NEW DELHI: In an attempt to strike a balance between those standing in queue for decades for employment-based green cards (owing to the per country caps) and the need to protect American workers , a bill - 'The Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act (S.386)', has been recently amended by Republican Senator Mike Lee.The amendments are being seen as a bid to facilitate its passage. To provide more protection to American workers, it requires that the employer sponsoring H-1B workers must disclose online (for at least 30 days) various details of the job on offer, such as occupation or job position, education and experience requirements, location and also how to apply for this job.A filing fee is also sought to be introduced forLabour Condition Applications(LCA), which is an attestation-based requirement that has to be met by sponsoring employers prior to filing of H-1B visa applications.This bill was originally introduced in the US Senate on February 7. It sought to remove the per country cap on employment-based green cards and shorten the wait time for the vast majority of applications in the backlog. US issues 1.40 lakh employment-based green cards annually.However, not more than 7% can go to nationals of any one country. With a high influx of the Indian diaspora in the US, it has resulted in a heavy backlog, with those in the EB-2 category (having advanced degrees) having to face a wait time of 151 years."Over the last decade, various bills to remove this per country cap, have failed to become law. S. 386 has been rescued from the fate of its predecessors through appeasement, specifically, by agreeing to amendments that would allow further restrictions on merit-based non-immigrant visas , particularly with regards to the H-1B programme. However, it is interesting to note that many of these so-called 'new' restrictions already exist in one form or another," Florida based immigration attorney, Ashwin Sharma, told TOI.For instance, even currently, H-1B sponsoring employers have to certify that they are not favouring immigrant workers over American workers. They have to indicate how they calculated the prevailing wages they are offering to H-1B workers (but these records are to be made available only on specific request of the concerned authorities), explained Sharma.While the bill would alleviate the green card backlog and significantly benefit India, followed by China, it also seeks to ensure that the green card for others is not delayed beyond the time it would have otherwise taken, had this bill not been passed. Another similar bill HR 1044, introduced by the Democrats is pending in the US House. 'Immigration Voice', a US based non-profit which is engaged in alleviating problems faced by legal highly-skilled immigrants, in its social media post on June 17, said that it has reached a deal with Senator Lee and the amendments will enable the bill to pass. "We have a deal to break the deadlock in the Senate!," it posted on Twitter.A note, issued by it analysing the various facets of S.386 including the amendments, states that the bill allows investigations against H-1B frauds to be based on anonymous complaints, eliminates arbitrary deadlines on investigations and permits investigations for general non-compliance with LCA requirements, as opposed to simply for a wilful violation.It seeks to increase the penalties for LCA violations that have remained unchanged since 1990. Whistle-blower protection, which is already available, is also incorporated in the amendment. The fee proposed for LCA documentation will be used to fund the department of labour's (DOL's) administrative and investigative activities associated with H-1B programme.A few amendments in the bill, such as the 30 day internet posting requirement, could cause delays and challenges, states an immigration expert. Another counsel says: "Companies can depute their employees on a B-1 (business) visa to the US for a temporary period. The requirement was that the salary should be borne by the non-US employer. While a B-1 was getting tougher to obtain, it was an option available. The bill seeks to eliminate the 'B-1 in lieu of H-1B' option. We need to see how this will pan out."