A bill that will significantly reform the H-1B visa program and successfully ends the OPT program, both that the employers utilize to recruit overseas workers in the skilled positions had been introduced in the Senate. US Presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Jeff Sessions had co-sponsored the American Jobs First Act.
The H-1 B program permits the employers to recruit the overseas workers in area of expertise occupations that needs completion of minimum a Bachelor’s degree.The OPT program permits the employers to recruit overseas citizens in the places related to the overseas citizens graduate level or high study field, providing the students a chance to have got training in the field.
The bill will make sure that the employers won't use this program for replacing the potential US workers with the cheap overseas labor. The bill will also set up the least wage for H-1B employees and need H-1B employers who seek the H-1B visas for committing to pay the overseas employees the higher of what the US employee who does same work earned two years before to the hiring of the overseas employee or $1,10,000.
The bill will also set up the period known as cooling off that will stop an employer from employing an overseas employee based on H-1B within two years of layoffs.
This period is intended as the disincentive for the H-1B employers for replacing the US employees with the overseas employees.
The bill will get rid of the continuous usage of the OPT program. As many of them are arguing that this is not the legal prospect for training of the student. In their opinion, it is chance for the employers to employ overseas workers at more cheap costs than the potential US workers, thus resulting in displacement or it would lead to non-hiring of those US workers. The bill will also seek for making sure that no same programs results in the displacement or non-hiring of US workers can be created.
The bill which is drafted might not pass the Senate or become the law, it is clear that the job based immigration matters would remain in the national view and the debate would continue on its present usage and future reforming of these visa programs.
