Summary of H.R. 4227
As Reported Out of House Judiciary Committee

Key Provisions of H.R. 4227 Passed by Committee:

• Eliminates caps on the number of H-1B visas for Fiscal years 2000.  In Fiscal Years 2001 and 2002, unlimited visas are available above the current caps, if employer meets certain conditions:  must prove that there was a net increase in the previous year in the median wages paid to U.S. workers on the employer's payroll.
  
  
• Allows an H-1B professional to change employers upon filing of a petition by the new employer.  Exception:  H-1B professionals who were employed by a higher educational institution or non-profit or governmental research institution that were exempt from the cap may not move to a cap job until the petition is approved. (This provision identical to provision in S. 2045, the Hatch/Abraham Senate H-1B bill, which exempts employees of these institutions from the H-1B cap.  Since this bill has no H-1B cap, this last provision would apply only after the cap reverts to 65,000 in FY2003.)
  
  
• Requires employer to pay the H-1B worker at least $40,000 salary. Stipulates that after FY2000, this salary base shall be determined by the dollar amount multiplied by the annualized cost of living adjustment (COLA).  Exceptions for employees of higher education, nonprofit or governmental research institutions or public and private elementary and secondary schools (This last provision added by Representative Hyde in Judiciary).
  
  
• Requires employer to submit to the Secretary of Labor the foreign state that the H-1B national is from, the degrees obtained by the non-immigrant, the non-immigrant's job title, date of employment and salary. Require Secretary to make this information public on the Internet within 30 days.
  
  
• Requires all physical therapists using the H-1B program to have a degree equal to a master's degree from an accredited program of physical therapy in the U.S. 
  
  
• Requires all individuals working in the United States in a “specialty occupation” or as a fashion model to have H-1B status (exceptions: foreign nationals in H-2A, O or P status).  Would eliminate B-1 in lieu of H-1B, and would prevent professionals from using the L-1, E-1/E-2, or any other nonimmigrant category.
  
  
• Requires H-1B workers to work full-time, defined as 35 hours per week.  Exception for employees of higher educational institutions and related nonprofit entities, nonprofit and governmental research organizations.
  
  
• Requires H-1B workers to have at least a bachelor's degree.  Eliminates work experience equivalence except for those with bachelor’s degrees in a different field.
  
  
• Adds new $100 fee, on top of the current filing fee, on initial petitions and petitions to change employers.  Moneys to be deposited in a separate account in the Treasury and used in the following manner: 20 percent to the attorney general for programs and activities to limit fraud in the H-1B program; 20 percent to remove aliens in the program who are deportable; 40 percent to the Secretary of State to eliminate fraud by employers; 20 percent to both the attorney general and Secretary of State to eliminate fraud. 
  
  
• Adds a $200 processing fee in addition to the filing fee companies must pay. Creates an "H-1B processing fee account" within the Treasury and stipulates that 50 percent will go to the attorney general to decrease the processing time for H-1B petitions, and 50 percent will go to the Secretary of Labor for decreasing processing time for labor condition applications. 
  
  
• Stipulates that in order to file an H-1B petition, the employer must be: 1) an institution of higher education or 2) a governmental or non-profit entity or 3) a licensed business with gross assets of more than $250,000 that provided its most recent filing report or 4) another business with less than $250,000 in assets that has provided other documentation of business activity. 
  
  
• Requires each employer to submit annually its most recent W-2 forms for all H-1B employees to the Department of Labor. 
  
  
• Requires the GAO to conduct a study of how the H-1B companies treat and recruit underrepresented groups, including whether or not they advertise sufficiently and recruit from minority universities. Defines underrepresented as African American, Hispanic, female or disabled persons. Requires a report to be submitted to Congress, documenting the results of the study and any recommended changes to the H-1B program. 
  
  
• Requires a GAO study of how H-1B companies treat incumbent U.S. workers. Requires a report to Congress and recommendations on changing the H-1B program. 
  
  
• Requires a GAO study on compliance with the provisions designed to ensure accurate count of H-1B workers and a report to Congress.

Changes from H.R. 4227 as Introduced:

• Removes the requirement in the original bill that the additional visas be contingent on enactment of the regulations created by the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (PL 105 277). Still requires the administration to implement these regulations by September 1, 2000.
  
  
• Removes requirements that for additional visas in FY2001 and FY2002 employer must show have increased overall U.S. employment and total payroll.
  
  
• Removes requirement that H-1B teachers have English-language proficiency.
  
  
• Removes State Department verification of all foreign degrees.
  
  
• Removes State Department counting of H-1B visas.