Cantwell-Cornyn Amendment to CIR Bill
Posted Jun 08, 2007
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On May 24, 2007, Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Robert Bennett (R-UT) introduced an important amendment to the pending comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) bill. This amendment, in effect, would create a dual "green card" system. As MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers were informed in our May 25, 2007 article, Immigration Reform Proposal: Senate Compromise, the immigration reform bill, in its current form, would create a merit-point system. The system would be based entirely on points assigned for employment, education, English and civics, and extended-family connections. The Cantwell-Cornyn amendment proposes keeping an annual pool of 140,000 employer-sponsored "green cards" for foreign national workers separate and in addition to those currently in the bill. This would allow businesses to keep closer control over the workers they would like to keep in the United States. In addition, the amendment would keep the employment-based category for people with extraordinary abilities and/or special skills who are both self-sponsored and sponsored by a specific employer. It is important to note that this proposed amendment is to legislation that is also currently only proposed. At the time of this writing, no new legislation has been signed into law.
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Amendment's Treatment of H1B Visas
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In addition to the dual green card system, the amendment proposes establishing no limit on H1B visas for foreign nationals with advanced degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), as well as all foreign students who have advanced degrees from U.S. universities. The proposal also would strike the immigrant-intent presumption written in the original bill and restores the degree-equivalency provision. If enacted the proposal would also strike the new and strict provisions requiring employers to comply with burdensome requirements that currently apply only to willful violators.
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The amendment would relax the requirement that those with H1B visas hold professional degrees that match their jobs. If enacted, it would make it possible for foreign nationals with degrees in mathematics, for example, to apply for jobs in software engineering, if they otherwise qualify.
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Support from Various Organizations and Groups
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The Cantwell-Cornyn amendment has been met with strong support from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), as it helps the U.S. economy and is highly beneficial for U.S. employers and foreign national workers. Of course, not everyone feels the same. There are restrictionist groups that, as expected, oppose the amendment.
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Conclusion
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It is important that MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers understand that the amendment, as well as the various versions of the comprehensive immigration reform bill, are not law at this time and will become law only if approval is met by both the Senate and the House of Representatives and it is signed by the President of the United States. This amendment is yet another example of the myriad of changes that legislation can undergo between proposal and enactment.
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Since this legislation is still only in the proposed stage, we at the Murthy Law Firm warn our readers to be wary of any people who propose to provide "assistance" with any of the benefits that are currently being debated as part of the immigration reform. There are no benefits or new types of visas yet available, since these bills are merely proposals at this stage.