High Skilled Worker Bill Introduced

A bill introduced on Tuesday by Representative Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, aims to bring more high-skilled employees into the United States from overseas.

The bill would provide green cards to foreign students who earn a master’s degree in engineering or science and work in the United States, and eventually grant them permanent residence. It also gives foreign entrepreneurs a path to a green card by starting a company in the United States with five or more employees who are U.S. citizens.

The bill would make it easier for companies such as Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) and International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) to employ foreign high-skilled workers. It has received backing from the corporate sector, which says it will make it easier for foreign engineers and scientists to come to the United States and pursue a long-term career here. Currently, many scientists pursue their education in the United States but leave after completing their postgraduate degree because they cannot get a visa.

The new bill would help keep graduates educated in the United States here to pursue a career. Under Lofgren’s bill, graduates with a master’s degree in technology, math, science or engineering would gain a green card after finding a job here. Foreign entrepreneurs would be allowed temporary residence in the United States for two years and could petition to stay permanently after that period if they are employing U.S. citizens.

Lofgren is hoping the bill receives Republican support, which would make it easier to pass and come into effect. It is much broader than previous bills that allow foreigners to stay in the United States. An earlier bill from Arizona Republican Jeff Flake, which sought to admit more foreign graduates with doctorates, was rejected.

Under current rules, employment-based green cards are capped at 140,000 every year. The new bill would not count the graduates and entrepreneurs it covers against that cap, and spouses and children of these employees would also be kept outside it.

The bill would provide U.S. companies the workforce they require and would also address the uncertainty and challenges faced by foreign immigrants in the United States.