Huge demand for H-1B visas this month

The media (including this article) reported that within two days of the beginning of the new year for temporary H-1B working visas (April 1), 133,000 applications were filed for the 65,000 available slots. These visas are generally designed for computer scientists and engineers. There are other, much smaller, channels for foreign high tech workers to enter the U.S. – for instance through academia. But the immensity of the application volume indicates how much American employers want these foreign workers. These visa applications require sponsorship by American employers. Right now, about half of computer programmers in the U.S. are foreign born.
Immigration reform legislative packages usually include a large increase in the H-1B slots.

Senate to address immigration reform in late May, per Sen Reid

The Houston Chronicle reports that in late May “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid intends for the Senate to kick off what’s sure to be a contentious debate over fixing the nation’s dysfunctional immigration system. The Nevada Democrat says he’s reserving the last two weeks of May to take up legislation that would have a powerful effect on employers and millions of immigrants, legal and illegal. But as that date nears, there’s still no consensus among the differing factions, no bill and no plan yet for action in committee.
“And last week’s leak of a White House immigration draft that proposed less generous treatment for illegal immigrants and future arrivals than what’s under consideration by Democrats further muddied the waters as both parties grope for an as-yet elusive compromise.”

STRIVE Act introduced in House, 3/22

Shusterman’s Immigration Update provides a summary of a House bill introduced on 3/22 by two pro-reform Congressman, Luis Gutierrez and Jeff Flake – H. 1645. find a copy of the bill here.
“The STRIVE Act is clearly a political compromise between those who want tougher border and interior immigration enforcement, and those who maintain that our immigration problems cannot be solved solely by increased enforcement,” writes Shusterman.
Per Schusterman:
On March 23, the STRIVE (Security Through a Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act of 2007) Act of 2007 was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representatives Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and a bipartisan group of co-sponsors.
Border: The bill would create a “virtual” fence along the border between the U.S. and Mexico; increase the number of border patrol agents and immigration inspectors at the border; allow for cooperation between the border patrol and the Department of Defense as well as the government of Mexico. The bill would increase the size of the Border Patrol between 2,000 and 2,400 each year between 2008 and 2012.
Interior Enforcement: It would increase the number of ICE agents by 1,000; increase penalties for gang violence, failure to depart, alien smuggling, drunk driving, firearms possession and sale, unauthorized employment of illegal aliens, and money laundering; and expand expedited removal.
Employment Verification: The bill would create a system for employers to electronically verify workers’ employment authorization; establish criminal penalties for employers and workers who operate outside the system; and would implement strong enforcement mechanisms. It would create significant criminal penalties for individuals who falsely attest to being authorized to work and create significant civil penalties for employers who do not comply with the new system’s requirements. It would establish serious criminal penalties, including a possible three-year prison term for employers who knowingly hire unauthorized aliens.
Guest Workers: It would create an “H-2C” guest worker program with an initial cap of 400,000 guest workers annually. 2,000 additional inspectors from the Department of Labor would be hired to enforce the labor standards portion of the law.
Earned Citizenship: Persons who worked in H-2C status for five years would be able to apply for conditional permanent residency and eventual citizenship. They would have to meet the following requirements: (1) show physical presence in the U.S. and evidence of employment; (2) complete criminal and security background checks; (3) pay $500 application fee; (4) meet English and civic requirements; and (5) show admissibility (certain bars to admission related to undocumented status are waived; security- and criminal-related bars may not be waived).
The bill also incorporates the DREAM Act and the AgJobs bill. It would provide for significant increases in the number of H-1B, employment and family-based immigrant visas.

No immigration reform bill yet

According to the Washington Post and LA Times, Republicans in Congress and the White House have been trying to put together a bill that Senate Republicans can support, expecting the bill’s passage in the Senate will have a positive effect on the more anti-reform House. Democrats are waiting to see what the Republican come up with. The Senate bill passed last year – S.2612 – will not work as it will not be accepted by the House.

slow movement on immigration reform bills

The NY Times reviews the status of immigration reform legislation in the House and Senate and finds progress wanting in both chambers. “Three months into the new Congress, immigration legislation is hitting some unexpected roadblocks. A mix of presidential politics and unforeseen fissures between Democrats and their Republican allies has stalled movement in the Senate.
“Key lawmakers in both chambers seem to be moving to the right to assuage conservatives who helped derail immigration legislation last year. Now there are doubts as to whether Congress will actually send an immigration bill to President Bush this year. “

Son of illegal Mexican immigrants makes good

I have already posted on how one quarter of technology start-ups in the United States involved foreign born entrepreneurs.
BusinessWeek.com ran a story in the current issue about the son of illegal migrant workers from northern Mexico who eventually secured green cards as sponsored agricultural workers. Diago Borrego founded Networkcar in 1999 and currently serves as the firm’s director of engineering.
Networkcar designs and markets software that provides wireless vehicle management to fleet managers. The installed software monitors vehicles’ locations and diagnostics wirelessly, reporting up-to-the-minute status via the Internet.
The article traces his life from birth in an El Paso indigent clinic up to the present. Thanks to Valerie Chereskin for alerting me to this article.

Trafficking in identity papers – a case study

The NY Times ran an article which gets into the underbelly of the trafficking of personal identifications for use by illegal immigrants. The article links a worker who was caught up in the Swift raid in Marshalltown, IA in December with a drug addict in Bakersfield, CA. Reportedly, the drug addicted American woman has replaced her social security card twenty times, presumably to sell it.
“Ms. Eloisa Nuñez Galeana said she paid a woman $800 for official copies of Ms. Violeta Blanco’s birth certificate and Social Security card.” How Blanco’s papers, by inference sold by her, got into the hands of Nunez is through a lot of hands and possibly multiple uses of them.
Here are excerpts from the article.

Continue reading Trafficking in identity papers – a case study

Senator Kennedy leading Senate effort to pass immigration reform bill.

Earlier this week the NY Times profiled Senator Ted Kennedy’s current efforts to enact an immigration reform bill. He is using the language which was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the entire Senate as S. 2612 last Spring in order to improve the chances for passage. (I have posted several times on S. 2612.) The article said that Kennedy is hoping for a floor vote by May. It also says that Senator McCain may backing off from supporting immigration reform.
I am increasingly concerned that a bill will not be passed due to the vocal anti-immigration lobby and both Dem and Rep concerns about the 2008 election.
There are some serious problems with this Judiciary bill including an unworkable provision requiring many illegal immigrants to leave the country and apply for entrance. Specifically, according to an outline of the bill, it “Authorizes mandatory departure and immigrant or nonimmigrant reentry for a qualifying illegal alien who has been present and employed in the United States since January 7, 2004.”
The article:

Continue reading Senator Kennedy leading Senate effort to pass immigration reform bill.