Thank you for taking the time to contact me to express your opposition to S. 386, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act. As your senator, I appreciate having the benefit of your thoughts and views on this issue.
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (INA) allocates 140,000 visas annually for employment-based lawful permanent residents (LPRs) categories, roughly 12% of the 1.1 million LPRs admitted in FY2017. No single country can receive more than 7% of all employment-based LPR admissions in a given year. This is known as the per-country ceiling, or "cap." Due to high demand from certain industries, the current caps have created a backlog in some employment-based green card categories, especially for intending immigrants from India and China.
Because of these issues, Senator Lee reintroduced S. 386 earlier in this Congress. Among its various provisions, it would amend the INA to eliminate the per country cap for employment-based immigrants and increase the per-country cap for family-sponsored immigrants from 7% to 15%.
I believe any viable solution to the green card backlog issue should protect American workers, move us toward a merit-based immigration system, right-size family-sponsored migration, and eliminate any loopholes that allow for large corporations and international outsourcing companies to commit fraud and abuse.
That is why I introduced an amendment to strengthen the Department of Labor’s ability to investigate application requirements for the H-1B guest worker visa, which has become one of the principal avenues for receiving an employment-based card. In addition, the amendment also reforms the process to ensure complete disclosure regarding an employer’s H-1B hiring practices. This would provide additional oversight to ensure that employers are not using H1-B labor when they could be hiring American workers. Finally, this amendment closes off loopholes, which employers can exploit in order to circumvent the annual cap on H-1B workers.
I still believe the underlying bill, which makes significant changes to our immigration laws, ought to be openly debated in Congress for the American people to judge its merit. This includes conducting public hearings and executive business meetings within the appropriate committees of jurisdiction where members can question experts as to the benefits and consequences of the legislation. This process is there to ensure the public has a say, and I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind should this bill move forward.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. If you have any additional questions or would like to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to contact me. Keep in touch.
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