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Chris McManes IEEE-USA
Calls on Congress to Enact L-1 Visa Legislation WASHINGTON (09 December 2003) — Congress should enact legislation requiring that the use of L-1 visas not displace U.S. workers, according to a position recently adopted by IEEE-USA. L-1 visas, which have no annual limit, were originally intended to enable multinational corporate executives, managers and employees with special skills to work temporarily at subsidiaries in the United States. The program is increasingly being used, however, to move foreign guest workers into the country as a source of lower-cost contract labor, resulting in the displacement of U.S. workers. Several foreign corporations have established U.S. subsidiaries for that specific purpose. The L-1 visa has become more attractive since the annual limit on H-1B visas fell to 65,000 on 1 Oct. A 2003 General Accounting Office report cited State Department figures showing that the number of L-1 visas issued rose from 38,307 in FY 1998 to 57,721 in FY 2002. This increase parallels the rise in U.S. high-tech unemployment. In 1997, electrical and electronics engineers were unemployed at a rate of 1.0 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By the third quarter of this year the figure was 6.7 percent. IEEE-USA's position is "that the (science, engineering and technology) unemployment problem is exacerbated by the continuing admission of substantial numbers of foreign professionals on temporary visas. Most (U.S. IEEE members) are justifiably outraged when they learn that some employers are taking advantage of loopholes in the nation's immigration laws to replace citizens and legal permanent residents with lower-salaried foreign workers on temporary visas such as the L-1." IEEE-USA is also urging Congress to require U.S. companies to pay L-1 visa holders prevailing U.S. wages and establish other appropriate safeguards for U.S. and foreign workers. The entire position statement is available at www.ieeeusa.org/forum/POSITIONS/L1visa.html. IEEE-USA supports the USA Jobs Protection Act of 2003 (S. 1452, H.R. 2849), companion bills introduced by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) The purpose of the legislation "is to ensure that the H-1B and L-1 visa programs are utilized for the purposes for which they were intended, and not to displace American workers with lower cost foreign visa holders, by closing the loopholes in the programs and strengthening enforcement and penalties for violations of laws." The L-1 Visa (Intracompany Transferee) Reform Act of 2003 (S. 1635) and the L-1 Nonimmigrant Reform Act (H.R. 2702) were also introduced in Congress this year. IEEE-USA is an organizational unit of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., created in 1973 to advance the public good, while promoting the careers and public-policy interests of the more than 235,000 electrical, electronics, computer and software engineers who are U.S. members of the IEEE. The IEEE is the world's largest technical professional society. For more information, go to http://www.ieeeusa.org. 1828 L Street, N.W., Suite 1202 Washington, DC 20036-5104 Phone: 202-785-0017, Fax: 202-785-0835 | Top of Page | News Releases | IEEE News | IEEE | IEEE-USA | Last Updated: 10
November 2003 |