U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to prohibit any firm that received money under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) from hiring foreign workers.

The amendment passed Friday, part of the stimulus plan being debated in the Senate, didn't include a blanket restriction on H-1B use and instead set a series of strict standards on H-1B hiring.

The Senate's amendment would require companies receiving TARP funds, mostly financial services firms with a lot of bad mortgages, to comply with hiring rules set for "H-1B dependent" firms -- those with more than 15% of their workers on H-1B visas.

Any firm receiving TARP funds will be automatically considered H-1B dependent, regardless of the percentage of H-1B workers on the payroll.

The H-1B dependent designation subjects employers to a number of provisions, including a good faith effort .