[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 17, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11686-S11687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CHAMBLISS:
  S. 1635. A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to 
ensure the integrity of the L-1 visa for intracompany transferees; to 
the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the L-1 Visa 
Reform Act which affects intracompany transferees seeking entry to the 
United States. Congress created the L-1 visa to allow international 
companies to move executives, managers, and other key personnel within 
the company and into the U.S. temporarily. The L-1 is an important tool 
for our multi-national corporations, however, some companies are making 
an end-run around the visa process by bringing in professional workers 
on L-1 visas and then outsourcing those workers to a third party 
company. In other words, some firms are using the so-called ``L-1 
loophole'' to become the international equivalent of temp agencies, or 
``job shops.'' As a result, American workers are being displaced by 
foreign workers who are brought to the U.S. essentially for their 
labor. This must stop--my legislation targets the problem, closes the 
loophole, and protects U.S. jobs from inappropriate use of the L-1 
visa.
  The situation in question arises when a company with both foreign and 
U.S.-based operations obtains an L-1 visa to transfer a foreign 
employee who has ``specialized knowledge'' of the company's product or 
processes. The problem occurs only when an employee with specialized 
knowledge is placed offsite at the business location of a third party 
company. In this context, if the L-1 employee does not bring anything 
more than generic knowledge of the third party company's operations, 
the foreign worker is acting more like an H-1B professional than a true 
intracompany transferee. Outsourcing an L-1 worker in this way has 
resulted in American workers being displaced at the third party 
company. In these difficult economic times, we must ensure that 
American workers aren't losing their jobs to cheap foreign labor by 
those circumventing protections already in law.
  Several weeks ago I held a hearing on L-1 visa concerns in the 
Immigration Subcommittee. We heard from a full-range of witnesses--from 
a displaced worker and labor unions to small and large U.S. companies 
to business immigration experts. The hearing clearly demonstrated a 
problem exists, and the testimony of our witnesses directed attention 
to Congress' intent in creating the L-1 visa. The bill I am introducing 
today clarifies Congress' intent and restricts the inappropriate use of 
the L-1 visa. The bill does so without forcing unnecessary restrictions 
on the visa that would only result in adverse effects on legitimate L-1 
users.
  The L-1 Visa Reform Act prevents companies from using the L-1 visa 
when an H-1B visa with its worker protections is appropriate. The 
legislation requires that any employee with specialized knowledge who 
is located offsite must, first, be controlled and supervised by the 
petitioning company and, second, be provided in connection with an 
exchange of products or services between the petitioning company and 
the third-party company. This will stop the practice of a consulting 
company bringing in foreign workers to send over to a manufacturer when 
the consulting company does nothing more than cut the foreign worker's 
paycheck once a month. Instead, the bill requires the third-party 
company to have a pre-existing business relationship with the 
petitioning company that is more than just supplying workers.

  In addition, the legislation requires companies to employ a worker 
for at least one year before sending the employee over on an L-1 intra-
company

[[Page S11687]]

transfer. One year is a reasonable amount of time to require an 
employee to have attained the specialized knowledge of the company's 
products, services or processes to qualify for the visa. The bill also 
mandates the Department of Homeland Security to maintain statistics 
differentiating between L-1 transferees who are managers and executives 
and those who are specialized knowledge employees. This will provide 
better accountability and fraud prevention when L-1 petitions are 
reviewed and approved.
  We need the best people in the world to come to the United States, to 
bring their skills and innovative ideas, and to support our business 
enterprises. The L-1 visa is an important tool to achieve these 
purposes. But we must ensure that American workers are not displaced by 
foreign workers, particularly when we have safeguards in place albeit a 
loophole in law. The L-1 Visa Reform Act will close that loophole for 
the benefit of U.S. workers and for U.S. businesses who use the visa as 
it is intended.
  I yield the floor.

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