SKIL Act of 2006
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Securing Knowledge, Innovation, and Leadership Act of 2006 or the SKIL Act of 2006 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt from the annual H-1B (specialty occupation) visa cap an alien who has: (1) earned a master's or higher degree from an accredited U.S. university; or (2) been awarded a medical specialty certification based on post-doctoral training and experience in the United States.
Increases the annual H-1B cap, with a 20% increase for the following year if the previous year's quota is reached.
Exempts from worldwide immigration caps an alien who: (1) has earned a master's or higher degree from an accredited U.S. university; (2) has been awarded medical specialty certification based on postdoctoral training and experience in the United States; (3) will work in shortage occupations; (4) has earned a master's degree or higher in science, technology, engineering, or math and has been working in a related field in the United States during the three-year period preceding his or her immigrant visa application; (5) has extraordinary ability or received a national interest waiver; or (6) is the spouse or minor child of an employment-based immigrant.
Increases the annual immigrant visa cap.
Revises student visa provisions.
Authorizes an L-1 (intracompany transfer) visa extension beyond the fifth or seventh year if the individual has a immigrant application pending.
Permits an alien with an approved labor certification to apply for permanent resident status adjustment if there is no visa immediately available by paying a $500 supplemental fee.
Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a pre-certification procedure for employers who file multiple employment petitions.
Revises certain labor certification provisions.
Prohibits immigration application approval until background and security checks have been completed and any fraud allegations have been resolved.
Authorizes temporary workers (E, H, I, L O, or P visas) who have not violated their status to renew their same category visa from within the United States.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on May 2, 2006. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 2, 2006: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced it on May 2, 2006, and 6 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 6 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 2, 2006, 7436 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7436 days ago, on May 2, 2006.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers