April 24, 2009
On April 23, 2009, the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act was introduced in the Senate by Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (Democrat of Illinois) and Senator Chuck Grassley (Republican of Iowa). The restrictive bill proposes to leave the total number of available H-1B visas (65,000 per year) the same, while severely curtailing the current H-1B program with these changes:
- Require all employers who want to hire a foreign national under the H-1B classification to first make a good-faith attempt to recruit a qualified American worker
- Prohibit the practice of "H-1B only" ads
- Prohibit employers from hiring additional H-1B and L-1 employees if more than 50% of their employees are H-1B and L-1 visa holders
To address fraud concerns, the bill gives the government even more authority than it already has to conduct employer investigations. For example, the bill proposes to:
- Permit DOL to initiate investigations without a complaint and without the Labor Secretary's personal authorization
- Authorize DOL to review H-1B applications for fraud
- Allow DOL to conduct random audits of any company that uses the H-1B program
- Require DOL to conduct annual audits of companies who employ "large numbers of H-1B workers."
In addition to the above changes, and noting "some employers use the L-1 program to evade restrictions on the H-1B program", the proposed bill would also enact changes to the L-1 visa program, including establishing a process to investigate, audit and penalize L-1 visa abuses.
More information regarding the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act is available at: http://durbin.senate.gov/showRelease.cfm?releaseId=311910.
