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Foreign health care workers may increase
under new bills Posted 7-27-98 Up to 5,000 additional healthcare professionals could enter the U.S. work force each year under two bills before Congress. The bills are primarily intended to benefit companies that say they are having a hard time filling computer programming and other high-tech posts, but they would also apply to nurses and allied health professionals. Both measures—HR 3736, by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, and SB 1723, by Sen. Spencer Abraham, R-Mich.—would ultimately raise to 115,000 the number of workers who can come into the United States under H-1B visas. Companies reached the current quota of 65,000 in May, five months before the end of the fiscal year, according to a spokesperson for Smith. H-1B visas allow a foreigner to work at a skilled job in this country for up to six years. Both measures would cap the number of professionals who can come into the country to take healthcare jobs through H-1B visas at 5,000. Key differences between the bills, which lawmakers hope to reconcile in order to pass a final version this year, center on protections for American jobs. The House bill would require companies hiring H-1B workers to certify that they did not first lay off U.S. workers. Some businesses would also have to prove that they had tried to recruit American workers, Smith’s office said. The American Nurses Association is neutral on the legislation, said Cheryl Peterson, RN, senior policy fellow. "Not a lot of nurses are entering under H-1Bs," she said. "It’s more of an issue for occupational therapists, physical therapists, and other allied health workers. They’re likely to come in under that visa." Related Site |
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