Save American Jobs Through L Visa Reform Act of 2004

Save American Jobs Through L Visa Reform Act of 2004 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate specialized knowledge as a basis for obtaining an L (intracompany transferee) nonimmigrant visa.

Imposes an annual numerical limitation of 35,000 on the number of L visas that may be issued to principal aliens.

Removes L nonimmigrants from those classes of aliens that are not presumed to be immigrants (and thus requires L nonimmigrants to establish their entitlement to nonimmigrant status at the time of applying for a visa or admission).

Expresses the sense of Congress that employers should pay L nonimmigrants the greater of the actual wage level paid to similarly qualified individuals for the specific employment in question or the prevailing wage level for the occupational classification in the area of employment.

[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4415 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4415

     To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the 
``specialized knowledge'' basis for obtaining nonimmigrant status as an 
 intracompany transferee, to impose an annual numerical limitation on 
    nonimmigrant visas for such transferees, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 20, 2004

   Mr. Hyde introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
    Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined 
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
        fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the 
``specialized knowledge'' basis for obtaining nonimmigrant status as an 
 intracompany transferee, to impose an annual numerical limitation on 
    nonimmigrant visas for such transferees, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Save American Jobs Through L Visa 
Reform Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Testimony given at a February 4, 2004, hearing of the 
        Committee on International Relations of the House of 
        Representatives indicated that there is widespread abuse by 
        companies subcontracting to other companies nonimmigrants who 
        obtained status under the Immigration and Nationality Act by 
        satisfying the requirements for intracompany transferees with 
        ``specialized knowledge''. Such testimony included that of two 
        United States citizens displaced from their jobs by such 
        nonimmigrants.
            (2) Further evidence of abuse was indicated by such 
        citizens citing cases, including their own, where a citizen's 
        employment was terminated after the citizen trained such 
        intracompany transferees to perform the citizen's job.
            (3) This testimony also indicated that significant numbers 
        of intracompany transferees admitted to the United States due 
        to claimed possession of ``specialized knowledge'' do not, in 
        fact, possess that prerequisite ``specialized knowledge'' at 
        the time of entry into the United States.
            (4) Employers have used the intracompany transferee visa 
        program to fill thousands of positions in the United States. 
        57,245 such visas were issued in fiscal year 2003, at the same 
        time as United States unemployment in information technology 
        specialities increased. The admission of intracompany 
        transferees with ``specialized knowledge'' therefore flooded a 
        job market which had already become highly competitive due to 
        job losses.
            (5) Consular officers overseas continue to document 
        pervasive fraud in intracompany transferee nonimmigrant visa 
        petitions filed in certain countries. In China, for example, 
        recent statistics provided by the United States Embassy in 
        Beijing to a visiting congressional staff delegation in 
        February 2004 reported an intracompany transferee nonimmigrant 
        visa fraud rate of about 40 percent, in petitions received 
        since fiscal year 2000, with similar fraud rates reported for 
        other areas of China as well.

SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF NONIMMIGRANT VISAS FOR INTRACOMPANY TRANSFEREES 
              WITH SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE.

    (a) In General.--Section 101(a)(15)(L) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(L)) is amended by striking 
``managerial, executive, or involves specialized knowledge,'' and 
inserting ``managerial or executive,''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 214(c)(2) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by amending subparagraph (D) to read as follows:
    ``(D) The period of authorized admission for a nonimmigrant 
admitted under section 101(a)(15)(L) shall not exceed 7 years.''; and
            (2) by striking subparagraph (B) and redesignating 
        subparagraphs (C) through (E) as subparagraphs (B) through (D), 
        respectively.

SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF ANNUAL NUMERICAL LIMITATION.

    Section 214(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1184(c)(2)), as amended by section 3 of this Act, is further amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(E) The total number of aliens who may be issued visas or 
otherwise provided nonimmigrant status during any fiscal year 
(beginning with fiscal year 2005) under section 101(a)(15)(L) may not 
exceed 35,000. The numerical limitation in the preceding sentence shall 
apply only to principal aliens and not to the spouses or children of 
such aliens. The provisions of subsection (g)(3) shall apply to visas 
subject to this subparagraph in the same manner as such provisions 
apply to visas subject to subsection (g)(1).''.

SEC. 5. REMOVAL OF INTRACOMPANY TRANSFEREES FROM CLASSES OF ALIENS NOT 
              PRESUMED TO BE IMMIGRANTS.

    Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1184(b)) is amended by striking ``subparagraph (L) or (V) of section 
101(a)(15),'' and inserting ``section 101(a)(15)(V),''.

SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING PAYMENT OF PREVAILING WAGE.

    It is the sense of the Congress that employers of nonimmigrants 
described in section 101(a)(15)(L) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(L)) should pay such nonimmigrants wages that 
are at least the greater of--
            (1) the actual wage level paid by the employer to all other 
        individuals with similar experience and qualifications for the 
        specific employment in question; or
            (2) the prevailing wage level for the occupational 
        classification in the area of employment.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of 
the enactment of this Act and shall apply to nonimmigrant visas issued, 
or nonimmigrant status provided, under section 101(a)(15)(L) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(L)) on or after 
such date. Such amendment shall not be construed as--
            (1) invalidating any visa issued under such section before 
        such date; or
            (2) otherwise affecting any alien provided nonimmigrant 
        status under such section before such date.
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