Rep. Smith Introduces New H1B Visa Bill

(April 11, 2000) Rep. Lamar Smith introduced another H1B visa bill on Tuesday, April 11. His original bill, introduced on March 1, would have temporarily increased the cap on H1B visas by 45,000. His latest bill removes the cap for three years. It is scheduled to be marked up on April 12.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the Chairman of the House Immigration Subcommittee, introduced HR 4227, the Technology Worker Temporary Relief Act, on Tuesday, April 11, 2000. The bill is cosponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Rep. Tom Campbell (R-CA).

The three held a press conference in House Majority Leader Dick Armey's office to explain their latest bill.

The bill would remove the annual cap on H1B visas for the next three years. However, it would impose many requirements on employers. The petitioning company must demonstrate that it has increased its number of American employees, increased total compensation to American employees, and increased average compensation to American employees.

In addition, H1B visas would only be issued for workers being paid at least $40,000 per year.

Rep. Smith is perhaps one of the most reluctant of the proponents of issuing more H1B. Last month, and again this month, he stated that he is not convinced that there is a shortage.

"Today there is still no objective, credible study that documents a shortage of American high-tech workers. The Department of Commerce says it does not know if there is a shortage. The study that Congress commissioned by the National Science Foundation is not scheduled to be completed until after we adjourn this year. In the private sector, two substantive non-profit studies concluded that it is unclear whether or not there is a shortage."

Last month Rep. Smith introduced HR 3814, a bill that would have increased the cap temporarily by only 45,000 per year. However, it was the data just released by the Immigration and Naturalization Service that convinced him to revise his proposal.

"What is new is that two weeks ago, two and a half weeks ago, the INS informed us that demand for these visas is running 50,000 ahead of last year. That is an annual projection. We expect 50,000 more applications this year than last year. In addition, the INS reported that the number of visas the INS approved last year above what the law allowed was more than 21,000. So, there is obviously a significant growth in demand for foreign high-tech workers."

		Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX)

He concluded: "Let the market determine how many foreign skilled workers we need rather than have Congress set limits based on arbitrary number."

Rep. Campbell, one of the Representatives from Silicon Valley, stated that "of all the proposals, Lamar Smith's is the one with no caps."

"He is saying let's remove the cap for the next three years. Let's test this proposition that we need high tech workers."

Rep. Goodlatte added, "I don't see that the cap serves any legitimate purpose when we are in situation where the number of workers needed is increasing as dramatically as it is right now."

The bill is scheduled to be marked up by the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration on Wednesday, April 12 at 1:00 PM. The bill is not likely to be referred to any other committees. In particular, the bill does not contain any language regarding education and training, which would entail referral to the Education and Workforce Committee.

Rep. Smith stated that the bill was drawn this way because of jurisdictional considerations. He also hinted at the press conference that training provisions could be added to his bill on the House floor.

Rep. Goodlatte stated that "we will be working with other members here in the House, including David Dreier, the Chairman of the Rules Committee, who is very supportive ..."

However, Rep. Smith stated that, while his press conference was held in Rep. Armey's office, that did not mean that he supported the bill.