Bill aims at reducing H-1B fraud
April 24, 2009
Two U.S. senators are reintroducing legislation aimed at revamping the H-1B visa program for guest workers in the U.S., at a time of rising unemployment and growing evidence that the program has been marred by fraud. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) hope that the bill, 'The H-1B and L-1 Visa Fraud & Prevention Act of 2009,' has a better chance of passing now than when they originally introduced it in 2007.
'The H-1B visa program should complement the U.S. workforce, not replace it,' Durbin said in an Apr. 23 statement. 'The…program is plagued with fraud and abuse and is now a vehicle for outsourcing that deprives qualified American workers of their jobs.'
The bill would not reduce the number of H-1B visas-now 85,000 per year-but contains provisions to increase oversight and enforcement and discourage outsourcing of H-1B visa holders. It also requires all employers seeking to hire an H-1B visa holder to pledge that they have made a 'good faith' effort to hire American workers first, and that the H-1B visa holder will not displace an American worker. Under current law, only heavy users of the program must make such a pledge.
Business Week
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