Smith, Griffin Seek to Ease Path for Highly Skilled Foreign Workers
May 29, 2012 – 6:33 p.m.
Smith, Griffin Seek to Ease Path for Highly Skilled Foreign Workers
By David Harrison
Signaling a possible détente on a narrow slice of the immigration debate,
House Republicans are planning an election year effort to make more visas
available to highly skilled foreign graduates.
Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, and committee member Tim Griffin, R
-Ark., are working on a bill that would shift up to 50,000 green cards from
a visa lottery open to countries around the world and funnel them to highly
skilled workers. Their proposal is one of several that have surfaced in
recent weeks from both parties and in both chambers to grant more visas to
foreigners who earn science and technology degrees from U.S. universities.
Employers say that not enough Americans are earning master’s or doctoral
degrees in science, technology, engineering and math — known as the STEM
fields — forcing them to recruit foreign students. But there aren’t enough
green cards to meet the demand, consigning many of these recruits to work
for years on temporary work permits that forbid them from changing jobs.
Technology companies have been pushing Congress to lift some of the visa
restrictions, saying current law puts the United States at a competitive
disadvantage for recruiting top talent. While lawmakers on both sides of the
aisle have been receptive, the question of green cards for highly skilled
workers often gets swept up in the debate over a broad immigration overhaul
that has bitterly divided the two parties.
Now, though, some consensus is forming on the narrow question of green cards
for STEM graduates. The legislative focus on the relatively small pool of
foreigners is an acknowledgement that another attempt at a comprehensive
overhaul won’t happen anytime soon.
“For a good part of the last decade, there was the all-or-nothing campaign
— comprehensive or nothing,” said Bruce A. Morrison, a Connecticut
Democrat and former chairman of the House Judiciary Immigration subcommittee
who now works as a lobbyist. “I never thought that was a good idea myself,
but it was governing the politics. I think it’s all broken down.”
Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., introduced a
measure (S 3192) this month that would increase the overall number of green
cards and award them to STEM graduates. A separate bill (S 3217), sponsored
by a bipartisan group of five senators, would produce a similar effect.
In another sign of a thaw, Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, said last week
that he is ready to drop his hold on a bipartisan House bill (HR 3012) that
would lift the per-country limits on green cards. That would reduce the
backlog of green card applicants from countries where demand for the visas
is high, such as India or China.
Grassley said he was able to include language tightening the requirements
for temporary work permits known as H-1B visas. But two other Republican
senators oppose the legislation and could block it should Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., attempt to bring it up.
Even though many of the Senate bills have bipartisan support, they are
unlikely to progress far because they increase the overall number of green
cards available, something that GOP immigration hawks will not accept.
Griffin said increasing the net number of green cards awarded “would be
more difficult to sell, and I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Rather than add to the visa pool, his measure would swap the lottery visas
— also called diversity visas — for green cards for STEM graduates. The
diversity visas, which originated in a 1990 immigration law, are granted to
50,000 applicants drawn at random every year who need only a high school
diploma or equivalent work experience. Republicans have been skeptical about
the visas. Last year, Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte, R-Va., introduced
legislation (HR 704) to eliminate the diversity visa program.
As originally envisioned, the House proposal would have applied only to
foreign students who earn a doctorate from American universities, but it was
expanded to include master’s graduates as well, Griffin said.
While the two House members have yet to release any legislative language, “
I would hope we would make some decisions within the next month,” Smith
said.
They have been working with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who this month
introduced a version of their bill (S 3185). Cornyn said he pre-empted his
House colleagues because “it wasn’t moving as fast as I would like.”
Attracting Democrats
Griffin and Smith say they want Democrats in both chambers to sign off. So
far, none have made their views clear.
Charles E. Schumer of New York, the Senate’s No. 3 Democrat and chairman of
the Judiciary Immigration subcommittee, helped write the 1990 law that
created the diversity visas when he was in the House. He did not sound
optimistic last week about the prospects for a deal.
“We’re trying to work out some kind of compromise with the Republicans in
the House, but they’ve been pretty intransigent, as have some of the
Republicans on this side,” Schumer said.
Morrison, however, said he expects Democrats would eventually sign on after
negotiating some sort of agreement.
A House Democratic aide said Democrats would oppose simply trading one form
of visas for another.
According to a Senate Democratic aide, Democrats would demand that such
legislation be “balanced.” They would like to remove limits on the number
of green cards available to spouses and children of current legal permanent
residents. Right now, those visas are capped, creating a backlog of
applicants and forcing families to live apart for years.
Democrats and Republicans struck a similar deal on last year’s bill lifting
the per-country caps on green cards. The parties agreed to also increase
the caps for family-based visas, which would reduce the amount of time that
relatives of green-card holders from certain countries would have to wait
before being allowed to move to the United States.
No matter how the negotiations turn out, observers say it’s unlikely that
any measure will be enacted before the end of this Congress. Floor time is
limited, and any immigration bill is likely to attract a slew of amendments,
complicating passage. The election also makes it more difficult to strike
deals.
But lobbyists say the flurry of activity over the past few weeks could set
the stage for action early in the next Congress.
Griffin, for his part, said he doesn’t see his legislation as a marker to
jump-start a future discussion.
“We’re not interested in making a point,” he said. “We want to get this
passed.”
