Freshman Idaho Representative Raul Labrador (R-ID) has introduced a bill that would radically affect
some international students. Labrador’s bill would allow STEM graduate students to transition directly
to a green card after graduating. This reform would speed up the citizenship process for all international
STEM students, reducing their dependence on the H-1B visa in the process.
H.R. 3146 would exempt certain students from the EB visa cap. This would allow these students to get
an EB visa, a type of green card, shortly after earning their degree. To qualify, students would have to:
- Earn a Masters or Ph.D.,
- In a STEM (science, technology, engineer or math) field,
- From an American university, and
- Have a job offer from an American company related to their field.
Rep. Labrador’s bill eliminates country cap restrictions from the EB program, ensuring that all
international students are treated the same regardless of which country they are from. The bill also
imposes a fee on companies hiring students through this program. Funds generated from this fee
will be channeled towards STEM education programs in the United States from elementary school up
through college.
The bill, the American Innovation and Education Act (H.R. 3146), was introduced by Congressman
Labrador in early October. It has attracted five cosponsors, including four additional freshmen
Republicans. Rep. James Sensenbrenner has also signed onto the bill. Sensenbrenner is a former Chair
of the House Immigration Subcommittee and a senior member of the Republican caucus.
Congressman Labrador explained his reasons for introducing this bill by sating:
“I looked at the different ways that have been proposed to fix this problem and have introduced
a specific, targeted bill to help people who have offers of employment but face a processing
backlog that can stretch for a decade or more. When foreign STEM students leave after
graduating, their innovations are lost to our economy, leaving Idaho’s high tech industry at a
disadvantage compared to the rest of the world. This bill will also pave the way to encourage
more interest in the STEM fields from our domestic students, who make up a decreasing
proportion of current graduate students. It ends the brain-drain, helps American students and
helps domestic companies maintain their edge in the global economy.” –Congressman Labrador
As the Congressman suggested, graduate STEM students with degrees from American universities are
in high demand globally. Most will find good jobs, even in this difficult economy. It is in America’s
best interest for them to find jobs here, rather than in another country. People with advanced STEM
degrees are among the most innovative, productive and entrepreneurial people in the world. Inviting
more of them to become Americans will create jobs and economic growth in our country, helping all
Americans.
Moreover, by giving these students green cards shortly after they earn their degrees, rather than making
them wait several years, Rep. Labrador’s bill will keep them off of the H-1B visa. Unlike the EB visa, H-
1B visas are not green cards and do not give workers using them residency rights. Without these rights,
workers depend upon their employers for their legal right to stay in this country. This allows some
employers to exploit H-1B workers by paying them less than American, withholding benefits, and forcing
them to work longer hours than their American colleagues.
Once workers get their green cards, however, they become permanent legal residents of the United
States. Since their legal status is permanent, green card holders can simply quit if they are not treated
fairly by their employer. This levels the playing field with American workers, protecting both.
H.R. 3146 bill is based on a similar, but broader, piece of legislation introduced by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-
CA) called the IDEA Act (H.R. 2161) that is backed by prominent Democrats. While the STEM provisions
are identical in the two bills, the IDEA Act includes provisions to expand low-skill immigration that
Republicans wouldn’t support.
IEEE-USA and IEEE members have been working for over a decade to convince Congress to reform our
nation’s high-skill immigration system. While we have prevented Congress from making things worse,
there has been little appetite on Capitol Hill for actually improving the system. In fact, despite lots of
noise and effort, Congress didn’t even draft a real immigration reform bill in the last Congress.
Reps. Labrador and Lofgren have broken this impasse. While compromises still have to be made
before a final bill can become law, high-skill immigration reform is much more likely to pass during this
Congress than at any point in the past several years.
IEEE members who have questions about high-skill immigration reform should contact IEEE-USA staffer
Russ Harrison at r.t.harrison for more information.
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