitute version of H.R. 4227 contains only slight changes, which according to AILA and the business community in general, do not address the most vexing problems with the bill as originally proposed. For example, a brief summary of this Bill H.R. 4227 provides the following:

It drops the requirement that all names of H1B holders be posted on the Internet. However, the provision requiring that companies, salaries, positions, nationalities, and academic credentials of H1B holders be posted on the Internet still remains part of the bill. Although this modification attempts to preserve the privacy of the foreign worker, the possibility still remains that co-workers could identify the worker from the information.

b) It eliminates the requirement that would have transferred the responsibility for verification of foreign educational degrees to the U.S. Department of State (instead of INS).

c) It eliminates a proposed requirement that employers demonstrate that they hired more American workers over the previous year. However, it still requires the company to show that median salaries of U.S. workers were raised in the previous year.

d) It eliminates the requirement that the DOL issue final regulations implementing the 1998 law before any new H1B visas are issued.

The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C., along with AILA, remains committed to supporting the proposed legislation H.R. 3983 (Dreier/Lofgren Bill) which meets the needs of American businesses and protects foreign workers. H.R. 3983 would increase the H1B quota without adding new burdens on employers. It also provides relief from per-country limits and lessens the hardship caused by INS processing delays in permanent residency cases. H.R. 3983 has broad bi-partisan support, but it needs help since Representative Lamar Smith, who heads the Immigration Subcommittee (i.e. within the House Judiciary Committee), has been heavily promoting his own bill, H.R. 4227, instead.

Both H.R. 3983 and the Senate bill S. 2045 provide for a reasonable increase in H1Bs, while addressing key issues in the permanent residency process. Concerned readers should encourage their Representatives to support H.R. 3983 and oppose H.R. 4227, and also urge their Senators to pass S. 2045. Information on how to contact your Representatives and Senators is mentioned in our earlier issues of the MURTHYBULLETIN.