FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Katie Barrows
Communications Director
P: 202-549-5991
kbarrows@dpeaflcio.org

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2022—Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) President Jennifer Dorning issued the following statement in response to the introduction of the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2022:

“I applaud Senators Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley for re-introducing the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act. I also thank Senators Blumenthal, Brown, Hagerty, Sanders, and Tuberville for joining as original co-sponsors. This bipartisan bill would go a long way toward improving the H-1B visa program so that it works for U.S. professionals and the people employed on H-1B visas, not just employers. 

The H-1B guest worker visa has an important role to play in our economy, but for too long it has failed to live up to its original purpose. Today, employers regularly use the H-1B program to lower standards for middle-class professionals, outsource and offshore good jobs, and pay H-1B workers below market wages in arrangements where employers control their lives. 

Congressional action is urgently needed to fix the H-1B visa program. Additionally, administrative steps can and should be pursued to stop employer abuse of the H-1B program, including adopting a wage-based visa allocation process and updating the prevailing wage levels.

DPE calls on Congress to pass the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act and send it to President Biden’s desk to become law.” 

About DPE

The Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) is a coalition of 24 unions representing over four million professional and technical union members. DPE affiliate unions represent professionals in over 300 occupations in education and healthcare; science, engineering, and technology; legal, business, and management; media, entertainment, and the arts; and public administration.