Charles Grassley, a Republican senator, responded with a proposal to prohibit any company that had laid off Americans from hiring visa workers at all.
Under these circumstances it is no surprise then that domestic workers who compete against these visa holders sometimes complain that their wages are below market value, since the firm is effectively granted a monopoly over visa workers, and as a result able to grab a portion of the higher productivity an immigrant attains by moving here.
It aims to strengthen border security while raising the cap on visas for high skilled workers and establishing a new visa program for low skilled workers on America's farms and elsewhere.
Most industries don't have a good way to hire a steady supply of foreign workers because there's one temporary visa program for low-wage nonagricultural workers but it's capped at 66, 000 visas per year and is only supposed to be used for seasonal or temporary jobs.
The H-2A visa controversy involving farm workers exemplifies labor's mixed bag as much as any other issue.
Or perhaps employers could lend foreign workers the visa money, which the worker could pay back out of his wages over time.
Growers consider the underutilized H-2A visa for seasonal agricultural workers burdensome and litigation-prone, while employers have often used up the annual quota of H-2B temporary visas for seasonal workers in resorts, crab fishing, nurseries and other industries.
In addition they're seeking to create a new visa program to bring foreign agriculture workers to the U.S. But wages and visa caps have been sticking points, just as they were for a separate low-skilled worker program that was resolved recently with a deal between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO.
And currently there's no good way for employers to bring many low-skilled workers to the U.S. An existing visa program for low-wage nonagricultural workers is capped at 66, 000 per year and is supposed to apply only to seasonal or temporary jobs.
However, today, America has only a bureaucratic H-2A visa category that pleases neither growers nor the farm workers union, and a cumbersome H-2B visa for short-term seasonal work outside of agriculture.
Stricter border controls, fewer opportunities in construction, and the lack of a workable guest worker visa are keeping these demanded workers away.
The source said the agreement would allow for the creation of a new "W" visa for lesser-skilled workers not working in agriculture.
Applications by employers for a coveted visa program that feeds skilled workers to U.S. technology companies, banks and other businesses are expected to exceed supply this year, a sign of the strengthening economy that means some employers will rely on a lottery to fill key positions.
The special Australian visa has a unique identifier number "188, " making it distinct from the traditional "457" visa given to most temporary foreign workers.
As Congress debates an immigration overhaul, the controversy in Pennsylvania highlights the challenges of creating and managing any new visa program, particularly for temporary workers.
There now have been numbers set for wages and where to cap visa levels that the United Farm Workers has agreed to, officials said, although details weren't immediately available Tuesday.
Between 1998 and 1999, domestic workers who had broken their visa restrictions were offered the chance to come clean without penalty.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) announced this week that it had filled its annual H-1B visa quota for foreign high-skilled workers.
FORBES: H1-B Visa Quotas Greatly Restrain Small Business Expansion
At the same time, greater emphasis on a demand-driven visa system would create new ways for workers to enter the U.S. who will be increasingly needed as baby boomers retire.
The AgJobs Act, supported by both growers and the farm workers union, would largely solve the problem in agriculture by providing a streamlined visa program with an opportunity to legalize the immigration status of longer-term agricultural workers.
According to the source, the "W" visa would affect housekeepers, landscapers, retail workers and some construction workers.
Shadow immigration minister Chris Bryant said politicians should "tackle abuse and not just talk about it", saying his party's proposals for ending student visa loopholes and penalising firms who hire illegal workers were "practical and workable".
BBC: Clegg backs 'security bonds' as he sets out immigration stance - BBC News
Earlier this year, the government proposed changes to the 457-visa system. and its "put Aussie workers first" slogan that many saw as aimed at undercutting the perception that the opposition's policies were more Australia-friendly.
The stimulus bill the president signed into law restricts the use of bank bailout funds (money banks get from the Financial Stability Plan, formerly known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program) to hire skilled foreign workers under the H-1B visa program.
The measure would put millions who are in the U.S. illegally on a 13-year path to citizenship, while toughening border security requirements, mandating that all employers check the legal status of workers, and allowing tens of thousands of new high- and low-skilled workers into the country with new visa programs.
The contours of the tough new border security plans emerged as senators moved closer to unveiling sweeping legislation within days that would put some 11 million immigrants living here illegally on a path to citizenship and allow tens of thousands of high- and low-skilled workers into the country on new visa programs, in addition to securing the border.
Several studies have shown H-1B visa holders are paid comparable to U.S. workers with similar experience (Government Accountability Office, Magnus Lofstrom, and others) and employers must pay thousands of dollars in legal and government fees per H-1B.
The Labor government, which opinion polls suggest will lose the Sept. 14 election to the center-right Liberal Nationals, has proposed changes to the 457 temporary work visa system and has said it would "put Aussie workers first" as the nation's economy has slowed, led by a cooling in the mining sector.
In recent years, the visa program has been ensnared in a debate over whether foreign workers are displacing qualified Americans.
Under the emerging agreement, a new "W" visa program would bring tens of thousands of lower-skilled workers a year to the country.
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