March 27, 2006

The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Feinstein:

As you and your colleagues continue work on comprehensive immigration legislation in the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, I write to inform you of the University of California's views on provisions related to postsecondary students, research and employment-based visas and to express concern about several amendments, including those you may offer, which we believe could hinder our national efforts to improve international education and enhance our nation's competitiveness.

We understand and share your concern about ensuring that our immigration system and controls meet the highest standards for national security purposes. Our goal is to work with you and Congress in that context to improve the United States' ability to recruit and retain the world's most academically talented students and scholars. We are pleased that the bill offered by Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter addresses a number of problems research universities and businesses face in California and across the country.

The University of California supports provisions in this bill to: create a new visa category for students pursuing advanced degrees in the United States in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields; extend visa approvals to cover the intended period of study in graduate programs; adjust immigrant residency status while they are waiting for visas; exempt highly talented scholars and researchers from employment-based immigrant caps-including their family members-to alleviate the current processing backlog; permit approved off-campus employment for certain full-time students; and allow special-handling labor certification for STEM graduates.

Because we believe the Specter bill would help U.S. universities compete for top scholars in the global marketplace, we are concerned about amendments that may be offered during deliberations that would negatively impact the University of California, as well as other business, higher education, and research interests. We urge you to consider the following as you move forward with this legislation:

* The University of California opposes elimination of the H-1B visa cap exemption for academia. The need for a market-based H-1B cap is evident, given that in recent years, the limit has been reached by businesses prior to the start of the fiscal year. However, retaining the exemption for universities-even if the overall cap is raised-is critical to both the higher education and business communities. At the University of California, nearly 3,500 of our world-class faculty, researchers, and clinicians are in H-1B visa status.

* UC opposes amendments to strike from the Chairman's bill new provisions that facilitate visa approvals for students and scholars. These include creation of a new "F-4" visa for students pursuing U.S. advanced degrees in STEM fields, extension of approval for post-curricular training from 12 to 24 months, and an adjustment of immigration status for individuals graduating from U.S. institutions with advanced STEM degrees while they wait for employment visas.

* UC opposes amendments to strike provisions from the Chairman's bill that would alleviate the current processing backlog caused by an unreasonably low cap for employment-based green cards in the extraordinary ability, outstanding professor-researcher, and national interest waiver categories. Right now, this backlog is especially acute; for professor/researchers, it is more than two years. For advanced degree candidates from China, the backlog dates to January, 2003 and for similar scholars from India, the situation is even more grim, dating back to January, 2002. This situation puts the University of California at risk of losing highly talented scholars. At one of our campuses, six foreign nationals have been counseled that they will have to leave the country shortly because they will no longer be approved to stay or work in the U.S.

* UC supports the inclusion of the DREAM Act in the immigration bill. In California, AB-540 allows individuals, regardless of their immigration status, who have grown up and graduated from high school in California, to pursue higher education opportunities and contribute to American society. The DREAM Act would provide federal validation of UC's efforts to reach out to a diverse group of highly competitive students who have graduated from California high schools and open the door for expanded access for these students to federal financial assistance.

The University of California appreciates your efforts on behalf of California and the nation. We welcome the opportunity to work with you on legislation that balances our need to facilitate foreign students and scholars coming to U.S. universities to work and study, and to encourage international exchange, while protecting the interests and national security of our nation.

Sincerely,

A. Scott Sudduth

Assistant Vice President