Through the introduction of the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act last week, U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Dick Durban (D-IL) took aim at visa programs, intending to reform them and reduce fraud while introducing greater scrutiny of the recruitment process for foreign workers.
Both visa programs were created as pathways for U.S. companies to recruit skilled non-citizens when faced with a shortage of qualified workers in-country. However, the senators have alleged the programs suffer abuse by employers who use them to artificially depress wages and constrict foreign workers to poor working conditions while holding their temporary immigration status over their heads and keeping out U.S. workers. Given the nature of green cards and the backlogs involved, many such workers also become dependent upon their companies and that temporary status to stay in the United States.
“For years, outsourcing companies have used legal loopholes to displace qualified American workers and replace them with foreign workers who are paid subpar wages and put in exploitative working conditions,” Durbin, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said. “These actions hurt all workers and make our country less attractive to the world’s top talent. Our legislation would fix these broken programs, protect workers, and put an end to these abuses.”
It is no coincidence the bill was introduced during the H-1B filing season when tech companies apply for thousands of new visas. This, the senators added, is despite the industry having recently laid off thousands of other workers.
This bill would close supposed loopholes and grant the U.S. Department of Labor new authorities and responsibilities to enforce program requirements. Chiefly, it would place new wage, recruitment, and attestation requirements on employers seeking to hire L-1 and H-1B workers. These employers would need to post jobs on a searchable DOL website, and labor condition applications would subsequently come with a fee. That fee would, in turn, go to the DOL to hire another 200 employees.
At the same time, reforms would be undertaken to the H-1B program so that issuance would be prioritized for those workers with higher levels of education in STEM and requiring bachelor’s degrees or higher for specialty occupations. As for the L-1 nonimmigrant program, new time limits and evidentiary requirements for petitions would be added, and cooperation with the Department of State to verify foreign affiliates would be mandatory. Penalties would also be tacked on for any wage violations, including fines and debarment of employers.
“The H-1B and L-1 visa programs were established to fill in gaps in America’s high-skilled workforce, not supplant it,” Grassley said. “Unfortunately, some companies have exploited these programs to replace American workers with cheaper labor, which ultimately harms American workers and foreign labor alike.”
The bill was co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Such legislation was also introduced in 2007.