The House and Senate appropriations committees are scheduled to meet this Thursday, November 1st to discuss the combination of the Defense, Military Construction-VA and the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bills into a single bill. As part of these discussions, the committees will consider including or excluding the Grassley-Sanders amendment (H.ADMT.3396) which adds an additional $3500 fee to the already excessive H-1B visa fees. This additional $3500 is to be used towards the creation of a special education fund to promote studies in the fields of math, science, and engineering.
HLG joins the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) in strongly opposing this fee increase. The addition of such a fee would make it even more difficult for US businesses to hire skilled foreign workers. We, at HLG, are encouraging clients to voice their opposition against this fee hike by sending a letter to your Congressmen or calling the conferees directly. For further information, please see AILA’s Take Action website located: http://capwiz.com/aila2/home/ or contact your HLG attorney.