Understanding How Immigration Reform Would Help Boost Our Economy

On Wednesday, Congressional democrats filed what’s known as a “discharge petition” to force the House of Representatives to schedule a vote on H.R. 15, the comprehensive immigration reform bill that has been sitting in the House since early October. While there has been a lot of talk back and forth about what exactly immigration reform entails and its implications, one aspect of the bill has gone largely unnoticed by American businesses, even though it could help them the most.

Amongst other provisions, H.R. 15 would significantly increase the current cap placed on family and employment based visas. There are five different categories of employment based visas: priority workers (e.g. people with extraordinary ability in science, the arts, education, business, or athletics); professionals who hold advanced degrees and/or people with exceptional ability in science, art, education, business, or athletics; highly skilled workers (the most common type of employment based visa issued, also known as an H1-B visa); certain special immigrants who have a particularized type of business dealing with the United States; and business investors.

Of the employment visas, the most common one issued and the most common one sought after, is the H1-B visa, or the highly skilled worker visa. People who qualify for this visa include those whose jobs require a minimum of 2 years training or work experience that are not temporary or seasonal, and those who hold a baccalaureate degree from a U.S. college. Dependents (e.g. spouses and children) of holders of an H1-B visa are also able to obtain a visa. H1-B holders may also apply for a green card down the road, granting permanent legal status. In order to qualify, a sponsoring employer must vouch for you and file the petition on your behalf.

Currently, the United States caps the number of H1-B visas issued at 65,000. This cap is set to be reached on April 7, 2014. H.R. 15 and its companion Senate bill would raise the cap to 115,000. This has large implications for our national economy. Experts believe that the addition of these highly skilled workers would raise our GDP by 3.2 percentage points in the next ten years.

Filing and going through the immigration process can be a long and arduous road with large rewards at the end, including permanent legal status. The attorneys at Arguello Law Firm are seasoned attorneys with practical immigration experience. If you or a loved one is seeking help with your immigrations needs, please call us at (800) 257-8676, or use the form above.