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SEC. _. IMMIGRATION BENEFITS.

(a) NUMERICAL LIMITS."Section 201(d)(1)(A) ofthe Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by section501(b), is further amended"

(1) in clause (i), by striking ''and'' at the end;

(2) in clause (ii), by striking ''Section 502(d) ofthe [Insert title of Act].'' and inserting ''section502(d) of the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunityand Immigration Enforcement Act of 2007;'';and

(3) by adding at the end the following:''(iii) up to 20,000 shall be for alienswho met the specifications set forth in section 203(b)(1) on January 1, 2007; and''(iv) the remaining visas shall be allocatedas follows:''(I) In fiscal years 2008 and2009, 115,401 shall be for aliens whoare the beneficiaries of a petition filed.by an employer on their behalf underthis section.''(II) In fiscal year 2010, 86,934shall be for aliens who are the beneficiariesof a petition filed by an employeron their behalf under this section.''(III) In fiscal year 2011,shall be for aliens who are thebeneficiaries of a petition filed by anemployer on their behalf under thissection.''(IV) In fiscal year 2012, 44,234shall be for aliens who are the beneficiariesof a petition filed by an employeron their behalf under this section.''.

(b) MERIT-BASED IMMIGRANTS."Section 203(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended bysection 502(b)(1) of this Act, is further amended by addingat the end the following:''(G) Any employer desiring and intendingto employ within the United States an alienqualified under subparagraph (A) may file a pe.tition with the Secretary of Homeland Securityfor such classification.''(H) The Secretary shall collect applicationsand petitions not later than July 1 of eachfiscal year and shall adjudicate from the pool ofapplicants received for that fiscal year, from thehighest to the lowest, the determined number ofpoints necessary for the fiscal year. If the numberof applications and petitions submitted thatmeet the merit-based threshold is insufficientfor the number of visas available that year, theSecretary may continue accepting applicationsand petitions at a date determined by the Secretaryto adjudicate the applications and petitionsunder this section.''.

(c) EFFECTIVE DATE FOR PENDING AND APPROVEDPETITIONS AND APPLICATIONS."Notwithstanding theprovisions under section 502(d)(2)"

(1) petitions for an employment-based visa filedfor classification under paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) ofsection 203(b) of the Immigration and NationalityAct (as such paragraphs existed on the date beforethe date of the enactment of this Act) that werefiled before the date on which this Act was introducedand were pending or approved on the effective.date of this section, shall be treated as if such provisionremained effective and an approved petitionmay serve as the basis for issuance of an immigrantvisa;

(2) the beneficiary, who has been classified asa nonimmigrant described in section101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and NationalityAct, of such a pending or approved petition,and any dependent accompanying or following tojoin such beneficiary, may file an application for adjustmentof status under section 245(a) of the Immigrationand Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255) regardlessof whether an immigrant visa is immediatelyavailable at the time the application is filed;

(3) the application for adjustment of statusfiled under paragraph (2) shall not be approved untilan immigrant visa becomes available; and

(4) aliens with applications for a labor certificationpursuant to section 212(a)(5)(A) of the Immigrationand Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.1182(a)(5)(A) shall preserve the immigrant visa prioritydate accorded by the date of filing of suchlabor certification application..

(d) PARENT VISITOR VISAS."Section 214(s) of theImmigration and Nationality Act, as added by section506(b), is amended"

(1) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ''$1,000,which shall be forfeit'' and inserting ''$2,500, whichshall be forfeited''; and

(2) in paragraph (3), by amending subparagraph

(A) to read as follows:''(A) may not stay in the United States,within any calendar year"''(i) in the case of a spouse or childsponsored by a nonimmigrant described insection 101(a)(15)(Y)(i), for an aggregateperiod in excess of 30 days; and''(ii) in the case of a parent sponsoredby a United States citizen child, for an aggregateperiod in excess of 100 days;''.

formerfso
2007-06-27 18:49:36

So who are these visas for - these numbers are huge - is this H1B? The numbers are very large but then drop in 2012. What happens after that?

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