Electronics industry group backs H-1B visa reform

By Colleen Taylor, Contributing Editor -- Electronic News, 4/20/2007

National trade organization Electronics Industries Alliance (EIA) expressed public support this week for recent proposals of congressional reform of the United States' H-1B and employment-based visa programs.

Rep. John Shadegg, a Republican from Arizona, has introduced the Securing Knowledge Innovation and Leadership (SKIL) Bill in the House of Representatives, which includes provisions for companies in the U.S. information and communications technology industry that employ educated foreign professionals. An identical measure, S. 1083, has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas.

The proposed legislation would raise the H-1B cap from 65,000 to 115,000, and apply the current 20,000 cap exemption to those with a master's degree or higher from an institution of higher education in a foreign country, not just U.S. advanced degrees. The bill would also raise the limit on employment based visas from 140,000 to 290,000 per year. The bill would apply retroactively, allowing companies to recapture unused visas from fiscal years 2001 to 2005, as well as carry unused visas forward to future years. In addition, it would permit domestic visa revalidation/renewal, so that professionals working in the U.S. who have complied with all immigration laws do not have to leave the country to revalidate their visas.

Earlier this month, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally mandated cap for fiscal year 2008 just one day after starting the receipt of applications. Contrastingly, it took nearly two months for the cap to be reached for fiscal year 2007.

In a statement Thursday, EIA urged lawmakers to make the proposal part of a comprehensive immigration reform package.

"American companies need more hands and more minds to succeed in the global marketplace," Storme Street, EIA's VP of government relations, said in a statement. "These visa programs have a proven track record of enabling businesses to innovate, contribute to the economy and, ultimately, create more U.S. jobs."