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Immigration Overhaul Update: Amendment Debate

May 30, 2013 / usifredo


On the week of May 7, 2013, the Senate debated 32 proposed changes to the immigration bill related to border security. Of the 32 proposals, 21 were adopted. On the week of May 13, 2013, the senate began discussions on foreign student amendments. As discussions continue, Senator Patrick Leahy (D- Vermont), a long outspoken proponent of EB-5 investment immigration, reported he hopes to complete the amendment process by the end of May, potentially sending the full bill to Senate in June.

House Republican leaders are in the process of deciding whether to consider a comprehensive immigration bill or break the bill into pieces, a move Democrats and the White House are opposed to.

Obama was quoted at a fundraiser in New York Monday, May 13, stating, “I am absolutely confident that if we stay with it, we are going to be able to get immigration reform done this year.”

Furthermore, the new immigration bill includes provisions to add hundreds of thousands of new visas for low-skilled and high-tech workers. Senators on both sides of the aisle have filed amendments to either expand or contract the visa levels proposed in the bill.

Any of these proposed changes could upset a pair of fragile agreements hashed out by the Gang of 8 senators. For example, the bill aims to create a new section of visas, an endeavor undertaken through negotiations with the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor union. Under the new W visa program, up to 200,000 temporary workers in jobs such as waiters and janitors will be added to the list of annual allotments.

The program would begin in 2015 with 20,000 visas and expand to 75,000 by 2019. Afterwards, the number would be based on annual recommendations made by the federal bureau. The number of visas would rise if unemployment is low and contract when it spikes, according to the bill, and foreign workers would be paid salaries equivalent to those of American workers.

On the high-tech side of American industry, up to 180,000 visas would be made available to foreign engineers and programmers. Tech companies would be able to hire up to 15 percent of their workforces under the tweaked H-1B program. The bill states that if companies hired above that percentage, they would have to pay the additional workers higher salaries, as well as financial penalties to the government.

Many tech industry leaders have petitioned senators and policymakers to increase the number of allowances and Senator Orrin G Hatch (R-Utah) has filed several amendments to increase the number of high-tech visas.


2013年5月7日这周,参议院就移民改革议案的边境安全问题提出的32项改革做了修改辩论。31项改革倡议中,其中21项都予以了采纳。在5月13日这周,参议院会就外籍学生问题做修正和讨论。随着讨论的继续进行,EB-5投资移民法案的支持着—参议员 Patrick Leahy (D- Vermont)先生表示他希望五月底前完成本次修正,希望在6月份向参议院递交完整议案。

众议院共和党领导人在考虑是否全面完整移民改革议案还是将其分成若干部分提。但如分成若干版块,恐怕民主党和白宫都会反对。

5月13日周一,奥巴马总统在纽约表示:“我完全有信心只要我们再坚持,今年之内有望完成移民改革。”

此外,新移民法案包括新增数万名低技术工人以及高级技术人才签证计划。两党参议员表示已经就扩大或搜索议案里的签证问题做了对应修改。

对任何已拟定的改革议案修改都有可能影响起草该议案的8名成员。例如,该议案旨在创建一个新签证类别,需要通过美国最大的工会组织“劳联-产联”(AFL-CIO)谈判通过。根据新的W签证计划,大约有20万的临时工如服务员,门卫等需要添加进年度配额表。

这个签证计划将从2015年开始,每年2万个名额;2019年将预计增加到7.5万个名额。此后,该签证配额将根据联邦局的每年推荐做调整。如果失业率低,则该类签证将增加;反之则减少。根据议案,获得这类签证的临时工将获得与美国工人同等的报酬和工资。

就美国的高科技产业这方面,将为外籍工程师以及程序员发放约18万 签证。科技公司可通过H-1B签证计划雇佣最高比例15%的外籍员工。议案同时表示,如果该科技公司雇佣此类签证外籍科技人才超过上述比例,则公司需要这多出部分外籍科技人才更高的工资以及政府处罚。

许多高新技术公司高层请愿,希望参议员和决策者可以增加配额。参议员 Orrin G Hatch (R-Utah) 已就这类高技术签证增加议案做了修改。

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