How to revive immigration bill
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The onus is on Bush to convince critics that the US is serious about border enforcement.
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Senate leaders vowed Thursday night to revive stalled immigration legislation as soon as next week, capping a furious rescue attempt led by President Bush.
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The plan to overhaul the nation's immigration system survived its most serious challenges yesterday, when the Senate defeated amendments to disqualify hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from legalization and to extend visas to hundreds of thousands more relatives of U.S. citizens and...
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Congress is back in session,  and the focus will be on the immigration overhaul bill moving through the Senate.
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Legislation that would encourage federal retirees to come back to work in the government on a temporary basis was introduced in the House yesterday, giving the Bush administration a chance to push for one of its management priorities this year.
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(InfoWorld) - As Democrats take over leadership of both houses of the U.S. Congress from Republicans, technology industry lobbyists will try again to push for worker visa reform. Legislation to allow more highly skilled foreign workers to come to the U.S. and stay longer failed in the last session of Congress, but it will be reintroduced in the next session, said Andrea Hoffman, vice president of TechNet, a lobbying group for technology companies. TechNet is pushing for three reforms, Hoffman said: Increasing the number of H1B visas granted annually to foreign workers employed temporarily at U.S. companies; granting employment-based visas to workers whose H1B visas are about to expire but whose application for lawful permanent residency (commonly known as a "green card") is backlogged; and allowing foreign workers who earn advanced degrees at U.S. colleges and universities to stay and work in the U.S. once they graduate. Legislation on those reforms became part of a controversial immigration reform bill that tied Congress up in debates about illegal immigrants, deportation, and border security and ultimately failed. With Democrats winning control of the Congress in the November elections, TechNet is going to push its reform agenda anew, Hoffman said. "We are very optimistic," she said. "The change in leadership will be a very good opportunity for the tech industry." One way to keep highly skilled and well-paying jobs in the U.S. is to reform the student visa policy, said Gary Fazzino, vice president of governmental affairs for Hewlett-PackardÂ and a member of TechNet. "We're interested in making it easier for foreign-born students who come here and receive technical degrees to remain in the U.S. more easily than has been the case in the last few years," Fazzino said. HP hosted a public forum Monday on legislative issues in the new Congress featuring U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, a Silicon Valley Democrat. "I'll be very sensitive to the needs of the valley," Lantos told IDG News Service after the event, when asked about the proposed immigration reforms. He declined to discuss specifics. Under current law, 65,000 H1B visas are granted each year to foreign workers, each of whom needs to be sponsored by a U.S. company that couldn't find an American worker who has the needed skills. But that quota for federal fiscal year 2007 was filled before the year even began, according to Hoffman. TechNet wants the ceiling raised to 115,000. Labor interest oppose raising the ceiling. Among the critics is the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, in Seattle, which argues that there are more high-tech workers available in the U.S. than jobs to fill. TechNet also advocates a new "employment-based visa" category for those who have an H1B that is about to expire but are still on a waiting list for a green card. There is a backlog of more than 500,000 green card applications in the U.S., according to ImmigrationVoice.org. "The system is archaic," Hoffman said. "It is not consistent or structured in such a way that it fits business practices and models ... and we need change."
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A controversial immigration bill suffers a setback in the US Senate, as a bipartisan deal threatens to unravel.
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The arrest of Elvira Arellano put the small but determined sanctuary movement back in the headlines. The fallout--and how its members hope to capitalize on the attention to put immigration reform back in play.
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Proponents of a broad immigration measure narrowly beat back potentially fatal challenges Thursday, including an effort to phase out the temporary worker program
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Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a longtime immigration advocate, made a personal plea to save the legislation in which he and others had invested months.
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By Deborah Bulkeley Deseret Morning News  A proposal to give qualified undocumented students a pathway to legal status through education or military service has re-emerged in Congress.
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The demise of the immigration bill may have damaged the partyâs ability to meet its goal of attracting more Hispanic voters.
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An immigration reform bill that includes a proposed hike in the annual cap on H-1B visas was the subject of a hearing in the U.S. House. But it's unlikely that the bill will become law this year.
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A proposed immigration overhaul survived a stiff challenge Wednesday as the Senate turned back a Democrat's bid to emphasize reuniting families more than job skills for many foreigners seeking to move to the U.S.
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To win over the holdouts in her own party, Nancy Pelosi may break the immigration bill into pieces
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When the immigration bill collapsed last month on the Senate floor, it was a victory for Numbers USA, a group that lobbies Congress to reduce immigration.
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The Senate is debating legislation that could lead to the broadest overhaul of immigration law since 1986.