Lawmakers want more H-1Bs, new 'Founders Visa'

Computerworld - Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that this bill allows for recapture of H-1B visas.

WASHINGTON -- Nearly 90 members of the U.S. House are co-sponsoring an immigration reform bill that would make some broad changes to the H-1B program, as well as take the high-skilled employment debate in new directions.

The legislation would create a federal agency to review U.S. employment needs, a new type of visa for start-up founders, as well as an increase the supply of H-1B visas.

Although the technology industry has tried in recent years to get Congress to increase the H-1B cap past 85,000, it has been stymied by proponents of comprehensive immigration reform who didn't want to peel away potential support for a broader bill.

But whether this 700-page, yet-to-be-released bill, will get the support of either the tech industry or H-1B critics is less than clear. Both sides may find things to love and hate in its basket of provisions.

One provision that may win tech industry support calls for the release next year of all unused green cards, or permanent residency visas, from 1992 to 2008. It would also exempt from green card cap limits students who have earned a master's degree or higher in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics and have been working in a related field in the U.S. for three years.

But this House bill, dubbed the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009, also incorporates some of the provisions of H-1B bills introduced by visa critics Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) that broadly impose restrictions on H-1B use and tougher enforcement.

The bill would set "strict requirements for the recruitment of American workers," according to a House summary.

At a press conference today about the bill, U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), one of the bill's main sponsors, said, "If you want to bring a worker from outside the United States to come and work here, we want to make sure American workers get the first opportunity at every American job."

The bill exempts "several categories" of highly skilled workers from employment-based immigrant visa caps. But just what those categories include wasn't detailed.

The bill would create a new, independent federal agency, to be called the "Commission on Immigration and Labor Markets," which would establish "employment-based immigration policies that promote economic growth and competitiveness while minimizing job displacement, wage depression and unauthorized employment."

The new agency would also recommend H-1B and other visa caps to Congress. The legislation also calls for the creation of a new visa, called the "Founders Visa." It's an idea that has been championed by Paul Graham, a programming language developer, and others."