Today the Senate took the historic step ofpassing Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Senate bill S. 744. This is a significant step on the path to thebill becoming law. It is important tonote that nothing has changed with this action. While we are much closer, we are still quite a ways from any legalchange. The House must act. The House is more conservative than theSenate.
S. 744 does many things. Many of the specifics will change as theHouse takes action. Therefore it is muchtoo early for employers to plan for CIR.
What the House will do is a wide-openquestion. The House will likely moveslowly. There are many factions ofRepublicans who are struggling to reconcile their disparate opinions. If the Republicans can agree on the Houseside, then a House CIR bill could pass.
Even if that happens, there is no guaranteethat the senate and House bills can be reconciled. At this point the odds are 50/50 that we getCIR in 2013, and the odds improved significantly with today’s Senate vote.
MU Law has been to Washington on severaloccasions in the last 90 days to speak with Congressional staff aboutemployment-based immigration issues. While no one knows what the final CIR bill will look like, but if CIRpasses it will have these characteristics:
Greater H-1B visa numbers. Current law allows 65,000 new “regular” H-1B visa approvalsevery fiscal ear and an additional 20,000 for graduates of American Master’s degreeprograms. American businesses haveregularly asked Congress to raise this H-1B quota. Congress is hearing the call. Most potential legislation calls forincreased H-1B numbers.
Increased H-1B Enforcement. The trade-off for the greater H-1B numbers isgreater enforcement regulation. Allversions of CIR step up funding for H-1B enforcement.
Special Third Party Placement Rules for H-1BEmployers. Since January 2012,USCIS has held staffing companies to a higher level of scrutiny. Congress is nowgoing further. Placing employees atthird-party worksites is outright prohibited for some employers and highlyregulated in others.
Abundant Green Card Numbers. Byincreasing green card numbers, Congress hopes to incentivize employers andworkers to become permanent residents. . This should mean faster green cardsand less worrying about quotas.
E-Verify is here to stay. E-verifyis a federal program whereby voluntary employers can check a prospectiveemployee’s work authorization. Governmentcontractors and some states have made E-verify mandatory. Congress appears ready to require E-verifyfor all employers, likely phasing it in over a few years.
Shifting from Family Based Visa Numbers toMerit Based Immigrants. One part of the CIR plan is that Congressappears to have settled on a merit-based green card. A merit-based system would allow theDepartment of Homeland Security to weigh a number of factors, such aseducation, job prospects, US ties, and English fluency to prioritize anapplicant’s visa. The merit based systemwill come at the expense of the family categories and will eliminate the visalottery program.