In January 2013, a bipartisan group of lawmakers announced that they would unveil a draft of Immigration Reform Legislation in March 2013. However, last week lawmakers announced that, despite meeting several times a week to write the legislation, a draft might be delayed due to the congressional recess scheduled for the last week in March and first week in April. The goal is to release the legislation after the recess. According to the Associated Press, the biggest hurdle is designing a temporary worker program for low-skilled workers.
In addition, in a recent House subcommittee hearing on March 5, 2013, lawmakers discussed the need for changes in the nation's high-skilled immigration system. Again, although there is a general agreement that reform is needed, the structure of the reform is still being debated. Most lawmakers agree that reform to high-skilled immigration can improve the U.S. economy, but lawmakers disagree on whether the reform should be focused on nonimmigrant visas (such as short-term work visas), permanent residency, or both.
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