NEWS CONTACTS: Eric Thomas or Frances Cox (202) 822-9491 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 18, 2006

2006 Cap on Advanced Degree H-1B Visas Reached in Fourth Month of Fiscal Year

Compete America Urges Congress to Act on Immigration Reform

Washington, D.C. -The announcement today by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that the 20,000 cap on FY2006 H-1B advanced degree visas for U.S.-educated foreign students has been reached was cited by Compete America as further evidence of the critical need for immigration law reform. In August, the overall FY2006 cap was reached, almost two months prior to the start of the fiscal year, an unprecedented speed.

"Last year, Congress exempted the 20,000 advanced degree visas from the overall 65,000 H-1B visa cap in recognition that it is counterproductive to educate foreign students and send them home to compete against us. Now that the advanced degree visa cap has been met as well, U.S. employers will have no means to hire the world's brightest minds until the new Fiscal Year begins, more than eight months from now," said Sandra Boyd, Vice President, National Association of Manufacturers and Compete America Chair.

Because agency delays resulted in the FY2005 allotment of visas not being released until late in the year, the FY06 allotment was available longer than expected. Given current demand, the FY2007 H1-B allotments of 65,000 and 20,000 will likely be hit before the next Fiscal Year even begins.

"The rapid expiration clearly shows that U.S. employers critically need highly educated talent in order to keep the economy strong and remain competitive in the worldwide marketplace," Boyd continued. "Congress must pass meaningful immigration reform as soon as possible."

Late last year, the Senate attempted to enact a short-term solution to this crisis-level shortage of H-1B visas in a budget reconciliation package. Those efforts, however, failed.

"While we were disappointed by the failure of congressional relief efforts last year, the USCIS announcement today further illustrates the need for reform," explained Lynn Shotwell, Executive Director of the American Council on International Personnel. "We need a comprehensive, long-term solution that provides for a market-based cap or cap exemptions for certain foreign workers with advanced degrees from U.S. universities in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. Without it, U.S. employers will lose some of the world's brightest minds to foreign competitors."

Compete America (www.competeamerica.org) is a coalition of more than 200 corporations, universities, research institutions and trade associations concerned about legal, employment-based immigration and committed to ensuring that the United States has the highly educated workforce necessary to ensure continued innovation, job creation and leadership in a worldwide economy.

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