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butterbean · Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 2271

Tech lobby to renew visa reform push
White House to push forward on H-1Bs, R&D credit
Tech worker group files complaints over H-1B job ads

A U.S. congressman who chairs a House Judiciary subcommittee says Congress could pass an immigration reform bill by July, including lifting the limit on how many high-tech engineers can come to the U.S. for jobs.

Representative Howard Berman, a Democrat from California, made the prediction while speaking at the first ever Tech Industry Summit in San Jose, California.

"It could pass both houses by July, go to conference and could be on the president's desk by September," Berman said.

Immigration reform deals largely with the 12 million illegal immigrants living and working in the U.S., but another provision of the bill affects technology companies in particular.

Tech companies want the limit on H1-B visas raised to 115,000 per year, from 65,000, a limit that has already been reached for 2007. H1-B is the type of visa granted to skilled foreign workers in "specialty occupations," including IT, so that they can work in the U.S.

"There is significant urgency on this issue," said Pamela Passman, vice president of global corporate affairs for Microsoft Corp., also speaking at the summit.

About half the students enrolled in engineering schools in the U.S. are foreign nationals, Passman said, who have to return to their home countries after earning their degrees, depriving U.S. companies of the chance to hire them.

continued:
http://www.itworld.com/Career/1878/070226immigrationreform/