Responding to your message

Dear Mr.:

Thank you for contacting my office regarding H ‑1B and L-1 visas. I appreciate this opportunity to respond to your concerns.

H ‑1B visas are usually issued to foreign workers with specialized skills. In recent years, the bulk of these visas have been given to those who work for high-technology companies. Growth in this industry has resulted in a significant increase in demand for workers and, in turn, for H ‑1B visas. Similarly, American companies with subsidiaries abroad may use the L-1 visa for intra-company transfers to the United States of foreign employees whose work requires managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge.

I believe we must focus on improving education and worker training so that more Americans can fill these jobs. To this end, I strongly supported provisions of the American Competitiveness in the 21 st Century Act that set aside $195 million per year in H-1B fees to support training Americans for the information technology sector. This bill became Public Law 106-313.

We can balance the needs of America = s high-tech employers with the needs of our citizens by successfully preparing our children for the high ‑skilled jobs of the 21 st century. I value your opinions regarding

how we can achieve this balance and thank you for taking the time to write to me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about matters that are of concern to you.