Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) on Tuesday said he hopes legislation aimed at retaining foreign-born engineers and graduates with advanced technical degrees won’t be held “hostage” in the political battle over comprehensive immigration reform.
Moran said he plans to introduce an updated version of his Startup Act 2.0 this month, which includes a provision that would create a new visa allowing foreign students who graduate with a master’s or Ph.D. in engineering, science or math fields from a U.S. university to get a green card. The bill also includes measures that would ease tax and regulatory rules, as well as support university initiatives to bring research to the marketplace more quickly.
Moran said he’s been told that the bill would stand a better chance of passing if he removed the visa provision, but he contends that the measure is the most critical part of the bill.