December 15, 2023
Charles L. Nimick
Chief
Business and Foreign Workers Division
Office of Policy and Strategy
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
5900 Capital Gateway Drive
Camp Springs, MD 20746
Dear Mr. Nimick:
I. INTRODUCTION
Business Roundtable appreciates the opportunity to respond to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published on October 23, 2023, titled “Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program, and Program Improvements Affecting Other Nonimmigrant Workers.”
Business Roundtable is an association of more than 200 chief executive officers (CEOs) of America’s leading companies, representing every sector of the U.S. economy. Business Roundtable CEOs lead U.S.-based companies that support one in four American jobs and almost a quarter of U.S. GDP. The organization’s mission is to promote a thriving U.S. economy and expanded opportunity for all Americans, including through continued efforts to strengthen the pipeline of American workers as well as to ensure lawmakers enact sound immigration policies that support our economy.
Business Roundtable has conducted extensive research and released in-depth reports that examine immigrants’ contributions to the American economy, compare U.S. immigration policies to those of other countries and propose practical solutions for fixing the country’s immigration system. Business Roundtable continues to encourage Congress to fix our country’s broken immigration system on a bipartisan basis.
Business Roundtable appreciates the Department’s efforts to improve the H-1B program, and we remain ready to assist and provide additional feedback. We encourage USCIS to:
- Bifurcate the rulemaking by finalizing and implementing proposed changes to the H-1B registration process for the upcoming cap season;
- Adopt changes that minimize employment disruptions, provide flexible pathways to the United States and support skills-based employment practices;
- Not move forward with provisions that would narrow the “specialty occupation” definition or add new review obligations for adjudicators;
- Clarify or amend proposals related to the “deference” policy, paperwork and administrative burdens, and site visits; and
- Take more time to engage with stakeholders on changes to third-party placement and the “use or lose” policy and not finalize those proposals at this time.