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NEWS CONTACTS: Eric Thomas or Frances Cox (202) 822-9491 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 1, 2006

2007 H-1B Visa Cap Is Reached Four Months Before Start of Fiscal Year

Compete America Cites Need for Visa Reform This Year

Washington, D.C. - The announcement today by the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) that the FY '07 allotment of H-1B visas has already been met was cited by Compete America as evidence that reform of the visa system for highly educated temporary workers must be enacted this year.

"Hitting the H-1B cap four months before the start of the fiscal year is a clear sign that the visa process for highly educated workers is broken, and must be reformed this year," said Lynn Shotwell, Executive Director of the American Council on International Personnel. "We clearly have a demand for H-1B visas that is not being met by the supply. This is a fundamental problem adversely impacting U.S. employers and American competitiveness, and it requires a permanent fix."

Last month, the Senate passed provisions that would reform both the H-1B visa and employment based (EB visa) green card processes, both of which U.S. employers use to recruit and retain highly educated foreign professionals who have unique experience in specialized areas and who have at least a bachelor's degree or the equivalent. Many of these foreign nationals are employed in scientific research, medicine, technology and education. Under current law the H-1B visa program is capped at 65,000 per year, down from 195,000 in FY '03. Congress created an exemption for 20,000 foreign nationals earning advanced degrees from U.S. universities, which for FY '06 was reached only four months into the fiscal year and is expected to be hit for FY '07 before the fiscal year begins. The Senate-introduced SKIL bill (S. 2691) and other competitiveness bills in the Senate also address this critical issue.

Today's announcement by CIS marks the eighth time in the last ten years that the cap has been reached before the end of the fiscal year, and the third consecutive year the cap has been reached prior to the beginning of the new fiscal year.

"While we need to do more as a nation to encourage American students to pursue degrees in the fields of math, science, engineering and technology, we must also be able to attract top talent from across the globe. The future competitiveness of our nation depends on it," said Sandy Boyd, National Association of Manufacturers Human Resources Policy Vice President and Compete America Chair.

Compete America (www.competeamerica.org) is a coalition of more than 200 corporations, universities, research institutions and trade associations concerned about legal, employment-based immigration and committed to ensuring that the United States has the highly educated workforce necessary to ensure continued innovation, job creation and leadership in a worldwide economy.

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