The business community is anxiously observing current activity in Congress, curious to find out whether new legislation might overhaul the H-1B visa program as part of a potential grand bargain on comprehensive immigration reform. Certain themes emerge from various proposals, signaling that major change is indeed possible.
The H-1B program permits employers to recruit or retain foreign professional workers for jobs that require at least a bachelor's degree in a field related to the beneficiary employee's course of study. The employer need not prove that a qualified U.S. worker is unavailable, unless the employer petitions for large numbers of H-1B workers or has been a willful violator of program requirements.
