A bipartisan compromise bill to provide comprehensive immigration reform ( S. 1639 ) stalled in the Senate on June 28, 2007, when the key cloture vote failed. In terms of the H-1B provisions, S. 1639 would increase the annual cap on H-1B visas to 115,000 (and potentially up to 180,000). It also draws on the labor market protections proposed in S. 1035 , the H-1B and L-1 Visa Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act of 2007. Other H-1B bills include S. 1038 / H.R. 1930 , H.R. 1758 , S. 31 , S. 1397 , S. 1092 , S. 1351 , H.R. 2538 , and H.R. 3194 . The economic prosperity of the 1990s fueled a drive to increase the levels of employment-based immigration. The nation enjoyed its longest economic expansion, and the unemployment rate had remained low. Both the Congress and the Federal Reserve Board then expressed concern that a scarcity of labor could curtail the pace of economic growth. A primary legislative response was to increase the supply of foreign temporary professional workers through FY2003. Although Congress enacted legislation in 1998 to increase the number of visas for temporary foreign workers who have professional specialties, commonly known as H-1B visas, that annual ceiling of 115,000 visas was reached months before FY1999 and FY2000 ended. Many in the business community, notably in the information technology area, once more urged that the ceiling be raised. Congress, again striving to balance the needs of U.S. employers with employment opportunities for U.S. residents, enacted legislation to raise the annual ceiling to 195,000 for three years and to expand education and training programs ( P.L. 106-313 , S. 2045 ; and P.L. 106-311 , H.R. 5362 ). In the early 2000s, the economic downturn in the information technology sector appeared to have diminished demand for H-1B workers in that sector and raised new questions about the lay-offs of H-1Bs nonimmigrants. When the H-1B annual numerical limits reverted to 65,000, the 108 th Congress weighed whether to extend the increases as the admissions once again surpass the statutory limit. The FY2004 limit was reached in mid-February 2004, and the FY2005 limit was reached on October 1, 2004, the first day of the fiscal year. The inclusion of H-1B provisions in free trade agreements ( P.L. 108-77 and P.L. 108-78 ) as well as national security concerns sparked additional debate. Title IV of P.L. 108-447 , the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2005, exempts up to 20,000 aliens holding a master's or higher degree from the cap on H-1B visas. On August 12, 2005, USCIS announced that it has received enough H-1B petitions to meet the cap for FY2006. Concerns in the business community that a scarcity of qualified professional and technical workers may slow economic growth or encourage outsourcing of technical jobs has renewed effort to increase H-1B visas. In the 109 th Congress, Title IV of S. 2454 , which Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist introduced, Title V in S.Amdt. 3192 to S. 2454 (offered by Senate Judiciary Chairman Specter), and Title V in the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act ( S. 2611 / S. 2612 ) would have exempted aliens who have earned an advanced degree in science, technology, engineering, or math from an accredited university in the United States from the numerical limits of H-1Bs. In addition, S. 2611 / S. 2612 would have raised the annual numerical limit on H-1B visas from 65,000 to 115,000 and would have established a formula on which to calculate future admissions. A nonimmigrant is an alien legally in the United States for a s pecific purpose and a temporary period of time . There are 70 nonimmigrant visa categories specified in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and they are commonly referred to by the letter that denotes their section in the statute. The major nonimmigrant category for temporary workers is the H visa. The largest classification of H visas is the H-1B workers in specialty occupations. Any employer wishing to bring in an H-1B nonimmigrant must attest in a labor certification application (LCA) to the Department of Labor (DOL) that the employer will pay the nonimmigrant the greater of the actual wages paid other employees in the same job or the prevailing wages for that occupation; the employer will provide working conditions for the nonimmigrant that do not cause the working conditions of the other employees to be adversely affected; and, there is no strike or lockout. The employer also must post at the workplace the application to hire nonimmigrants. Firms categorized as H-1B dependent (generally if at least 15% of the workforce are H-1B workers) must also attest that they have attempted to recruit U.S. workers and that they have not laid off U.S. workers 90 days prior to or after hiring any H-1B nonimmigrants. DOL reviews the LCA for completeness and obvious inaccuracies. Only if a complaint subsequently is raised challenging the employer's application will DOL investigate. If DOL finds the employer failed to comply, the employer may be fined, may be denied the right to apply for additional H-1B workers, and may be subject to other penalties. The prospective H-1B nonimmigrants must demonstrate to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Bureau (USCIS) in the Department of Homeland Security that they have the requisite education and work experience for the posted positions. USCIS then approves the petition for the H-1B nonimmigrant (assuming other immigration requirements are satisfied) for periods up to three years; an alien can stay a maximum of six years on an H-1B visa. Those H-1B applicants who live abroad must then obtain a visa to enter the United States from the Bureau of Consular Affairs in the Department of State. The Department of Commerce screens H-1B visa applicants from countries of concern (e.g., China, India, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, and Syria) to identify those who may be working in controlled technologies, such as advanced computer, electronic, telecommunications or information security technologies that could be used to upgrade military capabilities. Those already in the United States legally, typically foreign students, do not need to obtain another visa and simply change their immigration status to H-1B with the USCIS. Many people confuse H-1B nonimmigrants with permanent immigration that is employment-based. If an employer wishes to hire an alien to work on a permanent basis in the United States, the alien may petition to immigrate to the United States through one of the employment-based categories. The employer "sponsors" the prospective immigrant, and if the petition is successful, the alien becomes a legal permanent resident. Many H-1B nonimmigrants may have education, skills, and experience that are similar to the requirements for three of the five preference categories for employment-based immigration: priority workers—that is, persons of extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, education, business, or athletics; outstanding professors and researchers; and certain multinational executives and managers—(first preference); members of the professions holding advanced degrees or persons of exceptional ability (second preference); and skilled workers with at least two years training and professionals with baccalaureate degrees (third preference). Employment-based immigrants applying through the second and third preferences must have job offers for positions in which the employers have obtained labor certification. The labor certification is intended to demonstrate that the immigrant is not taking jobs away from qualified U.S. workers, and many consider the labor certification process far more arduous than the attestation process used for H-1B nonimmigrants. More specifically, the employer who seeks to hire a prospective immigrant worker petitions USCIS and DOL on behalf of the alien. The prospective immigrant must demonstrate that he or she meets the qualifications for the particular job as well as the preference category. If DOL determines that a labor shortage exists in the occupation for which the petition is filed, labor certification will be issued. If there is not a labor shortage in the given occupation, the employer must submit evidence of extensive recruitment efforts in order to obtain certification. There have been a series of media reports that firms are opting to bring in foreign professional workers on L-1 visas rather than the H-1B visa for professional specialty workers. Intracompany transferees who work for an international firm or corporation in executive and managerial positions or have specialized product knowledge are admitted on the L-1 visas. Their immediate family (spouse and minor children) are admitted on L-2 visas. The prospective L nonimmigrant must demonstrate that he or she meets the qualifications for the particular job as well as the visa category. The alien must have been employed by the firm for at least six months in the preceding three years in the capacity for which the transfer is sought. The INA does not require firms who wish to bring L intracompany transfers into the United States to meet any labor market tests in order to obtain a visa for the transferring employee. Preliminary data indicate that 266,000 H-1B petitions were approved in FY2005. The number of petitions approved for H-1B workers escalated in the late 1990s and peaked in FY2001 at 331,206 approvals ( Figure 1 ).