Legislation

110th Congress
Compete America supported several bipartisan bills that were introduced in the U.S House and Senate that would have made incremental reforms to the EB green card system:

H.R. 6039 / S. 3084: A bill to exempt highly educated, foreign-born students earning an advanced degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics from a U.S. university from the annual EB green card limit.  Lead sponsors on H.R. 6039: Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Chris Cannon (R-UT); lead sponsors on S. 3084: Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Judd Gregg (R-NH).

H.R. 5882: A bill to “recapture” EB green cards that Congress authorized in the past but that went unused before the end of the fiscal year because of government processing delays.  Lead sponsors: Reps. Lofgren and Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI).  This legislation has been endorsed by over 70 employer, family and community-based organizations and was approved by the House Subcommittee on Immigration on Friday, August 1, 2008.  A similar proposal received the support of 85 U.S. Senators in 2005.

H.R. 5921: A bill to eliminate per country limits on EB green card distribution, thus removing artificial bottlenecks for employees from high-demand countries.  Lead sponsors: Reps. Lofgren and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA).

While Compete America supported these incremental reforms, the coalition continued to urge for permanent reform of the immigration system for highly educated workers.

109th Congress
In the 109th Congress, Compete America endorsed the SKIL – Securing Knowledge Innovation and Leadership – Bill, which was introduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate (H.R. 5744; S. 2691). The SKIL Bill would have provided a remedy for both the H-1B and EB green card crises.  Among its provisions were:

Exemptions for U.S. educated foreign workers with advanced degrees in math, science, technology and engineering fields from the H-1B and EB quotas so their talent can be retained in the United States.

Creation of a flexible, market-based H-1B cap so that U.S. employers are not locked out of hiring critical talent.

Extension of foreign students’ post curricular optional practical training from 12 months to 24 months to allow them to go more easily from student to green card.

Exemptions for EB/green card immigrant spouses and children from the annual cap, thus making more visas available for the professionals we need.

The Senate passed all provisions contained in the SKIL Bill as part of comprehensive immigration reform.  The bill, however, never passed the House and was not enacted into law.

The Securing Knowledge Innovation and Leadership (SKIL) Bill (S. 2691| H.R. 5744): The SKIL Bill, which has been introduced in both the Senate and House, would permanently fix the broken H-1B visa and EB green card systems. Click here for the Compete America fact sheet.

Comparison of the Senate's SKIL and Hagel-Martinez Immigration Reform Bills: This chart provides a side-by-side comparison of the major provisions related to highly educated workers in the SKIL (S.2691) and Hagel-Martinez (S.2611/S. 2612) Bills, which have been introduced in the Senate this year.

Protecting America’s Competitiveness Edge (PACE) Acts: PACE is made up of three bills designed to help America maintain its competitive edge in science and technology. The Act implements 20 recommendations contained in a recent report by the National Academy of Science titled “Rising Above the Gathering Storm.”

State of the Union: American Competitiveness Initiative: In His State Of The Union Address, President Bush Announced The American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) To Encourage American Innovation And Strengthen Our Nation's Ability To Compete In The Global Economy.

Comparison of Major Immigration Reform Legislation Introduced in 2005: This chart provides a side-by-side comparison of the major provisions in the four pieces of immigration reform legislation introduced this year - S. 1033/H.R. 2330; S. 1439; H.R. 3333; and H.R. 2092.

Comparison of Worksite Enforcement Bills Introduced in 2005: This chart provides a side-by-side comparison of the major provisions in the seven pieces of legislation dealing with worksite enforcement introduced this year - S. 1033/H.R. 2330; S. 1438; H.R. 3333; H.R. 98; H.R. 19; H.R. 688; and H.R. 1770.

Comparison of L-1 Legislation Introduced in 2005: This chart provides a side-by-side comparison between current law and the major provisions in the two pieces of legislation dealing with L1 visas introduced this year -H.R. 3322; H.R. 3382.