Today, the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing on "Examining the Role of Lower-Skilled Guest Worker Programs in Today's Economy". The hearing is the latest in a series by the House to review different components of immigration reform. Today’s hearing highlighted the current visa programs and the necessary components for a new, more successful program in future legislation. Due to the unique nature of the construction industry, AGC has been working with other construction groups to ensure the discussion regarding a future lower-skilled visa program would work for the industry. The components of a new program must include:
- An annual visa cap that fluctuates based on a demand-driven system that reflects the real economic needs of the nation;
- An opportunity for employers to petition for an approved slot that allows them to hire visa-holding foreign workers, and replace those workers if/when they move onto another approved job slot;
- A time period for job slot approvals, and approved visas, that reflects a long enough time period to ensure that the training investment made by employers is not lost;
- A program that requires employers to treat these legal foreign workers in the same manner as U.S. workers—with all of the same benefits, workforce protections and wage rates as similarly-situated workers at the same location; and
- A dual-intent process that allows some foreign workers who have demonstrated a commitment to their jobs and their communities to choose to petition for a change of status to a permanent legal status in the United States, while also incentivizing most foreign workers to return to their home country at the end of their visa period.