Home » US Immigration - Visas » News- Immigration Reform– Green Cards MS Technical Degrees, H1B, L1 rules

News- Immigration Reform– Green Cards MS Technical Degrees, H1B, L1 rules

Immigration reform draft was published on April 30th, there are so many things that the proposed 26 page immigration reform draft addresses. Something that caught my attention regarding MS students and how America Conceptual Proposal for Immigration Reform-REPAIR Proposal - Reid Schumer Menendez Immigration Draft 2010 wants to retain the talent in United states after successful completion of advanced degrees. They want to make sure the student is Bona fide and not just doing advanced degree to get MS. This bill draft comes at the same time where the inflow of nonimmigrant students is very high in recession. Here is they key piece of info from draft.

“A green card will be immediately available to foreign students with an advanced degree from a United States institution of higher education in a field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, and who possess an offer of employment from a United States employer in a field related to their degree.  Foreign students will be permitted to enter the United States with immigrant intent if they are a bona fide student so long as they pursue a full course of study at an institution of higher education in a field of science, technology, engineering or mathematics.”

H1B Summary in the Draft by  Reid-Schumer-Menendez

Also, the bill tries to address some of the abuses of H1B visa holders too by giving more conditions or guidelines. Below is taken as it is from Draft :

(1) revise wage determination requirements;

(2) require Internet posting and description of employment positions;

(3) lengthen U.S. worker displacement protection:

(4) apply certain  requirements to all H-1B employers rather than only to H-1B  dependent employers;

(5) prohibit employer advertising that makes a position available only to, or gives priority to, H-1B nonimmigrants; and

(6) limit the number of H-1B and L-1 employees that an employer of 50 or more workers in the United States may hire.

L1 visa holders Info in Draft

Also, some of the conditions for L1 visa holders are listed below. Below is taken as it is from Draft.

For L-1 visas, the proposal prohibits, with a specified waiver by the Secretary of Homeland Security, an employer from hiring an L-1 nonimmigrant for more than one year who will: (1) serve in a capacity involving specialized knowledge; and (2) be stationed primarily at the worksite of an employer other than the petitioning employer. The proposal also specifies L-1: (1) employer petition requirements for employment at a new office; (2) wage rates and working conditions; and (3) employer penalties. DHS will be authorized to initiate investigations of L-1 employers suspected of being non-compliant with the law. DHS shall also report to Congress regarding the L-1 blanket petition process.

It will be interesting to see how this will turn out. You may read the below articles for full information. Check pages 18 – 22 of original Draft.

References:

Reference News Articles :

Image Credits : http://www.flickr.com/photos/athena/325752626/

   

Other Articles

19 Comments

  1. If MBA is not a part of the STEM list, how come the last program on the STEM-Designated Degree Program List is Management Science and Quantitative Methods

    Reply
  2. A person working on H1B visa in USA but having an advanced degree in science and technology from India will also be considered for immediate greencard availability process?

    Reply
  3. I doubt if this would pass in these two years…..
    If this is really a concentrating point, then what is the use of asking a student in VISA interview saying “How do i believe, if u would return to your country?”
    If every student who completes higher studies in US is given Green card, then who’s going to return? Almost 75% of students who study in USA, think of staying there itself and get settled.
    Then the country gets over populated by foreigners and one fine day, the people will start a revolution against the settlers saying that its their place and we international students are responsible for their unemployment. {just the condition presently, where people of telangana in India are asking for their own state and their own people to be employed and given value}
    But still I do welcome this because it really going to give birth to new aspirations for students. So, its better that this gets passed…….
    HOPING FOR ITS SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Thankzzz

    Reply
    • You fail to notice the provisos … firstly it’s not every MS student it’s only the ones doing engineering or sciences so finance ppl DONT qualify which is the majority of foreign Masters students … as well as those who have a job offer … it’s not easy to get a job offer for there is always competition from domestic candidates so if those students land jobs they are the ones really needed in the science fields and the US wants to keep them.

      Reply
      • I agree, it is only for STEM in advanced degrees and not many are in this category. Anyway,PRUDHVI – how did you get this number that 75% do not return to home countries? If you have lived in US, you will know – people routinely immigrate here and people routinely leave for their home country too. There is nothing wrong or right here.

        Reply
  4. Wow! Good article. I’ve been hearing about this for the past six months, but had never seen any concrete/official information on this matter. I have a few doubts though:

    (1) Will this apply to those who have already filed for Green Card processing and those who are on H1-B, OR will it apply only to those who get their advanced degrees in STEM AFTER the law is passed?
    (2) Since it says ‘A green card will be immediately available’, does this means few months, as in normal time for USCIS processing, or does this mean many years? ‘Immediately’ is, to some extent, a relative term and does not specify how soon.
    (3) This is something I guess no one might be able to answer, but: This is just a ‘draft’. Then it becomes a proposal and if Congress approves it, it will become a law. Any idea on the timeline for this law to come into effect? Also, what’s the speculation about this ‘draft’ getting passed as a ‘law’?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • DD, We do not know the details yet. So, for (1) & (2) it is hard to go to specific details. I have posted the exact draft of Immigration Reform, you can read it: . When the bill goes through congress, they make amendments and do fine details. For (3) I think, this is packaged to the Major immigration reform by Obama. Hopefully in next one or 2 years…It is the up to the congress and their priorities.

      Reply
      • Thanks! I knew my questions were too early (and too specific) to answer. I doubt if even Pres.Obama can answer them presently! LOL

        Reply

Leave a Comment