A bipartisan team of Senators introduced a bill that addresses the continually growing need for skilled and highly-educated workers in the United States’ technological industry.  Specifically, this legislation highlights the increasing demand for workers in the tech field and put forth complaints from employers in Silicon Valley stating that our current immigration law “prevents them from bringing into the U.S. enough skilled programmers to keep up with the demand.”  This bill, known as the “Immigration Innovation Act,” aims to ensure that the best and brightest come to the United States to work and study are allowed to stay in the United States so that they can contribute in a meaningful way to our economy.

While a similar bill was introduced but failed to move through Congress in 2013, this bipartisan group of Senators and tech employers are hopeful that this legislation will initiate the process of bringing immigration law into the twenty-first century.

At present, H-1B visas are capped at 65,000 each year.  Under the Immigration Innovation Act, the annual cap for high-skilled H-1B workers would jump to 195,000 (dependent upon demand) and spouses of H-1B workers would be able to apply for work authorization.