February 10, 2006

Comprehensive Immigration Reform - An AILA Article

24 Days to Senate Judiciary Action on Immigration - Current lay of the land:

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to begin marking up immigration reform legislation on March 2, a process likely to take several weeks to complete. In the interim, Senate Judiciary Committee staff continues to negotiate the contours of a Chairman's "Mark" that will likely serve as the base bill for Committee consideration. Senator Frist has promised to bring immigration legislation to the floor during the two week window between the Senate's St. Patrick's Day recess and Easter recess. It remains to be seen if he will use a bill reported out of the Judiciary Committee as the base bill or if he will use his own, yet-to-be introduced, border security bill. In either case, if the current schedule holds, we should expect immigration measures on the Senate floor during the last week in March and the first week in April.


President Bush is Asking Congress for More H-1Bs - Are you?
In his remarks: at the 3M Corporate Headquarters last week, President Bush called on Congress to raise the H-1B visa cap as part of his American Competitiveness Initiative. "The problem is that Congress has limited the number of H-1B visa [holders] that can come and apply for a job. I think it's a mistake not to encourage more really bright folks who can fill the jobs that are having trouble being filled here in America. . . . And so I call upon Congress to be realistic and reasonable and raise that cap."

The Senate has already shown overwhelming support for H-1B blackout relief, but the House bucked relief provisions when they were included in last fall's budget reconciliation bill. As AILA continues to explores alternative legislative vehicles for H-1B blackout relief, it is critical that we build support in the House for the H-1B program.

Last fall, AILA Members succeeded in encouraging nearly 800 of their business clients, from Fortune 100 companies and large universities to family-run restaurants, to sign a letter: to Congress supporting the Senate's proposal to recapture unused H-1B and employment-based visa numbers. The Senate, and the President, listened to our request for relief, but the House did not get the message. Do you have clients who are affected by the H-1B blackout and want to advocate for relief, but didn't sign the letter? Encourage them to call their U.S. Representatives and educate Congress about the urgent need for relief. We need to take President Bush's message to the House: to stay competitive, American companies need immediate increased access to highly skilled foreign workers.

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