H-1B is passe, W visa is hot
H-1B is passe, W visa is hot
Date: Friday, August 05, 2005 9:33 PM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
by Rob Sanchez
August 05, 2005 No. 1307
Lots of people have been sending me the IndiaTimes article below because they are concerned that the new guest-worker visa bill introduced by Senators Cornyn (R-TX) and Kyl (R-AZ) will make H-1B passe. The "Comprehensive Enforcement and Immigration Reform Act of 2005" ("CEIRA") or S. 1438 is a scary bill, and there is plenty to not like about it. For one thing, it doesn't have a limit on the numbers of guest-worker visas issued. To read more about the negatives of this bill, read the following article:
http://www.vdare.com/mann/arizona_amnesty.htm
The Arizona Amnesty Bill - Two Disasters In One!
The bill brings back the idea of a "W Visa", first proposed by George W. Bush. Many people mistakenly thought that the "W" was coined to memorialize President Bush, but it actually stands for "World Visa". Bush's globalist vision was to offer an unlimited visa to anyone in the world that wants to work in the U.S., provided of course that there was no American that wanted to take the job. Bush's visa truly would make H-1B passe because its scope was unlimited and unrestricted.
Trivia Note: In 2003 Bush tried to slip the "W" visa into CAFTA but later dropped the idea perhaps because of growing opposition to embedding visas in trade agreements.
If you want to do further background research on the original "W" visa proposal, go to the newsletter archive and read the following:
2004-01-17 How Many Spellings are there for Disaster?
2003-07-17 CAFTA - Democrats Where Are You?
2003-07-16 Armaggedon for American Workers
As always, if you want to read the bill, go to Thomas and enter the bill number:
http://thomas.loc.gov/
The pertinent sections are:
TITLE V--NONIMMIGRANT TEMPORARY WORKER PROGRAM
SEC. 218A. TEMPORARY WORKER PROGRAM (ammended to Title V)
Some good analysis of the bill can be found at these two websites:
http://capwiz.com/fair/issues/bills/?bill=7873181
http://www.visalaw.com/05aug1/
MAIN ATTRACTION!
So now let me answer the question that I'm sure all of you are dying to know, and of course all of you have read the newsletter very carefully without skipping down to this point to find the answer!
QUESTION: Does the Kyl/Cornyn bill make H-1B passe?
ANSWER: No!
The IndiaTimes made an understandable mistake because the original bill did make H-1B passe. Recently a new section was added (218A) that spoils the free-for-all that the IndiaTimes envisioned for their devoted readers. In this bill, the H-2B visa is eliminated and replaced with an unlimited "W" visa. The "W" visa cannot be used in place of the following visa categories: H-1B, L, R, O, and P.
In conclusion, the Kyl-Cornyn "W" visa is bad, but W's "W" visa is much, much worse!
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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1190405.cms
H1-B is passe, W visa is hot
INDRANI BAGCHI
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, AUGUST 04, 2005 07:12:22 AM ]
NEW DELHI: If a new piece of US legislation goes through, you could soon be applying for a W visa instead of the more familiar H1-B.
In a comprehensive immigration bill tabled in the US Senate on July 19, Senators John Cornyn and Jon Kyl (both Republicans) have proposed the creation of a new W visa category, which would allow temporary workers into the US to take jobs that cannot be filled from within the country.
Part of a larger immigration reform package which strengthens border enforcement and includes a mandatory return-home provision for immigrants, the new visa would be applicable to people applying from outside the US. Illegal immigrants, says the bill, would be required to return from the US and re-apply through legal channels.
Ever since president George Bush announced in 2004 that immigration reform would be on top of his agenda there have been several high-profile bills introduced in the US Congress, all of which would have an impact on immigrants and workers from India who are one of the largest groups of people travelling to the US every year.
Incidentally, Cornyn is one of the chairs of the India Caucus in the US Congress. Other similar immigration reform bills have been tabled by Edward Kennedy-John McCain and another by Tom Tancredo.
The Cornyn-Kyl bill says temporary work visas would authorise employment for two years, after which the immigrant would have to return home for a year, and then come back for a further two-year period. This process can be repeated three times.
The Kennedy-McCain bill allows for ....
...up to six consecutive years of authorised work. Bush himself has the beginnings of a temporary workers plan. On the face of it, its not very different from the present H1-B program, where the visa is valid for three years and renewable for another three.
The single thread running through these Bills is that nobody gets permanent residence afterwards. This is interesting since the US Congress recently eased rules for H-1B visa-holders who wanted to become permanent residents. After six years in the H1-B program, foreign skilled workers now have a much easier route to green cards than earlier. Clearly the US Congress is open to many voices, and the room is open for advocacy by interested groups like CII and Nasscom.
The US governments major focus is on border security, its enforcement and resolving the problem of illegal migrants. It will be the job of majority leader Tom De Lay to work out a "unified strategy" with Congress and White House on this issue.
The H1-B program today is used most in the knowledge industries and, according to the Migration Policy Institute, almost half of those admitted on H-1B visas in the last six to eight years have been from India.
The next largest source country has been China.
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