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Current Legislative Reform Efforts
Following the 2012 presidential election in the United States, President Obama restated his desire for immigration reform, saying that “the time has come for common-sense, comprehensive immigration reform.” A bipartisan group of senators interested in immigration reform began meeting to discuss the issue after the election. It grew from an initial six members to eight and has been given the name “Gang of Eight.” The senators in this group are Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.).

Representatives of business and labor have negotiated the terms of a guest worker program for the current attempt at a comprehensive immigration bill. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents many American business interests, and the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest federation of unions, have been conducting ongoing talks. These two groups released a joint statement listing three points of agreement regarding any guest worker program on February 21st, 2013. First, American workers should have first priority for available jobs. Second, American firms should be able to hire foreign workers "without having to go through a cumbersome and inefficient process." Third, the system should be made more transparent and accurate by creating a "professional bureau" to report on labor needs in the United States.

After continuing talks, it was unofficially announced at the end of March that labor and business groups had come to an agreement regarding the conditions for a guest worker program. A variety of groups involved in the negotiations between the US Chamber of Commerce and AFL-CIO spoke to news organizations and revealed details of the legislation before it was introduced to the Senate on April 17, 2013 by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013.

The W-visa Program
The bill creates a new class of W visas for lower-skilled temporary workers. A new agency would be created, the Bureau of Immigration and Market Research, to set annual caps on visas and monitor the program. The W-visa allows foreign workers to enter the United States to work for a “registered employer” in a “registered position.” A registered employer must pay a fee to the Bureau and submit documentation to prove its legal status. An employer cannot be registered if in the three years prior to application, it has been found in violation of minimum wage or overtime law, or has been cited for violation of OSHA or child labor provisions that resulted in serious injury or death. Registered employers must submit information about every position they wish to make registered and thus eligible for a W-visa holder.

The wage paid to W-visa holders must be the wage paid to other employees holding similar positions or the prevailing wage for that position in the area, whichever is higher. This had been a point of disagreement in earlier talks; the Chamber of Commerce wanted to set it at the federal minimum wage, whereas the AFL-CIO wanted it to be “indexed off the median wage.”

Consistent with the joint statement released by the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce, W-visa holders cannot be hired if there are US workers ready and willing to take the position. They also cannot be hired to take the place of US workers who are striking or otherwise involved in a labor dispute, or if unemployment is higher than 8.5% in the local area.

W-visa holders will be entitled to the same labor rights as a US worker employed in a similar position would be. They can also not be treated as independent contractors. Additionally, they are entitled to protections against intimidation, threat, harassment and any other type of discrimination that may result from the W-visa holder alleging violations of the terms of employment or cooperating in an investigation of such violations by the employer. They will also not be required to remain with the same employer for their entire stay, but they must leave the country if unemployed for more than 60 consecutive days.

W-visas will allow foreigners to enter the country for three years to work and to renew it once for an additional three years. They may bring a spouse and children who are minors with them. The number of visas issued is a compromise between the Chamber of Commerce’s original wish for 400,000 visas to be issued annually and the AFL-CIO’s starting position of 10,000 visas annually. They came to an agreement to have the number of visas start at 20,000 in the first year, increase to 35,000 in the second year, 55,000 the third year, and 75,000 the fourth year. Past that, the number of visas will be capped except in special circumstances, and the exact number will be determined by the Bureau of Immigration and Market Research.