The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 6429, the “STEM Jobs Act of 2012,” by a 245-139 vote on November 30, 2012.  The bill would allocate 55,000 immigrant visas for certain foreign graduates in advanced degree programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).  It would exclude students with degrees in biological and biomedical fields.  Among other things, it would also eliminate the Diversity Visa (DV) program so that there would be no overall increase in the level of immigration.

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) said, “We should staple a green card to [foreign STEM graduates’] diplomas.”  Rep. Darrell Issa (R-California), who also voted in favor of the bill, stated, “We need to break up the elephant into bite-size pieces.  I want to break this up into passable bill by passable bill.”

H.R. 6429 is considered unlikely to pass in the Senate.  Democrats say they support STEM visas but do not think the DV program should be eliminated and believe that STEM legislation should be part of a larger immigration reform package.  Similarly, the Obama administration stated that it “strongly supports” legislation to attract and retain foreign students who graduate with advanced STEM degrees, to establish a start-up visa for foreign-born entrepreneurs “to start businesses and create jobs,” and to “reform the employment-based immigration system to better meet the needs of the U.S. economy.”  However, the administration said that it does not support “narrowly tailored proposals that do not meet the President’s long-term objectives with respect to comprehensive immigration reform.”

A statement on the STEM Jobs Act from Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is available here.  Orner & O’Brien will continue to provide updates on this bill as they become available.