Major Provisions:

Increase of 45,000 for FY2000 only.  107,500 for FY2001, back to 65,000 in FY2002 (same as current law).

The State Department, and not the INS, will keep records of the issuance of H-1B visas.

 The 45,000 additional visas for fy 2000 are available only after the effective date of final regulations carrying out the provisions of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998. (The DOL regulations.)

To have access to the 45,000 additional visas, employers must demonstrate that over the previous year they  increased the number of full time equivalent American workers employed by that employer, increased the total wages paid to American workers, and increased the average wages paid to American workers.

H-1B aliens must work full time.

H-1B aliens must have attained bachelor's degrees (or higher) in the specific specialties in which they will be employed.

If an alien claims to possess a foreign degree, the State Department shall determine the equivalence of that degree to a U.S. degree and shall verify the authenticity of the degree.

An employer (other than a university, nonprofit, or governmental entity) petitioning for an H-1B visa must maintain a place of business in the United States that is licensed in accordance with any applicable State or local business licensing requirements and is used exclusively for business purposes.

An employer (unless a governmental entity) petitioning for an H-1B visa must have gross assets of not less than $5,000,000.

An employer petitioning for an H-1B visa must pay a fee of $100 (per petition) to be used by the INS and the State Department to combat fraud in the H-1B program.

"Fast Track" Expedited Processing.  Certain employers petitioning for H-1B visas are eligible for expedited processing, under which the INS will handle such visa petitions at a special office and must automatically approve those petitions that it has not approved or disapproved within 30 days of submission.  A qualifying employer shall pay a $250 fee (per petition).  To qualify for expedited processing, an employer must:

• have been doing business continuously for five or more years and have at least $100,000,000 in gross receipts or sales in each of the last two years (except for universities, nonprofit research organizations and governmental entities, which only must have been in existence for five years), not be H-1B dependent,

• never have had an H-1B petition denied or revoked on the basis of fraud (unless with its cooperation), never have been found to have willfully violated specified requirements of the H-1B program, and

• not have violated specified requirements of the H-1B program within the last five years. 

The H-1B fee shall be increased from $500 to $1,000 (per petition).

The fee revenues that now go to the Department of Labor for operation of the Job Training Partnership Act shall instead go toward scholarships.

Scholarships shall be awarded by the National Science Foundation on the basis of merit directly to students who will be graduate students or undergraduate students in their junior or senior years pursuing bachelor's or graduate degrees with majors in computer science, computer programming, information sciences, systems analysis, computer engineering, electrical engineering, electronics engineering, or electronic commerce.