May 11, 2009
Congress Introduces Bill To Benefit Students Who Earn PhD’s In The U.S.
On March 30, 2009, a Bill was introduced in the House called the “Stopping Trained in America PhDs from Leaving the Economy (STAPLE) Act of 2009”, (H.R.1791). This Bill is aimed at providing immigration incentives to foreign nationals who obtain U.S. doctoral PhD from American colleges to remain in the U.S. and immigrate in order to enhance our country’s technology, science, engineering and math fields.
The first portion of the Bill would provide an H-1B cap exemption for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields PhD candidates to allow them to work in the U.S. without a limit on available H-1B professional work visas.
The second benefit is aimed at accelerating the Green Card process for U.S. PhD graduates in the above “STEM” field, by providing an exemption from the normal “Immigrant Visa” availability waiting times and allowing immediate residency processing. These proposals are targeted at keeping the “best and the brightest” talents from around the world who graduate from U.S. colleges in our country, to benefit America’s intellectual and economic future!
Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano Supports
The Dream Act
On May 6, 2009, Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on matters of Immigration and border enforcement. During her testimony, Secretary Napolitano said that she recognized the human issues at stake in enforcement strategies and stated her support for the pending DREAM Act legislation. You can watch C-Span video of the Senate Immigration Hearing by Clicking on the link below:
** You can fast foreward to 50:15 to watch the commentary on the Dream Act
Week of May 4, 2009
Congress Holds The First Hearings
on Comprehensive Immigration Reform for 2009!
On April 30, 2009, the Senate Judiciary held the first Immigration Reform hearings of 2009 entitled: "Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2009, Can We Do It and How?", This session signals the first of many Immigration Reform debates in this historic 111th Congress. Under the leadership of Senator Chuck Schumer, the Subcommittee heard from many prominent witnesses regarding the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform. These hearing will in part focus on the issues effecting innocent children who are not responsible for their immigration status (Dream Act & American Dream Act pending legislation) and how legalizing undocumented immigrants and others who have fallen out of legal status will help our economy and the American job market. More hearings will be scheduled over the coming weeks and months – stayed tuned!
Click on the Senate Image below to watch the C-Span video of the Hearing
You can also view the official Hearing Notice and Panel list at:
Week of April 20, 2009
Congress Returns from "Recess" Ready To Build More Member Support For Dream Act
Congress has been out on Recess for the past several weeks spending time in Congressional Districts to connect with their Constituents on various issues including the economy - and Immigration!
Now that Members have returned this week, supporters of the pending DREAM ACT Bills are busy gaining support from other members of Congress. New Co-sponsors in the Senate and House are needed before moving forward on the Bill. The next few months are crucial for passage of the law. So please contact your congressional representatives and Senators to support the Bills. Click on the following link to Contact your Congressional Representatives and express your support for the DREAM ACT of 2009!
Week of April 13, 2009
Legislative Bills of the American Dream Act
& Dream Act Are Published By Congress
The Text of the Dream Act Congressional Bills, HOUSE (H.R. 1751) and SENATE (S. 729) have now been released. The House version of the Bill differs from the Senate Bill in that it does not have a limit on the age (the oldest age at which an individual can still qualify). The Senate version caps the age at 35. Both versions provide for the minimum age of eligibility at age 12.
As the Bills move through Congressional reviews and Committees, the final versions may be slightly different than the current versions. Ultimately, the final Bills will be merged and the final terms negotiated between members of the House and Senate before the final Congressional Bill is sent to President Obama for signature. Once the Bill is signed into law by the President, there is generally a 90-180 day period before the law take effect, for the official regulations to be written and published, based upon the new law.
You Can View the Congressional Bills Now!
To View the Official American Dream Act introduced in the House by Representative Howard Berman (H.R.1751) on March 26, 2009, please click on the link below:
The official title: To amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to permit States to determine State residency for higher education purposes and to authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain alien students who are long-term United States residents and who entered the United States as children, and for other purposes. The Bill has 20 Cosponsors supporting it’s enactment. Please review the list below to see whether your Representative supports the Bill. If not, please take the time to contact your Representative and express your enthusiastic support for the American Dream Act and Dream Acts:
Rep Ackerman, Gary L. [NY-5] - 3/31/2009
Rep Cao, Anh “Joseph” [LA-2] - 3/26/2009
Rep Capps, Lois [CA-23] - 3/31/2009
Rep Capuano, Michael E. [MA-8] - 3/31/2009
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] - 3/26/2009
Rep Diaz-Balart, Lincoln [FL-21] - 3/26/2009
Rep Diaz-Balart, Mario [FL-25] - 3/26/2009
Rep Engel, Eliot L. [NY-17] - 3/31/2009
Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17] - 3/31/2009
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] - 3/31/2009
Rep Gonzalez, Charles A. [TX-20] - 3/31/2009
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] - 3/31/2009
Rep Hinojosa, Ruben [TX-15] - 3/31/2009
Rep Lofgren, Zoe [CA-16] - 3/26/2009
Rep McCarthy, Carolyn [NY-4] - 3/31/2009
Rep Nunes, Devin [CA-21] - 3/26/2009
Rep Polis, Jared [CO-2] - 3/26/2009
Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] - 3/26/2009
Rep Roybal-Allard, Lucille [CA-34] - 3/26/2009
Rep Sanchez, Linda T. [CA-39] - 3/31/2009
To View the Official Dream Act of 2009 introduced in the Senate by Richard Durbin (S.729) on March 26, 2009, please click on the link below:
The official title: A bill to amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to permit States to determine State residency for higher education purposes and to authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain alien students who are long-term United States residents and who entered the United States as children, and for other purposes. The Bill has 19 Cosponsors supporting it’s enactment.
Please review the list below to see whether your Senator supports the Bill. If not, please take the time to contact your Senator and express your enthusiastic support for the American Dream Act and Dream Acts:
Sen Bingaman, Jeff [NM] - 3/30/2009
Sen Boxer, Barbara [CA] - 3/30/2009
Sen Dodd, Christopher J. [CT] - 3/30/2009
Sen Feingold, Russell D. [WI] - 3/26/2009
Sen Feinstein, Dianne [CA] - 3/30/2009
Sen Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [NY] - 3/31/2009
Sen Harkin, Tom [IA] - 3/31/2009
Sen Kennedy, Edward M. [MA] - 3/26/2009
Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] - 3/30/2009
Sen Leahy, Patrick J. [VT] - 3/26/2009
Sen Lieberman, Joseph I. [CT] - 3/26/2009
Sen Lugar, Richard G. [IN] - 3/26/2009
Sen Martinez, Mel [FL] - 3/26/2009
Sen Menendez, Robert [NJ] - 3/30/2009
Sen Murray, Patty [WA] - 3/30/2009
Sen Nelson, Bill [FL] - 3/30/2009
Sen Reid, Harry [NV] - 3/26/2009
Sen Schumer, Charles E. [NY] - 4/2/2009
Sen Whitehouse, Sheldon [RI] - 3/30/2009
