Senate Judiciary leaders reintroduced H1B and L1 reform bill

A bipartisan pair of Senate Judiciary Committee leaders reintroduced legislation this week to tighten rules for the H1B and L1 visa programs, seeking to curb what they say are employer practices that have shifted the programs away from their original purpose. The H1B and L1 Visa Reform Act, sponsored by Committee Chair Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ranking Member Dick Durbin of Illinois, would raise wage standards for sponsored workers, expand the Department of Labor’s authority to investigate employers, require greater public disclosure of job postings, and add new oversight and penalties for violations. The proposal also would prioritize applicants with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and math fields.

Grassley and Durbin framed the reintroduction as a response to concerns that firms have used high-skilled visa channels to reduce labor costs rather than to fill genuinely hard-to-fill positions. The senators recently sent letters to ten large employers, including Amazon, Google’s parent Alphabet and Meta Platforms, seeking explanations for continued high volumes of visa petitions amid rounds of layoffs. The bill lists senators Tommy Tuberville, Richard...