Senate Passed Stimulus Bill and Bill Awaits President's Signature As Early As Monday,President's Day
Yesterday the bill passed the House 246 to 183 and the Senate 60 to 38. President Obama is expected to sign it into law as early as Monday, President's Day next week. Upon the President's signature, the Sanders/Grassley's H-1B bill defining businesses receiving TARP money as H-1B Dependent Employers will take effect. However, this H-1B amendment will not affect the businesses that will receive the contracts or subcontracts under the just passed economic stimulus plan unless such employers are defined as H-1B dependent employers under the current law. The current law exempts master degree holding foreign workers or $60K or higher salary foreign workers from the H-1B dependent employers from recruitment attestation and no displacement attestation before filing H-1B petitions, but the TARP funded employers cannot hire H-1B foreign workers unless they can attest such recruitment and no layoff during 90 days before and after hiring of such foreign workers even if the foreign workers have master degrees or they are paid $60K or higher salary. It is expected that USCIS and/or USDOL may release guidelines before April 1, 2009 for the participants in FY 2009 H-1B cap filings as related to this new law, particularly the scope of TARP-funded employers and definition of "hire" that can answer such questions as whether the restriction will apply to the current foreign worker employees in other nonimmigrant status or in H-1B status at the time of effective date of this new law. Expansive interpretation will negatively affect their change of status from other nonimmigrant status to H-1B or extension of their H-1B status when such H-1B petition is filed by their TARP-funded employers.
Source:The Oh Law Firm