Congressman Krishnamoorthi introduces bill to double H1-B visas

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WASHINGTON – On Friday, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinoiis, introduced H.R. 4647, the High-Skilled Immigration Reform for Employment (HIRE) Act July 14, 2023.

The bill aims to strengthen US competitiveness by helping to close the skills gap – the space between the skills required for jobs that employers need to fill, and the skills possessed by current prospective employees, a press release from the Congressman’s office said.

The HIRE Act adopts a two-pronged approach. It provides additional funding to strengthen U.S. elementary and secondary school science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education programs; Simultaneously, it calls for doubling the number of H-1B visas available annually from 65,000 to 130,000 to allow American employers, including in critical technology sectors, to draw the best talent from around the world.

The bill is supported by ITServe Alliance, the largest association of IT Services organizations functioning across the United States.

“Creating jobs and building the economy of the future requires us to lead the way in technology by developing our domestic workforce while drawing the best talent from around the world,”   Krishnamoorthi is quoted saying in the press release. “That is why I am proud to introduce the HIRE Act to increase investments in elementary and secondary school STEM education while doubling the number of available H-1B visas from 65,000 to 130,000.”

According to Krishnamoorthi, “By investing in our homegrown talent while attracting the best minds from around the world, we can create better paying jobs and harness the technology of tomorrow.”

Vinay Mahajan, ITServe Alliance President said, “The U.S. needs to maintain its leadership in technology and innovation. The startup Eco System needs to be supercharged. One critical component of both is high-skilled workers.”

Currently, the U.S. has a large skills gap – availability of workers vs the openings for talent in IT.

“The HIRE Act focuses on reducing this gap through high-skilled immigration and funding for growing local STEM talent. We need the brightest minds from all over world to keep our wide lead in technology and innovation,” Mahajan stressed.