For all of the talk coming out of Washington that the immigration reform bill passed by the Senate back in June is currently dead after having bogged down in the House, new information regarding its proposals continues to make its way to media outlets. And as those in Miami and across the country continue to monitor its progress, this new information is helping to clarify exactly what immigration problems this legislation was aimed at addressing.
One of those is employment immigration. And with immigration policy seemingly shifting towards ways to benefit the U.S. economy, this is certainly welcome news for the over 93,000 petitioners currently waiting for an employment-based H-1B visa. Among the recommendation includes raising the annual cap of employment-based visas from 65,000 to 115,000. This would no doubt make a dent in the massive number of petitions that are currently backlogged. Yet the recommendations in the legislation go even further, highlighting two programs aimed at attracting more high-level workers to the U.S.
One of those programs is the new INVEST visa. Formally titled Investing in New Venture, Entrepreneurial Startups and Technologies, this program would allow entry to foreign entrepreneurs who are either able to earn enough revenue from American customers or arrange financing through American investors to establish their businesses here, and to remain if those companies create new jobs for American workers. Part of this initiative would also be to lessen restrictions on the number of visas available to foreign investors.
Another proposal in the current reform bill would exempt those visas given to immigrant students pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) doctorates from counting against the annual cap. This would essentially guarantee a green card to those students upon completion of their programs.
Even though the debate over immigration reform remains unresolved, these proposals would seem to indicate that doors will be open in the future to those immigrants willing to work for them. Anyone looking for more information on employment immigration options may want to speak with an immigration attorney.
Source: The Economic Times “Senate immigration bill to benefit immigrants from India: US” Dec. 03, 2013
