On July 14th, 2016, Congressmen Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Scott Peters (D-CA) introduced H.R. 5801, The Protect and Grow American Jobs Act, to the House Judiciary Committee. The bill expands the H-1B non-immigrant visa program by updating provisions in the 1998 American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act (ACWIA).
Every year, there are more applications for H1-B visas than the 65,000 H-1B visas allowed to be granted. The Protect and Grow American Jobs Act aims to fix this dilemma with a few main provisions including:
- Increasing the number of H-1B Employer Exemptions from the cap limit from 60,000 to 100,000.; and
- Eliminating the master’s degree requirement for H-1B Employer Exemptions;
The Protect and Grow American Jobs Act is a strong step in the right direction for expanding the United States high-skilled workforce. We are pleased to see the introduction of a high-skilled immigration reform bill and urge Congress to move this important legislation through the legislative process. Please click here to see the bill text: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5801
