At a time of sustained, mass immigration, a glut of unskilled foreign workers, unrelenting illegal immigration and fiscal overload, Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., propose to flood America with more of the same. Their recently introduced legislation, S. 1033, creates two supposedly temporary work visas. Those programs are vehicles to legalize all 10-12 million illegal aliens.
The H5A visa is for unskilled foreigners who can’t get here on any other unskilled work visas, such as H2A for agricultural work. The 3-year H5A visa, which can be renewed once, puts recipients on a clear path to permanent residence and citizenship.
Initially, 400,000 H5As are available, with an escalation clause that markedly increases the cap every year for as long as employers want to import cheap foreign labor. The bill pretends that the cap could fall, but it’s designed so that would never happen.
Employers seeking H5A workers first have to advertise a position for 30 days on a job registry. Few Americans will be able to afford to take the job at the wage offered. So the employer attests to posting the job registry notice, gets a foreign worker and keeps records for a year showing why any American applicants weren’t hired.
An H5A worker is on the honor system to leave the country if unemployed for more than 60 days. But once he files for a green card, the alien can stay here. H5As who don’t meet certain admission requirements can buy a waiver for $1,500.
H5B visas go to all illegal aliens who claim they’ve worked in the United States as of May 12, 2005. The first $1,000 buys up to six years to work here, and the next $1,000 puts them at the front of the permanent residence line, along with spouse and minor children. The bill exempts these lawbreakers from applicable immigration caps. |