Third. the bill authorizes $10 million a year to train unemployed American workers in new skills for the information technology industry. It also authorizes $8 million for improved online talent banks to facilitate job searches and the matching of skills to available positions in high technology. Fourth. the bill toughens enforcement penalties and improves the operation of the H1B program. It increases fines by fivefold for companies willfully violating the rules of the H1B program. from $1.000 to $5.000. The bill adds new enforcement power by creating probationary periods of up to five years for willful violators of the HlB program. During the probationary period. violating firms are subject to expanded Department of Labor "spot inspections" at the agencys discretion. The bill also includes reforms to achieve greater accuracy in determining prevailing wages for companies and universities. Fifth. the bill modifies the percountry limits on employmentbased visas to eliminate the discriminatory effects of these percountry limits on nationals from certain Asian Pacific nations. Today. we have a situation where in a given year there are employmentbased immigrant visas available within the annual limit of 140.000. yet U.S. law prevents individuals born in particular countries from being able to join employers who want to sponsor them as permanent employees. Do we want to keep in place a provision of law that says you can hire someone who meets all the proper legal criteria set forth by the U.S. government. but just not too many Chinese or Indians in a given year? This area of law calls out for reform.
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H1B immigrant visas