The Honorable Neil Abercrombie
U.S, House of Representatives
1502 LHOB
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Abercrombie:

On behalf of the American Business for Legal Immigration Coalition (ABLI), we want you to know of our strong support for H.R. 3983, the HI-TECH Act. The bill, which temporarily raises the cap on H-1B visas, addresses the critical workforce shortage American employers face; particularly fox jobs requiring degrees in math, science and engineering.

Three trends are at the crux of the problem: Unemployment is at a record, 30-year low. Demand for professionals with highly specialized skills has soared, while the number of American students graduating from U.S. universities with undergraduate degrees in math, science, engineering and other technical disciplines has declined. Finally, the way companies design, manufacture and market products and services around the globe demands international personnel mobility. Unfortunately, American employers are finding it increasingly difficult to locate and recruit professionals to meet current project demands. Failure to raise the cap to allow access to highly educated foreign professionals, many of whom were educated at U.S. universities, will result in lost sales, delayed projects and other setbacks that will threaten the technological preeminence of U.S. industry.

H.R. 3983 would provide immediate relief to employers. It would ensure that a number of visas are clearly reserved for individuals with master's degrees and above, as well as for individuals working for institutions of higher education and non-profit research organizations. Moreover, it would institute changes to the green card process that would help to alleviate some o£ the pressures that are currently borne by the H-1B program. The bill also directs funds raised by the fee to effective education and training programs that help lay the groundwork for longer-term solutions to the worker shortage issue. H.R. 3983 enjoys broad bipartisan support from Members across the country.

While H.R. 4227 does acknowledge the need to adjust the cap, we do not believe that it provides the necessary changes to deliver meaningful relief. Indeed, H.R. 4227 imposes burdensome new requirements on the H-1B program that would make the program unusable for many employers.

With the cap on H-113's already expired; the need to address this issue quickly is acute. We cannot afford to maintain an artificial cap on our technology-driven economy. We look forward to working with you to pass H.R. 3983 in the weeks ahead. Should you have any additional questions or need more information, please go to www.pam.org/~hrp/ABLI. htm, or contact Sandy Boyd at (202) 637-3133.

Sincerely,