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Truth About the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2009

18.08.2009
Since the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2009 was introduced in Congress this spring, business and political leaders on both sides of the non-immigrant visa issue have interpreted the bill to support their respective causes. Thus, the proposed legislation is either a cure to the job losses and afflicting American IT workers, or it's a work of overzealous xenophobia destined to do irreparable harm to U.S. global business relations, depending on who is providing the analysis.

The truth is, it's neither.

So as Congress spends its dog days of August in recess, CIO.com takes a closer look at what the bill is and what it isn't.

Sam Mittal, president of India's National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), has said that the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act includes "unfair trade practices" that will damage . Mittal's point is of course debatable, but the bill is actually rather limited in scope.

The legislation, introduced by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) in April, targets loopholes in the H-1B and L-1 visa programs. It does not propose lowering the annual cap on the non-immigrant professional visas. In fact, Sen. Grassley has said in the past that he would support an increase in the number of H-1B and L-1 visas granted each year "if and only if the loopholes in the programs are fixed."