H-1B & L-1 Visa Reform Act benefit the American economy

27 Apr '09

4 min read

To address potential fraud, the Durbin-Grassley bill would give the government more authority to conduct employer investigations and streamline the investigative process. For example, the bill would:

• Permit DOL to initiate investigations without a complaint and without the Labor Secretary's personal authorization;
• Authorize DOL to review H-1B applications for fraud;
• Allow DOL to conduct random audits of any company that uses the H-1B program;
• Require DOL to conduct annual audits of companies who employ large numbers of H-1B workers.

The L-1 visa program allows companies to transfer certain employees from their foreign facilities to their U.S. offices for up to seven years. Experts have concluded that some employers use the L-1 program to evade restrictions on the H-1B program because the L-1 program does not have an annual cap and does not include even the minimal labor protections of the H-1B program. As a result, efforts to reform the H-1B program are unlikely to be successful if the L-1 program is not overhauled at the same time. The Durbin-Grassley bill would institute a number of reforms to the L-1 visa program, including establishing for the first time a process to investigate, audit and penalize L-1 visa abuses.

Durbin and Grassley introduced a similar bill last Congress.

Senate Govt

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