Discussion of Bills that remove the Per Country Limits - H.R.3012, H,R. 213

[Mavrick]

Do you think HR 3012 have that long shelf life? I hope it does.

Bill Bill everywhere but nothing seems to be passing.

Our H.R. 3012 story is a triangular story... from the news which is coming out for the past several months.

1. Sen.Grassley's Hold

2. Sen.Schumer's intervention to add E-3 propsal.. backed by Sen Brown

3. Sen.Harry Reid is not interested to pass any immigration bill without his DREAM Act.

if you ask Sen.Chuck Schumer he would say, all because of sen.Grassley's hold.

if you ask Sen.Grassley. he would say, I am ready to lift the hold provided Sen.Schumer is not adding any E-3 provision to the bill. Sen.Brown already given up and do not know what to do now.

if you ask Sen.Harry Reid. he will always say COMPREHENSIVE COMPREHENSIVE!

We should wait for the fall. to know the final out come of this Great Political football results.

Still keeping positive vibes about our H.R.3012. and strongly believe that it will be law by end of this year!

[A_Tech_Softie]

HR 3012:
1) Points For: Employment based should not restrict individual countries
2) Points Against: Punishes ROWs by pushing them behind the queue
3) Middle Ground: Increase Per Country limits from 7 to 25%; This makes everyone happy and helps address immediate concern of many ICs;

STAR Act:
1) Points For: This would greatly help EB2-IC from STEM fields as it brings in more visa numbers from a category thus helping address US economy issues
2) Points Against: Diversity Visa is a tool used to reduce illegal immigration as well as a tool to bring in low-cost unskilled labor force in US
3) Middle Ground: Reduce Diversity Visa numbers from 55000 to something more meaningful like 20000. Allocate the reduced numbers to EB categories: 140000 + 35000 = 175000
4) Personal Opinion: This is just a political show and this would go no where. Similar bils have rusted in the House in 110th as well as 111th Congress sessions. 2012 is an election year and everyone knows nothing about immigration improvement would happen in this year.

SMART Act:
This simply would not fly as it calls for increasing the total number of legal immigrations to US.

Old Referrence Article on Visa Numbers:
http://immigrationroad.com/visa-bull...it-and-cap.php

Total Family Based Green Cards: 480,000 / Year
Total Employment Based Green Cards: 140,000 / Year
Total Diversity Based Green Cards: 55,000 / Year

Points not very apparent in the above classification:
1) Family Based == "What US Citizens Want"
2) Employment Based == "What Employers Want"
3) Diversity Based == "All other reasons which cannot be truly justified" (Aka low-cost unskilled labor)

Points that policy makers don't get:
1) Family Based => Good chunk gets employed in US
2) Employment Based => Unfairly gets the heat of labor policies
3) Diversity Based => Many skilled ROWs can apply through this

In my opinion there are a few things which can be done by the Policy makers:
1) Mandate EB-ROWs who can apply through Diversity Visa MUST apply first through Diversity Visa. If that doesn't work out, apply in regular EB categories keeping the original priority date (hence preferrence in getting green card sooner).
2) EB5 should NOT be classified under EB category at all. Foreign investors/business starters are not "looking for employment" in US.
3) Stricter EB categories: EB1 > EB2 > EB3; Thus, all visa allocations MUST be done in that order; This one would raise red flags but its the right thing to do;
Rationale for (3):
Stricter EB categories would mean:
a) EB2-IC > EB3-ROW; Thus, visa allocations would be done to EB2-IC before EB3-ROW;
b) EB3 to EB2 porting becomes necessary as no visas would get allocated to EB3 until EB2 queue is addressed
4) US Citizenship: This forever waiting time on green card queue by people of IC origin should be recognized by US government as valid stay that counts towards US Citizenship requirements;

[Mavrick]

Source - immigration-law.com

STARTUP Act, S.3217, Introduced in the Senate on 05/22/2012 by Five (5) Senators (Bi-Partisan)

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), cosponsored by four other Senators, Mark Warner (D-Va.), along with Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Sen. Blunt, introduced yesterday Startup Act 2.0 – bipartisan legislation that picks up where the JOBS Act left off by doing more to jumpstart the economy through the creation and growth of new businesses. Startup Act 2.0 builds upon the original Startup Act, introduced by Sens. Moran and Warner in December 2011, and the AGREE Act, introduced by Sens. Coons and Rubio in November 2011.
Startup Act 2.0 includes the following provisions:

Creates a new STEM visa so that U.S.-educated foreign students, who graduate with a master’s or Ph.D. in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, can receive a green card and stay in this country where their talent and ideas can fuel growth and create American jobs;

Creates an Entrepreneur’s Visa for legal immigrants, so they can remain in the United States, launch businesses and create jobs;

Eliminates the per-country caps for employment-based immigrant visas – which hinder U.S. employers from recruiting the top-tier talent they need to grow;

Makes permanent the exemption of capital gains taxes on the sale of startup stock held for at least five years – so investors can provide financial stability at a critical juncture of firm growth;

Creates a targeted research and development tax credit for young startups less than five years old and with less than $5 million in annual receipts. This R&D credit is designed to allow startups to offset employee taxes – freeing up resources to help these young companies expand and create jobs;

Uses existing federal R&D funding to support university initiatives designed to bring cutting-edge research to the marketplace more quickly where it can propel economic growth;

Requires all government agencies to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of all proposed “major rules” with an economic impact of $100 million or more. This new requirement will help determine the efficacy of regulations and their potential impact on the formation and growth of new businesses; and

Directs the U.S. Department of Commerce to assess state and local policies that aid in the development of new businesses. Through the publication of reports on new business formation and the entrepreneurial environment, lawmakers will be better equipped to encourage entrepreneurship with the most successful policies.

Please note that this bill includes elimination of per country limit for employment-based immigrant visas, which is currently stuck in the Senate in the form of H.R. 3012. Please also note that one of the co-sponsors is Senator Marco Rubio who is expected to introduce a watered-down DREAM bill in the Senate soon. The immigrant community was curious whether Senator Rubio will tie two bills (STARTUP bill and DREAM bill) together to make both bills successfully pass the Congress, but report indicates that Senator Rubio wants to see each of these two bills go on its separate and own path and separate merit. Hmm..... Interesting. Please stay tuned for the full text of the bill.

[gs1968]

To immitime,randomax and others

Did this really happen? How are they going to find time to work on the STARTUP ACT 2.0 if there are more important Bills like the one below from yesterday to be addressed?

"Discharged the Banking committee and passed S.2367, a bill to strike the word “lunatic” from Federal law, and for other purposes."

[immitime]

gs,

If we can believe this... below statement on Irish echo site stated yesterday.[link below]

But now, Schumer staffers are looking at a new bid for House of Representatives backing that would potentially see an E3 standing on its own feet --and not attached to any “country caps” bill.

http://irishecho.com/?p=71868

And combining the previous news or statement from Sen.Grassley.

if you can read in between the news coming out. Now Schumer and Brown stopped adding amendments to H.R.3012 and Grassley is ready to lift the hold provided there is no Irish E-3 provisions added. Please see below.

See Grassley's exact wording on National Journal article approximately 2 months back.

“It’s the only immigration bill that’s going to be around for two years. So if you want to get some reforms, you take every opportunity you can to take an immigration bill and [fix] other things wrong with immigration.” —Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, on the Chaffetz bil
http://www.nationaljournal.com/featu...d-out-20120315

So now it is all set as per the news coming out. Only thing Senators should act!

So now is the time to pass H.R. 3012... at least if not this Summer by late fall.

That is why positively HR 3012 should be law soon! Praying for all of us .

[abcx13]

gs,

If we can believe this... below statement on Irish echo site stated yesterday.[link below]

But now, Schumer staffers are looking at a new bid for House of Representatives backing that would potentially see an E3 standing on its own feet --and not attached to any “country caps” bill.

http://irishecho.com/?p=71868

And combining the previous news or statement from Sen.Grassley.

if you can read in between the news coming out. Now Schumer and Brown stopped adding amendments to H.R.3012 and Grassley is ready to lift the hold provided there is no Irish E-3 provisions added. Please see below.

See Grassley's exact wording on National Journal article approximately 2 months back.

“It’s the only immigration bill that’s going to be around for two years. So if you want to get some reforms, you take every opportunity you can to take an immigration bill and [fix] other things wrong with immigration.” —Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, on the Chaffetz bil
http://www.nationaljournal.com/featu...d-out-20120315

So now it is all set as per the news coming out. Only thing Senators should act!

So now is the time to pass H.R. 3012... at least if not this Summer by late fall.

That is why positively HR 3012 should be law soon! Praying for all of us .

In our dreams. I think Grassley was just posturing and has no intention of releasing the HR3012 hold. I think it's dead.

[immitime]

In our dreams. I think Grassley was just posturing and has no intention of releasing the HR3012 hold. I think it's dead.

Politics won't work that way.. As we Think!... The Bill H.R 3012 is valid until the present Elected Senate session is Valid. So obviously it is not dead at present. This bill is kept pending for Election--(bipartisan) Politics! And everyone knows this bill is non-controversial and it will pass in the Senate without much issues, sometimes with unanimous voice votes. Now Mr.Grass Uncle came out with a Bill S.3245 now Congressmen Chaffetz can bargain with Guncle for his bill HR 3012, Otherwise Tea party supporting Republican Senators can hold S.3245 Bill.. so that is an option. There are lot of other options & opportunities in Politics!.. Things can change within a day!!! Another turn around that can happen is as a Bipartisan bill there is another bill introduced in Senate S.3217, which includes the same provisions as HR 3012. So each Senator is aware of the content of the HR 3012, and it should be law soon!

Unfortunately, Hypocrites, scoundrals, money laundrers, and uneducated lots are more in Politics nowadays--- Otherwise our life would have been easier!(this is applicable to any politican from any country--if you analyze)..

so no point in conclusion that bill is dead.. because that is only a non-verifiable belief for now!

[Mavrick]

Politics won't work that way.. AS we Think!... The Bill is valid until the the present Elected Senate session is Valid. So obviously it is not dead at present. This bill has kept in pending for Election--(bipartisan) Politics! Now Mr.Grass Uncle came out with a Bill now in the Senate. Congressmen Chaffetz can bargain with him for his bill Otherwise Tea party supporting Republicans Senators can hold his Bill.. so that is an option. There are lot of other options in Politics!.. Unfortunately, Hypocrites, scoundrals and uneducated lots are more in Politics nowadays---(this is applicable to any politican from any country--if you analyze).. so no point in conclusion that bill is dead.. because that is only a non-varifiable belief for now!

I have to agree with Immitime - anything might happen. Look at the 3 bills below - they are some way related to employment-based immigration

S. 3217 Startup Act 2.0, Sen. Moran's STEM legislation with elimination of employment-based immigration per country limits
S. 3192 Smart Jobs Act, Sens. Alexander and Coons STEM bill
S. 3835 Star Act of 2012 Sen. Cornyn's STEM bill with elimination of diversity immigration.

[qesehmk]

Guys - realistically - and this is just my "opinion" - nothing will happen between now and november election. The president can't take a chance on a hot topic. So even if both congress and senate sign it - obama may not necessarily sign it. All this bill creation frenzie IMHO is political posturing and pandering.

The good news otherwise is - the demand is substantially lower than usual years and so EB2IC will continue to see shorter approvals times (3-4 years as opposed to 5 years - PERM to GC times).

[Nov2010]

Teddy & Gurus,

Based on the latest 485 inventory can we predict how the PD shall move if HR3012 becomes law of the land?

[Mavrick]

Q,

I sincerely hope your prediction comes true - Coming this from you makes me feel much more comfortable.

Guys - realistically - and this is just my "opinion" - nothing will happen between now and november election. The president can't take a chance on a hot topic. So even if both congress and senate sign it - obama may not necessarily sign it. All this bill creation frenzie IMHO is political posturing and pandering.

The good news otherwise is - the demand is substantially lower than usual years and so EB2IC will continue to see shorter approvals times (3-4 years as opposed to 5 years - PERM to GC times).

[cbordu_111]

I think there is also a general concensus that there is no chance of HR 3012 passing this year, in fact I would be surprised if it even passes the next year! Not to sound negative but given the existing political sceanrio I don't see how or why Senator Grassley wold take his hold off this.

[mniwas]

---------------------------------
The good news otherwise is - the demand is substantially lower than usual years and so EB2IC will continue to see shorter approvals times (3-4 years as opposed to 5 years - PERM to GC times).
---------------------

I don't understand. There are 100,000 visas for EB2 and EB1 combined (ignoring EB4 and 5 because they are so few). The inventory demand is 16K for EB1 and 60K for EB2. Even considering unfiled applications. EB2 should become current in about 1.5 years. I don't understand how you people are predicting 3-4 years.

I am EB3. I waiting for EB2 to be current and then spillover to EB3 :-) Too optimistic I guess.

[vizcard]

As someone who is completely oblivious to the happenings between the movers and shakers behind the scene, the meteoric rise of HR3012 was more surprising. The fact that this bill has been presumably *forgotten* is *not* surprising - this happens to most immigration bills anyway regardless of political climate.

HR3012 was the victim of its fast success, because the Irish E3 impeded its progress substantially. In the hindsight, E3 was a hindrance than an ally. However by the recent reports, E3 is now separated from HR3012, so there is a chance that the bill may be brought on the Senate floor.

Grassley is a dangerous senator too. Usually for non controversial bills, Senate will not dare invoking cloture, because then it becomes a political hot potato, and the general public will turn extremely anti immigrant (as if they are not enough already). However reports are there that Grassley is willing to compromise. I don't know about their accuracy.

In the end, this is still a very clever bill. It has something for both Democrats and Republicans, and members of the Congress may be willing to pass the bill in order to tell their constituents that *something* was done. I don't yet believe the bill is dead. I think by early August, we can pass the judgment.

The bill is on the Senate calendar 293. I just don't know how to translate the Senate Calendar to normal human calendars.

[manubhai]

CNBC Poll: Does the U.S. Have a Shortage of High-Skilled Workers?

Go click on Yes. Does NOT require a login or registration.

It don't matter whether clicking in the poll will help or change anything or not. But some one like Larry Kudlow or Cramer might end up speaking a sentence or two on these.

Link: http://www.cnbc.com/id/47444489

And good to see people still talking about HR3012. Keep the itch alive. We don't know which bill and when turns into a law. As Q said, it is all politics, but that doesn't mean all hope is lost.

[manubhai]

CNBC Poll: Does the U.S. Have a Shortage of High-Skilled Workers?

Go click on Yes. Does NOT require a login or registration.

Link: http://www.cnbc.com/id/47444489

[qesehmk]

mniwas - EB2I will never become current. So please give up that hope and switch to EB2. Your analysis of numbers is a bit simplistic. The ROW and EB1 and all other demand keeps pouring in every year every month. So even as you remove old backlog - new backlog gets built up and effectively SOFAD is limited. That's why 3-4 years is what it will take going forward and not 5 months! Hope this helps.

I don't understand. There are 100,000 visas for EB2 and EB1 combined (ignoring EB4 and 5 because they are so few). The inventory demand is 16K for EB1 and 60K for EB2. Even considering unfiled applications. EB2 should become current in about 1.5 years. I don't understand how you people are predicting 3-4 years.

I am EB3. I waiting for EB2 to be current and then spillover to EB3 :-) Too optimistic I guess.

On other note - guys, do vote on the CNBC poll and vote "Yes"!!

[immitime]

HALT AMERICA'S DECLINE BY WELCOMING SKILLED AND ENTREPRENEURIAL IMMIGRANTS

http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2012/05/h...welcoming.html

While the chances of this bill [Startup act] passing in the current partisan political climate, prior the 2012 Presidential elections remain remote, one can still be surprised. After all, immigration ought to cut across partisan lines, and our elected representatives need to enact sound immigration proposals for the good of the country and the world.

[gcq]

HALT AMERICA'S DECLINE BY WELCOMING SKILLED AND ENTREPRENEURIAL IMMIGRANTS

http://blog.cyrusmehta.com/2012/05/h...welcoming.html

While the chances of this bill [Startup act] passing in the current partisan political climate, prior the 2012 Presidential elections remain remote, one can still be surprised. After all, immigration ought to cut across partisan lines, and our elected representatives need to enact sound immigration proposals for the good of the country and the world.

Another good article by Cyrus Mehta !

[gs1968]

Some new hope maybe?

http://beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.bl...-path-for.html

Can somebody enlighten us about who the other 2 Republican Senators are that are opposing 3012?

[gcq]

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.

We didn't hear this news from elsewhere. I don't think lawmakers supporting HR3012 will support grassley's H1B dreams. If it were added to HR3012, it will have to go to house where many republican reps would oppose the H1B component and the bill will die there.

[gs1968]

To gcq
My thoughts are along the same lines as yours. I did an exhaustive google news search for more information about Sen.Grassley's hold using every possible keyword but found no additional information. The article itself does not clearly say which Bill he is planning to add it to. The Congressional Daily Digest does not show any new amendments being submitted. I usually rely on the AILA website which reported the first set of amendments back in December and they are quiet on this. If the news of the hold being ready to be lifted is true,the blogs would have lit up with this information by now. On a different note,the proposed amendments which he has championed for quite a while are so punitive that the tech lobby is not going to like it.Having held the Bill for so long he will ensure that the final version will include these restrictions and this is worrying as you said because the Bill may die in conference.On a different note HR 3012 may be the vehicle for much broader EB reform including STEM legislation

[gs1968]

To gcq
I stand corrected.AILA included it in their daily news clips section but just provided a link to the Article in CQ. More significant news stories are usually on their recent postings page.Still no other source for this piece of information

[gs1968]

To gcq,qesehmk and others

I am very puzzled by the lack of excitement over the news that some negotiations are going on about H.R 3012 and Sen.Grassley's hold on the Bill. I have been following this blog and trackitt and there is no chatter whatsoever.I don't visit ** anymore and so I am not sure what they have said about this.Is this because our hopes have been raised multiple times only to be led down the road of disappointment? BTW, I am yet to find another source for the information about the potential release of the hold or the identity of the 2 other senators who object to this bill.
Incidentally, Sen.Grassley does not seem to be slowing down on his complaints about the H-1B/OPT program

http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...0&pageNumber=1

[gcq]

To gcq,qesehmk and others

I am very puzzled by the lack of excitement over the news that some negotiations are going on about H.R 3012 and Sen.Grassley's hold on the Bill. I have been following this blog and trackitt and there is no chatter whatsoever.I don't visit ** anymore and so I am not sure what they have said about this.Is this because our hopes have been raised multiple times only to be led down the road of disappointment? BTW, I am yet to find another source for the information about the potential release of the hold or the identity of the 2 other senators who object to this bill.
Incidentally, Sen.Grassley does not seem to be slowing down on his complaints about the H-1B/OPT program

http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...0&pageNumber=1

Grassley is a representative of anti-immigrant groups like NUSA. For grassleys' concern for fraud, look at his own fraud in this article which originally appeared in readers digest.
http://forums.soompi.com/discussion/..._vanilla=true/

Other members of Congress have profited from subsidies directly. Arkansas Democratic senator Blanche Lincoln’s family received more than $700,000 over a ten-year period, and Republican Iowa senator Chuck Grassley, a millionaire deficit hawk, reaped $238,000 in federal dollars from 1995 to 2006.

Rightly said, our hopes have been raised multiple times so we are in wait and watch mode. Only ** donors will know what is going on behind the scenes. As for commoners like us we have nothing to do as action item. We just need to wait with hopeful prayers.