US companies that lay off large numbers of workers shouldn't be allowed to hire workers with H1B visas if they're planning a large layoff that will reduce their total number of US workers, according to two senators. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have introduced an amendment to the Senate's immigration reform bill that would not only restrict H-1B hires from companies that have had "mass layoffs" within the last year but would also require companies that are planning to announce mass layoffs to cut their foreign workers as well. If the company has already received approval to hire new H-1B workers but plans to make layoffs soon, it must inform the foreign workers that their visas will expire within 60 days.

The purpose of the bill is to ensure that US companies are not exploiting the H-1B system by essentially replacing US workers with cheaper foreign talent. The amendment currently defines "mass layoffs" as a company with more than 100 employees letting go of 50 or more workers, but it offers an exemption for companies that provide written certification that the company's total number of employees in the US won't be reduced as a result of the layoff.

Under that definition of mass layoffs, a number of prominent US companies—ones that have applied for thousands of H-1B visas between them—could be under scrutiny. IBM, Motorola, and Dell are all companies that have either recently cut or plan to cut thousands of workers in the US. "If there is truly a shortage of workers in the US why would some of the largest high-tech companies layoff thousands of American workers?" asked Sanders and Grassley in a statement seen by Computerworld.

"According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over the next decade, 2 million jobs will be created in mathematics, engineering, computer science, and physical science. That equates to about 200,000 jobs a year times 10 equals 2 million jobs," said Sanders on the Senate floor in May. "Under this legislation, the number of H-1B visas would increase to as many as 180,000 a year. That means virtually every job, about 90 percent that will be created in the high-tech sector over the next 10 years, could conceivably be taken by a H-1B visa holder."

Those companies as well as others continue to push for more foreign workers, however. The H-1B cap for 2007—65,000 workers—was filled almost instantly before the fiscal year even started, and prominent companies like Microsoft and now Google claim that without the allowance of more foreign workers, they are left unable to fill gaps in talent. California Gov. Schwarzenegger also wrote a letter to the Senate majority and minority leaders voicing his support for the increase.

The amendment joins the crowd of 100-some others proposed for the immigration reform bill, so there will be some stiff competition for attention among the Senate. Both sides are lobbying hard for their position, and so the fate of Grassley's and Sanders' bill could go either way.