09/04/2007: House Schedules a Hearing on "STRIVE ACT" [House Version CIR] on Thursday, September 6, 2007

The Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act of 2007 (STRIVE ACT of 2007), H.R. 1645, was introduced by Rep. Gutierrez from Illinois before the Senate acted on its version of CIR. It is a bi-partisan House version Comprehensive Immigration Reform legislation. The House Judiciary Committee Immigration Subcommittee is taking up this bill and scheduled to open a hearing on the bill at 1:00 p.m. of September 6, 2007, Thursday. Mesdames Pelosi and Lofgren, the two powerful women leaders in the House, are keeping their promise during the summer recess that the House would pick up the CIR bill when the Congress returns to the Hill. Please stay tuned to this website for the development of the House version CIR legislative initiative.
The bill includes the following Titles:
Title I - Border Enforcement
Title II - Interior Enforcement

A - Reducing the Number of Illegal Aliens in the U.S.
B - Passport and Visa Security
C - Detention and Removal of Aliens Who Illegally Enter or Remain in the U.S.

Title III - Employment Verification
Title IV - New Worker Program [New H-2C Temporary Guest Worker Program]
Title V - Visa Reforms

A - Backlog Reduction
B - Preservation of Immigration Benefits for Victims of a Major Disaster or Emergency

Title VI - Legalization of Undocumented Individuals

A - Conditional Nonimmigrants
B - DREAM Act of 2007
C - AgJOBS Act of 2007

Title VII = Miscellaneous

As for the Employment-Based Immigration Reform, it appears that the key provisions include:
Total EB Annual Quota: 290,000
Recapture of Unused Number for the future years
Groups Exempt from the Numerical Limitation
EB Spouses and Children whose visas are issued after 10/01/2004 upto the annual maximum of 800,000.
Certain Professionals including Extraordinary Ability in the Sciences, Arts, Business, and Other Critical Fields
Foreign Students with an Advanced Degree in STEM from a U.S. Institutions or Foreign Institutions
H-1B Exempt from the Annual Caps
Those with Advanced Degree in STEM from a U.S. Institutions or Foreign Institutions
H-1B Quota Increase: 115,000with a flexible market based annual adjustment upto 180,000/year
U.S. STEM Degree Holders: New visa classification and Labor Certificatioin Waiver Immigration upon receiving a job offer in the U.S.
New H-2C Unskilled Worker: Basically temporary guest workers with the opportunity to apply for permanent resident status after five years of employment in this visa status.

http://www.immigration-law.com/Canada.html