New L-1 and H-1B Visa Provisions in the FY 2005 Budget

by Sharon Richardson

On 20 November 2004, the House and Senate approved the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 4818). Included in the new law is language that will expand, by one-third, the number of visas available for foreign technology workers. The current H-1B visa program for foreign “specialty” occupations caps the number of workers who can enter the country at 65,000. In addition, the new law raises the H-1B application fee to $1,500 per employee, with a portion of those fees underwriting $10,000 per year scholarships to help low-income individuals pursue degrees in mathematics, engineering and computer science fields. And the prevailing wage requirements for pay increased from 95 percent of the prevailing wage to 100 percent.

Companies use the L-1 Intra-Company Transfer visa program to temporarily transfer foreign executives to U.S. locations. The L-1 program was revised to require that L-1 workers be supervised by their sponsoring companies, and to prohibit sponsoring companies from hiring out L-1 visa holders to third parties. Unlike the H-1B, Congress does not limit the number of L-1 visas issued each year.

Over the years, numerous shortcoming have been identified in both the H-1B and L-1 visa programs. Some companies have used the L-1 program to circumvent the H-1B cap by bringing in foreign workers who are then hired out to third parties as contract workers.

The legislation also directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to maintain statistics on visa petitions filed, approved, extended and amended. And the legislation calls for the establishment of an L-1 Visa Interagency Task Force made up of representatives from DHS, Judiciary and State to review the DHS Inspector General’s report and recommend needed improvements in the program.

In a separate, but related development, Representative Frank Wolf (R-Va.) added funds to undertake a study on the effects of offshoring to must-pass federal agency appropriation. Rep. Wolf, who was concerned about the lack of information on the visa program, met with Dr. Ron Hira, chair of IEEE-USA’s Career and Workforce Policy Committee, along with IEEE-USA staff, to discuss the lack of reliable data on offshoring. After reading statements by Hira and subsequently meeting with him in person, Rep. Wolf, who is Chair of the Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, added $2 million to the FY 2006 Commerce Department appropriation to pay for the study. Like Dr. Hira, you can also make a difference by contacting your elected officials on behalf of your profession. Join the IEEE Care Network today.

IEEE-USA's leadership is pleased that funds have been allotted to obtain better statistical data on both the H-1B and L-1 Visa programs. IEEE-USA's leadership is also encouraged by other changes incorporated in the legislation, which the organization has been advocating over the years, including: expansion of the Department of Labor’s investigative powers; a new H-1B fraud detection and prevention fee; greater flexibility in the training programs funded with H-1B petition fees; and restrictions on third-party outsourcing of L-1 visa holders.

To read IEEE-USA testimonies and communications related to H-1B and L-1 visas, and to see what actions the IEEE-USA has taken on behalf of it’s members, go to: www.ieeeusa.org/policy/issues/H1bvisa.

Sharon Richardson is staff assistant for communications and government relations at IEEE-USA in Washington, D.C. She is also an editorial assistant for IEEE-USA's quarterly print digest, IEEE-USA Today's Engineer. Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org. Opinions expressed are the author's.