Speech #1100115028

Mr. President. earlier this year. the Senate tried to solve the very complex and emotional issue of immigration reform. The immigration bill we considered included border security. interior enforcement. and amnesty. It also included many needed reforms to our legal Immigration process. I said throughout the debate that Congress needs a longterm solution to the immigration issue. We cannot pass a bandaid approach that includes a path to citizenship for law breakers. rather. Congress needs to improve our legal immigration channels. I firmly believe companies want to hire legal workers. and people want to enter the United States legally. If we fix our visa policies. we can restore integrity to our immigration system. and all parties can benefit. But if we cannot pass a comprehensive billand I think as time goes on it is going to look more difficult as we go into an election yearif we cannot pass such a comprehensive bill. I think that we should consider passing legislation we can agree on. I am taking the floor at this time to talk about the HlB visa provisions that were included in the immigration bill and ask my colleagues to take a second look at these needed reforms. Many companies use H1B programs. It has served a valuable purpose. But we need to reevaluate how this program operates and work to make it more effective. The H1B program was officially created in 1990. although we have brought foreign workers legally into our country for over 30 years. It was brought Into existence to serve American employers that needed hightech workers. It was created to file a void in the U.S. labor force. The visa holders were intended to file jobs for a temporary amount of time. while the country invested in American workers to pick up the skills our economy needed. We attached fees to the visas that now bring in millions of dollars. These fees and the dollars that come with it are invested in training grants to educate our own workforce. We use the funds to put kids through school for science. technology. engineering. and math skills. We provide students with scholarships with the hope that they will replace imported foreign workers. Unfortunately. the H1B program is so popular. it is now replacing the U.S. labor force rather than supplementing it. The hightech and business community is begging Congress to raise or eliminate the annual cap that currently stands at 85.000 visas each year. These numbers do not include and account for those who are exempt from the cap. For instance. we dont count employees at institutions of higher education or nonprofit research organizations. We dont count those who change jobs or renew their H1B visa. My point is. we have many more than 85.000 H1B visas distributed each year. I am here to tell my colleagues that increasing the visa supply is not the only solution to the socalled shortage of hightech workers. Since March of this year. the Senator from Illinois. Mr. DURBIN. and I have taken a good look at the H1B visa program. We have raised issues with the Citizenship and Immigration Service as well as the Department of Labor. We have asked questions of companies that use the H1B visa. and I have raised issues with attorneys who advise their clients on how to get around the permanent employment regulations. I would like to share what I have learned. I want to give some fraud and abuse examples. Unfortunately. there are some bad apples in the H1B visa program. In 2005. a man was charged with fraud and misuse of visas. money laundering. and mail fraud for his participation In a multistate scam to smuggle Indian and Pakistani nationals into the United States with fraudulently obtained H1B visas. The man created fictitious companies. often renting only a cubicle simply to have a mailing address. He fabricated tax returns and submitted over 1.000 false visa petitions. Another man pled guilty last August to charges of fraud and conspiracy. This man and an attorney charged foreign nationals thousands of dollars to fraudulently obtain H1B visas. He provided false documents to substantiate their H1B petitions. The Programmers Guild. a group representing U.S. worker interests. filed over 300 discrimination complaints In the first half of 2006 against companies that posted "H1B visa holder only" ads on job boards. Anyone can go on the Internet and find jobs that target H1B visa holders. There are more than just national anecdotes. however. Everyday Americans are affected. Since looking into the H1B visa program. some of my constituents have come to me and spoken out against abuses they see. One of my constituents has shared copies of emails showing how he is often bombarded with requests by companies that want to lease their H1B workers to that Iowan. There are companies with H1B workers who are socalled "on the bench." meaning they are ready to be deployed to a project. Hundreds of foreign workers are standing by waiting for work. Some call these H1B "factory firms." This Iowan even said one company went so far as to require him to sign a memorandum of understanding that helps the H1B factory firm justify to the Federal Government that they have adequate business opportunity that requires additional visa holders. It is a complete falsification of the market justification for additional H1B workers. These firms are making a commodity out of H1B workers. They have visa holders but are looking for work. It is supposed to be the other way around. There should be a shortage or a need. first and foremost.