http://www.competeamerica.org/news/alliance_pr/20051020_visashort.html
Compete America Supports Senate Judiciary Committee Move to Provide Relief for Visa Shortage
Budget Measure Would Provide Interim Solution to H-1B and Green Card Crisis
Washington, D.C. - Compete America endorsed the Senate Judiciary Committee's approval today of a budget reconciliation measure that would provide interim relief from the current crisis-level shortage of H-1B and employment-based visas (green cards).
Compete America believes the package will give American employers temporary, but critical access to the talent needed for continued innovation, job creation and economic expansion in the worldwide economy, even thought the proposal was amended to halve the number of "recaptured" H-1B visas allowed per year. In addition, the measure would more than meet the full Judiciary Committee budget reconciliation obligation of $300 million over five years through increased license and applications fees.
"The relief provided by the Senate bill is a stop-gap measure necessary to ensure that the United States has the ability to attract and retain critical talent." said Sandra Boyd, Vice President, National Association of Manufacturers and Compete America Chair. "We are grateful to Chairman Specter and Ranking Member Leahy for their leadership in moving the Senate in the right direction on this issue. We look forward to working with the House towards adoption of a similar measure."
Among the specifics of the measure approved today, the following are critical to easing visa shortage, while raising significant Federal revenue:
o The measure would "recapture" employment-based (green card) immigrant visa numbers that were available by statute but unused in previous years due to processing backlogs, and make them available again at a rate of up to 90,000 per year;
o The measure would provide that only employment-based immigrants, and not their spouses and children, would count toward the annual limit on employment-based immigration; and
o It would "recapture" H-1B visa numbers that were available by statute but unused in previous years, and make them available again at a rate of up to 30,000 per year.
"At no time in our nation's history has the door been as closed to talent as it is today," said Lynn Shotwell, Executive Director of the American Council on International Personnel. "The H-1B visa quota for fiscal year 2006 was exhausted well before the new fiscal year even began, and there are years-long backlogs for green cards."
To illustrate the growing problem, Shotwell pointed to the fact that from 2001 to 2004, 141,365 employment-based third (EB-3) preference category visas were left unused - despite significant demand - due to processing delays at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
"Relief is needed, and it's needed now," Shotwell concluded.