Senate to 'Mark-up' Title IV of S.744: Employment Based Visas

Posted By USI Law || 14-May-2013

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, headed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), will
continue the ‘Mark-up’ of Senate Bill S.744 on Tuesday, May 14th, 2013. The
Committee will debate and potentially amend portions of Title IV of the “Border Security,
Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.” This is the portion of the
Bill that deals with the majority of non-immigrant temporary visas, including those for
high-skilled immigrant workers, entrepreneurship and innovation programs as well as
many of the miscellaneous visitor visas. These visas include the H-1B and L visa
categories that most high technology companies use to employ many of the foreign
workers in the United States.
The Judiciary committee is in the throes of a spirited debate on the best way forward to
transform the immigration landscape into one that is fair, balanced and addresses the
immigration needs of the United States. It may be recalled the S.744, in its current
form, intends to impose a host of restrictive laws and onerous regulation for companies
that employ a large number of high skilled foreign workers. United States based
technology companies have invested heavily in the debate and many of their ardent
priorities are reflected in the Bill. A true sense of the mood of the Senate and the
momentum of certain provisions of the Bill, as they, pertain to employment based visas
will emerge through the ‘mark-up’ process.
We will continue to monitor developments and provide additional updates.
Should you have any questions, or need any clarifications, please contact Sarah
Farnan, Law Clerk at Usilaw, via email at sarah@usilaw.com.
Categories: Title IV, Visas