NEWS CONTACTS: Eric Thomas or Frances Cox (202) 822-9491 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 27, 2006

Compete America Urges Senate Judiciary to Find Solution to H-1B and EB Visa Crisis

Washington, D.C. - Compete America today urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to ease the crisis facing U.S. employers by including provisions contained in the Chairman's mark to correct the shortcomings of both the H-1B visa and EB visa (green card) programs.

"The Senate can take a giant step towards enhancing American competitiveness by fixing the H-1B and green card systems," said Sandra Boyd, Vice President of the National Association of Manufacturers and Chair of Compete America. "Any immigration fix that comes out of Congress this year must include provisions to ease the path for highly educated foreign professionals to live and work in the United States. Anything short of that will be a failure."

Compete America specifically urged Senate Judiciary Members support the following provisions, without amendment:

• a market-based cap on H-1B visas;
• exemptions from EB caps for an expanded group of workers that are needed for their knowledge or contributions to innovation in fields like science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM);
• an easing of visa requirements for prospective foreign students seeking to pursue advanced degree study in the U.S.; and
• a direct path to green cards for advanced degree graduates of U.S. universities.

"U.S. employers need the ability to employ the highly educated workers they need to stay competitive and keep jobs here in the United States. The time to forge a solution to this growing crisis is now," Boyd concluded.

Compete America is a coalition of over 200 corporations, universities, research institutions and trade associations concerned about legal, employment-based immigration and committed to ensuring that the United States has the capacity to acquire the talent necessary for continued innovation and expansion in a worldwide economy.

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