Mr. Speaker. the technology industry is presently experiencing a labor shortage. The current 65.000 cap on H1B visas. created by Congress in 1990. has been rendered irrelevant by the technology explosion of the past decade. This arbitrarily chosen quota was met by May of this year and has left American businesses unable to hire new H1Bs until next January. In the interim. technology firms have been left with thousands of open jobs and few qualified applicants Employing American workers for these jobs is not. at present time. a feasible solution. Failures in our educational system has created a void of qualified American skilled labor. compelling high tech firms to rely upon foreign born talent to fill these positions. Without an increase of the 65.000 visa ceiling. these vacant jobs will not be filled. thereby weakening a high growth industry that has been at the forefront of this nations current economic boom. Many of my colleagues have expressed concerns that increasing the number of H1iB visas will displace American workers and shut them out of future employment opportunities in the high tech industry. This bill institutes numerous measures to ensure that Americans will not be victimized by this legislation. A $500 fee paid by businesses wishing to participate in the H1 B program will raise approximately $75 million annually to be split between a scholarship program for underprivileged high school students studying mathematics. computer science. or engineering and funding for job training programs which focus on information technology Furthermore. a system of fines and/or a one to three year disqualification for those companies who abuse this law will work to further protect American workers from being shut out of the hightech industry by H1B aliens. Mr. Speaker.
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H1B visa visas foreign born