WASHINGTON,D.C.-A new bipartisan bill to “reform and reduce fraud and abuse” in H-1B and L1 visa was introduced in the US House of Representatives on Mar 2. Congressman Ro Khanna, who represents California’s 17th district in the San Francisco Bay Area’s tech heartland, is one of the cosponsors of the bill, which was introduced by New Jersey Democrat Bill Pascrell. The other co-sponsors are Rep. Dave Brat (R-Virginia)
and Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Arizona). The bill is a companion bill to the “H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2017,” which was introduced in the Senate by longtime H-1B critics Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Michigan).
“We have skilled, high-tech professionals here in America,” said Pascrell, in a press release. “Many are unemployed and carrying the debt of advanced degrees. Some businesses, by ‘in-sourcing’ and exploiting foreign workers, are abusing the visa programs – undercutting our workforce to reap the rewards.”
He added that abusing the visa program “to get cheap labor hurts the American middle class” is “something I cannot accept.”
The bill, according to Pascrell, “would close loopholes in the H-1B and L visa programs to reduce fraud and abuse, provide protections for American workers and visa holders, and require more transparency in the recruitment of foreign workers.” This “legislation would overhaul the H-1B and L-1 visa programs” to protect American workers “and crack down on foreign outsourcing companies which deprive qualified Americans of high-skill jobs,” it added.
Khanna,said the bill is intended to end H1-B abuses. “As the son of immigrants, I know that immigrants strengthen our nation and economy,” he said. “But we cannot allow for companies to underpay foreign workers and use them to replace American workers. Instead, we need American companies to invest in our own workforce. The bill will prevent the exploitation of foreign workers while still recognizing the contributions immigrants make to our economy.” Speaking to the media, Khanna said “there’s a mood in the nation that wants to fix abuse and he was “cautiously optimistic” about the passage of the bill. But Khanna’s involvement has already drawn negative responses from a section of the Indian-American community for championing restrictions on H1B visas.
“We have skilled, high-tech professionals here in America,” said Pascrell, in a press release. “Many are unemployed and carrying the debt of advanced degrees. Some businesses, by ‘in-sourcing’ and exploiting foreign workers, are abusing the visa programs – undercutting our workforce to reap the rewards.”
He added that abusing the visa program “to get cheap labor hurts the American middle class” is “something I cannot accept.”
The bill, according to Pascrell, “would close loopholes in the H-1B and L visa programs to reduce fraud and abuse, provide protections for American workers and visa holders, and require more transparency in the recruitment of foreign workers.” This “legislation would overhaul the H-1B and L-1 visa programs” to protect American workers “and crack down on foreign outsourcing companies which deprive qualified Americans of high-skill jobs,” it added.
Khanna,said the bill is intended to end H1-B abuses. “As the son of immigrants, I know that immigrants strengthen our nation and economy,” he said. “But we cannot allow for companies to underpay foreign workers and use them to replace American workers. Instead, we need American companies to invest in our own workforce. The bill will prevent the exploitation of foreign workers while still recognizing the contributions immigrants make to our economy.” Speaking to the media, Khanna said “there’s a mood in the nation that wants to fix abuse and he was “cautiously optimistic” about the passage of the bill. But Khanna’s involvement has already drawn negative responses from a section of the Indian-American community for championing restrictions on H1B visas.
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