Sen. Carl Levin ( D-MI) voted against Byrd's amendment that would have blocked the Senate from inserting an increase in the H-1B cap by 30,000 in the Omnibus Spending bill of 2005. Levin goes on to say that he supports the H-1B program to help the "competitiveness" of U.S. companies. Fortunately the effort to increase the visas failed in the House of Representatives, no thanks to Sen. Levin! As with so many of these letters from politicians, Levin claims that U.S. companies must attest that they attempted to hire a U.S. citizen before they applied for an H-1B visa. This is only true for less than 1% of the employers in the U.S.

To: Mr. James O'Donnell:
MI

Dear Mr. O'Donnell:

Thank you for contacting me regarding H-IB highly skilled-worker visas T
appreciate hearing your views on this matter.

Since the technology boom of the 1990s, H-1 B visas have been the subject of intense
debate. Proponents of H-1B visas argue that the number of skilled-worker visas issued must be maintained if the United States is to remain globally competitive and so that employers can remain free to hire the best people for jobs, regardless of their national origin. However, those opposing any further increases, temporary or permanent, assert that there is no evidence of a labor shortage in these professional areas that cannot be met by newly graduating students or by retraining the existing U.S. workforce. Congress continues to strive to balance these two competing approaches.

H-IB visas allow workers from other countries with special occupational skills to
work in the U.S. for up to six years under the sponsorship of an American employer. A
company seeking an H-IB visa must attest to the fact that there are no willing American
workers who can fill the position. In addition, the employer is required to pay the
nonimmigrant the greater of the prevailing wage for the position or the actual wages paid to employees in the same position. Under current law, the maximum number of H-1 B visas is 65,000 in a fiscal year (FY).

As you may know, the N Y 2006 Senate Reconciliation Spending Bill (5.1932)
included a provision to recapture 30,000 H-1B visas per year that have been left unused
between FY 1992-FY2003. A $500 fee will be added for each visa used from this group.
Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) introduced an amendment that would have stripped the H-IB visa provision from S.1932 and would have increased the fee for L-1 visas to $1500. This amendment, which I opposed, failed by a vote of 14-85. 1 voted against this amendment because I believe it is important to have an adequate number of visas available to help ensure the competitiveness of U.S. industry, while making sure that every effort is made to ensure that American workers are not displaced. The Senate passed its version of the reconciliation spending bill on November 3, 2005. This bill now awaits a House-Senate Conference Committee to work out the differences between the Senate and House-passed versions of the bill.

               Thanks again for writing.

CL:ep