Last week, the bipartisan Senate Gang of 8 released the bill for immigration reform, which includes information about both illegal and legal immigration. What most international students and foreign nationals should be concerned about are the following:
- Increased H-1B Visa cap to 110,000 from 65,000 - There will be a higher chance for you to secure sponsorship and approval for an H-1B Work Visa.
- INVEST Entrepreneur Visa - If you are interested in starting your own company in the U.S., you will have a chance to apply for this visa. However, you will need to pass criteria that includes job creation and capital raised.
There are also additional provisions for international students who graduate with advanced degrees in the STEM fields.
Now, is this good news or is this bad? It's a little bit of both: great news for a higher H-1B Visa cap, definitely. However, employers who sponsor H-1B visas may need to pay extra fees and also abide by more strict guidelines in sponsorship. This may discourage some U.S. employers from even considering sponsoring an H-1B visa.
In the end, though, this reform will be very beneficial for all parties, if executed properly. Although the reform has not been signed by the President yet (and it may take a couple months or more to get the bill through Congress), we at TAOpivot are hopeful that comprehensive immigration reform is on its way.
(If you support comprehensive immigration reform, consider joining the March for Innovation).