Eric Thomas or Frances Cox 202-822-9491 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 10, 2007

Cornyn Visa Reform Bill Endorsed by Compete America

Coalition Urges ‘SKIL Bill’ Provisions to be Included in Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Washington D.C. – Compete America today praised the introduction of the “SKIL Bill” by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and urged that the bill’s provisions to reform both the H-1B visa and employment based (EB visa) green card processes be included in a Senate comprehensive immigration reform measure. 

The Securing Knowledge Innovation and Leadership (SKIL) Bill contains measures that are crucial to alleviating the crisis facing U.S. employers of highly educated foreign professionals.  A similar version of this legislation was included – along with other essential reforms – in the comprehensive immigration bill that passed the Senate last year.

“Senator Cornyn's re-introduction of the SKIL Bill recognizes that the H-1B visa crisis and green card backlogs are symptoms of an immigration system that is not aligned to today's U.S. innovation economy,” stated Paula Collins, Vice President of Government Relations for Texas Instruments and co-chair of Compete America.

The unprecedented announcement last week by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that the FY 2008 allotment of H-1B visas was met on the very first day applications were accepted was cited as evidence that reform of the visa system for highly educated foreign professionals is critical and must be enacted this year. Not only was the H-1B visa allotment for FY ’08 used up in a single day; it is estimated that one-half of those who filed will not receive a visa, as they will not be selected in the pending USCIS random selection “lottery.”  Unless Congress acts, U.S. employers will face an eighteen-month “blackout period” until an H-1B worker can be hired in FY 2009 – and that assumes they will be fortunate enough to be selected in next year’s USCIS visa lottery.

“To remain competitive, high-tech firms need to be able to hire and retain the best science and engineering talent in the world, especially graduates of U.S. universities. We urge Congress to work on a bipartisan basis to enact the provisions of the SKIL Bill as part of comprehensive immigration reform,” Collins continued.

Both the H-1B and EB visa/green card programs have been responsible for welcoming and retaining much needed foreign talent to live and work in the United States, and most importantly, to make significant contributions to the U.S. economy and global competitiveness. However, H-1B shortages have been well documented, and backlogs in the green card system are getting worse, forcing thousands of valued foreign-born professionals – including researchers, scientists, teachers and engineers – into legal and professional limbo for years.

Among the provisions of the SKIL Bill endorsed by Compete America are the following:

• 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.

“Action this year is vital to U.S. competitiveness. We are grateful to Senator Cornyn for his continued leadership, and look forward to working with Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to enact this common sense legislation,” Collins concluded.

Initial co-sponsors for the SKIL Bill include Senators Allard (R-CO), Bennett (R-UT), Hutchison (R-TX) and Lott (R-MS).

For more information on how highly educated immigration benefits America, please visit www.competeamerica.org.