releases: http://www.billnelson.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/lawmakers-seek-to-curb-abuses-of-foreign-worker-visa-program
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
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| http://www.billnelson.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/lawmakers-seek-to-curb-abuses-of-foreign-worker-visa-program | Lawmakers seek to curb abuses of foreign worker visa program | 2015-11-10 | 2015 | 2015-11 | Democrat | House | FL | Bill Nelson | N000032 | www.billnelson.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and a handful of Senate colleagues filed legislation today to help curb abuses in the H-1B visa program, which was originally designed to attract highly-skilled foreign workers to fill U.S. jobs in fields experiencing labor shortages. The bipartisan bill filed today would explicitly prohibit any employer from replacing a U.S. worker with an H-1B visa holder. It would also require employers to prove that they first tried to recruit American workers prior to hiring an H-1B visa holder and bar companies that employ more than 50 people from hiring any additional H-1B employees if more than half of their employees are already H-1B visa holders. This program was created to help fill jobs where there were labor shortages, not to take jobs away from hard-working Americans, Nelson said. Nelson called for a federal investigation into misuses of the H-1B visa program earlier this summer after media reports raised questions about whether U.S. companies are using the program to displace American workers. Congress created the H-1B visa program in 1990 to allow a limited number of high-tech workers to enter the U.S. to fill jobs where there was said to be a shortage of U.S. workers. In order to return to this programs original intent, the lawmakers bill would prioritize allocation of H-1B visas to foreign workers with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math. It would also require the U.S. Department of Labor to establish a hotline for displaced U.S. workers, and would give the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Labor greater authority to investigate potential fraud and abuses in the system. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |