AILA Releases Full Summary of Day 2 of S.744 Markup
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By
Verma Law Firm
On May 14, 2013, the Senate Judiciary Committee wrapped up Day 2 of its
review and markup of the Senate's Immigration Reform Bill (S. 744),
getting through most of Title IV of the Bill regarding changes to non-immigrant
visa provisions. Republican and Democrat lawmakers passed fifteen (15)
amendments. The "Gang of Eight" remained committed to the core
provisions of the Bill, with the two Republican Committee members of the
"Gang of Eight" (Senators Flake (AZ) and Graham (SC)) joining
the ten Democratic Committee Members on certain proposed amendments, including
the rejection of a proposed amendment tying certain provisions to the
enactment of a biometric entry/exit system. Only one of Senator Hatch's
(R-Utah) proposed amendments was passed (a provision that increases the
labor certification fee to be used to improve STEM education and training
in the US), although talks are still ongoing between the "Gang of
Eight" and Senator Hatch for some of his other proposed amendments.
Other amendments that were passed include Senator Grassley's (R-Utah)
proposals for requiring additional information in internet job postings
relating to the H-1B visa, requiring institutions accepting F-1 students
to be accredited, and requiring the Secretary of Homeland Security to
implement the SEVIS system to CBP databases.
