Key Senators Introduce H-1B Cap Increase Bill

On February 9, Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Spencer Abraham (R-MI), along with 17 others (including Democratic Senators Feinstein, Lieberman and Graham), introduced S. 2045, the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act. This bill would increase the H-1B cap to 195,000 for the current and next two fiscal years, and would exempt from the cap employees of higher educational institutions and research institutions and F-1 students graduating with Masters or Ph.D. degrees. The bill also contains some other significant provisions, including addressing the per-country limit issue for employment-based immigrants.