Bill > HR4647

This bill, the High-skilled Immigration Reform for Employment Act, seeks to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to expand the availability of H-1B nonimmigrant visas, which are temporary work visas for highly skilled foreign workers. Specifically, the bill increases the annual cap on H-1B visas from 65,000 to 130,000 and removes the additional 20,000 cap on visas for workers with advanced degrees. Additionally, the bill expands the definition of "H-1B-dependent employer" to include companies with a larger number of H-1B workers, thereby subjecting more employers to additional requirements when hiring H-1B workers. The bill also authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to states to strengthen education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, with the goal of retaining more teachers and educating more students in these high-demand areas.