Congressional damage report on H-1C, P-1, J-1, H-2B

Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 1:33 AM

<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1608 -- 12/12/2006 >>>>>

I hate to put a damper on the celebrations, but it appears that the cheap
labor lobby had a few minor victories in the waning hours of the 109th
Congress.

H-1C was extended for another three years. This allows 500 additional visas
for foreign nurses per year to be used in places that are so crummy that
American nurses won't work there without bonus pay for dangerous and
intolerable working conditions.

Hospitals and clinics claim there is a shortage of nurses that are willing
to work in these areas:
http://www.shusterman.com/hpsa.html

If you click on the link, and then click the name of one of the states, you
will be surprised how many areas are considered to be "Health Professional
Shortage Areas". These are just a few of the places I found:

* Los Angeles, California
* Hawaii - Maui, Honolulu, etc.
* Las Vegas, Nevada
* Dallas, Texas
* Palm Beach, Florida
* Boston, Massachusetts
* Chicago, Illinois
* Santa Fe, New Mexico
* Phoenix, Arizona

I could keep going on this list, but you probably get my point.

H-1C wasn't the only attack on medical professionals -- the Conrad 30 J-1
program was extended so that foreign doctors can join those nurses to
practice medicine in some of the most undesirable locations in the U.S.,
like the resorts of Palm Beach or the upscale arty districts of Santa Fe.

Congress also managed to expand the P-1 visa program. It used to be that
the P visa was reserved for athletes of exceptional ability. The mediocre
athletes that came here to be bench warmers or minor league baseball
players had to use H-2B visas. The problem for the employers of these
foreign athletes is that all the available H-2B visas were being gobbled up
by hotels, restaurants, and ski resorts. Now, thanks to the 109th Congress,
the athletes can use P-1 visas which have no limit. Every second-rate
sports club in the U.S. will be able to import loser athletes.

How much do you want to bet that golf instructors and tennis teaching pros
will find a way to use P-1 visas?

Guess what that means? Hotels, restaurants, and ski resorts will get more
H-2B visas even though the limit was never raised. This is a de-facto
increase in the H-2B visa cap even though it will never be called that.

The P-1 visa scam is an illustration of how Congress will use chicanery to
fool the public into thinking they are getting tough on immigration.

When you think about P-1 visas, just think about all those benches that
need athletes!

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Notice that the Immigration Lawyers Network is making ImmigrationVoice out
to be heroes. If there is a real hero, it might be Sen. Sessions. I applaud
the "anti-immigrationists in Alabama" for their good work!

Sen. Sessions, Republican of Alabama. Apparently, Sen. Sessions is
willing to take on the technology industry and tens of thousands of
immigrant tech workers instead of standing up to the small number
of anti-immigrationists in Alabama.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.ilw.com/immigdaily/#comment

Congress Acts On J1, P, H1C

In its dying hours, the 109th Congress threw a few benefit crumbs to a
nation sorely in need of major immigration benefit relief:

The Conrad 30 program for J1s was extended by 2 years (thru to Jun 30,
2008, see text below)
Minor League athletes will now be able to use the P classification instead
of the more onerous H2B (see article by Greg Siskind below)

The H-1C category was re-authorized for 3 years (see bill text below)
A last minute effort by the two Texas Republican senators - Sen. Cornyn to
increase the H1B cap and by Sen. Hutchinson to recapture tens of thousands
of permanent EB numbers for nurses - failed due to obstruction by the House
Republican leadership and Sen. Sessions, Republican of Alabama. Apparently,
Sen. Sessions is willing to take on the technology industry and tens of
thousands of immigrant tech workers instead of standing up to the small
number of anti-immigrationists in Alabama.

An orchestrated effort on the pro-immigration side managed to flood
Congressional offices with phone calls, indeed Sen. Sessions's phone lines
were reportedly jammed for much of the evening. This effort was largely the
result of immigrant tech workers on www.immigrationvoice.org, and was not
coordinated in any way with the organized lobbying effort by the technology
industry. Given the near-success of each of these efforts, one wonders
whether a coordinated effort may have succeeded in turning the tide.

The baton passes to the Democratic party leadership for the 110th Congress
on January 4th 2007. On the Senate side, the Democratic leadership has
declared immigration to be a priority. On the House side, however, the
Democratic leadership, perhaps in the aftermath of the fierce inter-necine
struggle for Majority leader, has not even yet succeeded in naming a chain
of command for immigration - the chairmanship of the immigration committee
has still not been finalized. Worse, the leading contender (Rep. Loefgren
of California) may have to begin from scratch, frittering away the valuable
December weeks in hiring a staff, rather than putting together a bill for
introduction in the first week of January.

We urge all members of Congress to enact large-scale immigration benefit
legislation in the first weeks of the 110th Congress."

We welcome readers to share their opinion and ideas with us by writing to
editor@ilw.com.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,1212-siskind.shtm

Legislative Breaking News: H-2B And P-1 Visa Categories
by Gregory Siskind
In the final hours of the 109th Congress, the House passed S.3821, a bill
concerning H-2B and P-1 athletes and entertainers that passed in the Senate
a day before. The President is expected to sign the legislation in the
coming days and the provisions will take effect immediately. The bill
tracks language included in S.2611, the comprehensive immigration reform
bill passed by the US Senate last May.

The legislation expands the P-1 visa category to include several new types
of athletes and entertainers:

An individual athlete on an athletic team that is a member of an
association of 6 or more professional sports teams whose total combined
revenues exceed $10,000,000 per year, if the association governs the
conduct of its members and regulates the contests and exhibitions in which
its member teams regularly engage or any minor league team that is
affiliated with such an association (these are individuals described in
Section 204(i)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act).

Individual coaches and athletes performing with teams in the US that are
part of an international league or association of fifteen or more amateur
sports teams if 1) the league is operating at the "highest level of amateur
performance" in the relevant foreign country, 2) participating in that
league renders the players ineligible to get a scholarship to play at a
collegiate level in the US and 3) a significant number of the players in
the league get drafted to play for major or minor league teams in the US.

Amateur and professional ice skaters who perform in theatrical ice skating
productions seeking to enter the US to skate in a competition or a
theatrical production.
Significantly, none of these new categories require a demonstration of
performing at an "internationally recognized level of performance" as is
the case for P-1 athletes under the current law or as "outstanding"
athletes as required under the O-1 rules.

Minor league teams will benefit most significantly since they will no
longer need to rely on the H-2B category for its athletes (though coaches
are not covered by the new provisions). The H-2B category has been
problematic in recent years because the category has quickly filled its
allotted quota.

Another major change is the fact that major league athletes will likely be
able to enter the US under the new provisions for teams in leagues
exceeding $10,000,000 in annual combined revenue. Simply documenting a
contract to play on a qualifying team should be enough without having to
show the athlete is performing at an internationally recognized level of
performance as is the case today.

The statute contains language excluding athletes from countries deemed
state sponsors of terrorism. That provision will mainly affect Cuban
athletes. These athletes can still apply for P-1s under the new provisions,
but need to get special clearance from the Department of Homeland Security
and State Department.

The new language will now allow for multiple athletes and performers to be
filed on a single I-129 petition instead of separate petitions.

Finally, athletes can still file in other visa categories even if they are
eligible under the new P-1 provisions.

The text of S. 3821 reads as follows:

To authorize certain athletes to be admitted temporarily into the United
States to compete or perform in an athletic league, competition, or
performance.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as either the 'Creating Opportunities for Minor
League Professionals, Entertainers, and Teams through Legal Entry Act of
2006' or the 'COMPETE Act of 2006'.

SEC. 2. NONIMMIGRANT ALIEN STATUS FOR CERTAIN ATHLETES.

(a) In General- Section 214(c)(4)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(4)(A)) is amended by striking clauses (i) and (ii) and
inserting the following:

'(i)(I) performs as an athlete, individually or as part of a group or team,
at an internationally recognized level of performance;

'(II) is a professional athlete, as defined in section 204(i)(2);

'(III) performs as an athlete, or as a coach, as part of a team or
franchise that is located in the United States and a member of a foreign
league or association of 15 or more amateur sports teams, if--

'(aa) the foreign league or association is the highest level of amateur
performance of that sport in the relevant foreign country;

'(bb) participation in such league or association renders players
ineligible, whether on a temporary or permanent basis, to earn a
scholarship in, or participate in, that sport at a college or university in
the United States under the rules of the National Collegiate Athletic
Association; and

'(cc) a significant number of the individuals who play in such league or
association are drafted by a major sports league or a minor league
affiliate of such a sports league; or

'(IV) is a professional athlete or amateur athlete who performs
individually or as part of a group in a theatrical ice skating production;
and

'(ii) seeks to enter the United States temporarily and solely for the
purpose of performing--

'(I) as such an athlete with respect to a specific athletic competition; or

'(II) in the case of an individual described in clause (i)(IV), in a
specific theatrical ice skating production or tour.'.

(b) Limitation- Section 214(c)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1184(c)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

'(F)(i) No nonimmigrant visa under section 101(a)(15)(P)(i)(a) shall be
issued to any alien who is a national of a country that is a state sponsor
of international terrorism unless the Secretary of State determines, in
consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the heads of other
appropriate United States agencies, that such alien does not pose a threat
to the safety, national security, or national interest of the United
States. In making a determination under this subparagraph, the Secretary of
State shall apply standards developed by the Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the heads of other
appropriate United States agencies, that are applicable to the nationals of
such states.

'(ii) In this subparagraph, the term 'state sponsor of international
terrorism' means any country the government of which has been determined by
the Secretary of State under any of the laws specified in clause (iii) to
have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism.

'(iii) The laws specified in this clause are the following:

'(I) Section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C.
App. 2405(j)(1)(A)) (or successor statute).

'(II) Section 40(d) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2780(d)).

'(III) Section 620A(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2371(a)).'.

(c) Petitions for Multiple Aliens- Section 214(c)(4) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(4)), as amended by subsection (b), is
further amended by adding at the end the following:

'(G) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall permit a petition under this
subsection to seek classification of more than 1 alien as a nonimmigrant
under section 101(a)(15)(P)(i)(a).'.

(d) Relationship to Other Provisions of the Immigration and Nationality
Act- Section 214(c)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1184(c)(4)), as amended by subsections (b) and (c), is further amended by
adding at the end the following:

'(H) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall permit an athlete, or the
employer of an athlete, to seek admission to the United States for such
athlete under a provision of this Act other than section 101(a)(15)(P)(i)
if the athlete is eligible under such other provision.'.

Passed the Senate December 6, 2006.

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