Jeff Flake, the
U.S. representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for , introduced in 2009 the Stopping Trained in America PhDs From Leaving the Economy (STAPLE) Act (H.R. 1791). If passed, this act may remove numerical limits of US
permanent residency
Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with suc ...
and
H-1B visas for graduates of
doctoral degrees
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields from US universities, who have job offers in such fields from US employers. Thus, such highly skilled persons may be able to get US green card more easily compared to others, and contribute to the US economy, including creating jobs for US citizens and permanent residents. The bill (H.R. 399) was reintroduced in 2011 and is referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary Committee on the Judiciary may mean:
* United States House Committee on the Judiciary
* United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standi ...
. This idea was mentioned or alluded to favorably during the 2012 Republican primary and by President Obama in the 2012 State of the Union address. The bill has support from both sides of the aisle.
References
{{Immigration to the United States
United States proposed federal immigration and nationality legislation