[PapaBear3625]

The article has a comment pointing to Cruz's own Senate website, where he calls for increased H1B:

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) today presented an amendment to the Gang of Eight immigration bill that would improve our nation’s legal immigration system by increasing high-skilled temporary worker visas, called H-1B visas, by 500 percent. The measure would effectively address the needs of our nation’s high-skilled workforce by helping meet the growing demand for workers in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. It will also make block grants available to states to promote STEM education efforts and increase domestic STEM professionals. The committee voted against the amendment 4 to 14 with every Democrat voting against it on a party-line vote.

“I strongly support legal immigration. Legal immigration is a fundamental pillar of our nation's heritage, and I was pleased today to offer legislation that would have improved and expanded legal immigration by dramatically increasing the cap for high-tech temporary worker visas. This amendment would not only improve the current system, but would also encourage economic growth and create new jobs in America. There is currently a serious shortage of workers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, yet every year we send thousands of high-tech graduate students back to their home countries to start businesses and create jobs. This makes no sense. I’m disappointed in the committee’s vote to reject expanding high-tech immigration. Although the Gang of Eight's bill makes a modest step towards improving high-tech immigration, it does not go nearly far enough. There is no reason to arbitrarily cap high-tech visas at 110,000 when these jobs are going unfilled. We need economic growth here and now.”

I have a better idea: reduce H1B visas, AND reduce the number of student visas. Why are we giving tech training to students from China and other competitors (and potential enemies)?

[combat_boots]

South Asian men can now bring their spouses and have them work.

Then there are the Chinese.

And the Latinos.

It’s multiple 2 letter and 1 number visas for all these situations.

H1B, L1 (something), H (something, something).

IOW, there are a number of protected situations for work in this country now going on.

IF a ChiCom company comes in, they bring their own people from top to bottom, for the large installations: construction, management, sanitation, enforcement, etc. ChiCom all the way.

[pilgrim]

Think this is his position in response to changed circumstances. Is he allowed to do that?

Reporter: Senator, I think the path to legalization issue has been beaten to death and I won't go over it again. One of the things you have supported in the past is raising the ceiling on the number of H-1B visas. Is that something you still support?

Ted Cruz: It is not. And in this circumstance, there are changed circumstances, and anyone responds to changed circumstances. I have supported and I still support the original idea of the H-1B program which is to bring in very high skilled workers to produce jobs and economic growth. That's a good thing, when you have more jobs and economic growth.

However, we have seen in recent months this program being abused over and over and over again. We've seen companies, blue chip names that we all know bringing in not high skill workers, but medium to low skill workers, and IT workers, and firing American workers and replacing them with foreign workers. And then, to add insult to injury, forcing the Americans who have just been fired to train their replacements. That is wrong, it is grotesque, it is offensive, it is a perversion of the program.

And so, like any rational person faced with changed circumstances, you change your position in response to how the facts have changed.

That's why I've said that as President, I will impose a 180 day moratorium on the H-1B program, in order to carry out a comprehensive audit of the companies that have received H-1B visas to determine if they are abusing the program - if they are bringing in low skilled workers, if they're firing American workers, if they're perverting the program. Any company that has abused the program will be suspended from participating in it, and any company that has violated the criminal laws will be prosecuted.

You know, this is yet another manifestation of the lawlessness of the Obama administration. They don't enforce the laws, the President decrees illegal and unconstitutional amnesty, but he's also lawless with big companies that are abusing the H-1B program.

It's one of the reasons I joined with Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) in introducing legislation to dramatically reform the H-1B program so that it can function as it's intended to. To require, for example, an advanced degree, not just a bachelor's degree, but a master's or a PhD. To put a preference to U.S. universities. To require as a minimum salary $110,000, so that you're not using it to bring in low cost foreign workers and replace American workers. To put in a 2 year hiatus from any company bringing in H-1Bs from laying off workers, so you gotta choose one or the other, but you can't be laying people off at the same time you're outsourcing.

All of these are reforms that are common sense I think to make the program work. And we need to make sure that our immigration laws prioritize American workers first, and as President, that's what I'll do."

[ConservingFreedom]

Outdated. From https://www.tedcruz.org/cruz-immigration-plan/:

Amend the H-1B visa program to fulfill its original purpose: Work with Congress to pass reform legislation for the H-1B visa program that will:

• Create an advanced degree requirement: Only individuals with advanced degrees in their respective fields may be brought to the United States with an H-1B visa. And preference will be given to those with advanced degrees from American universities.
• Create a "layoff cool-off" period for all H-1B visa applications: Companies must wait one or two years between laying off a worker and bringing in any H-1B foreign workers to ensure that the program is not used to displace American workers.
• Establish accreditation or recognition requirements for overseas schools: The recent lack of federal oversight of the H-1B visa program has fueled a cottage industry of diploma mills. Foreign academic institutions must meet minimum accreditation standards at least as stringent as those imposed on American universities in order to qualify for the advanced-degree requirement.
• Require sworn affidavits describing domestic hiring efforts: Companies will provide sworn statements and documentation that detail their efforts to hire Americans before requesting foreign workers through the H-1B visa program. Individuals who make false statements in these affidavits will be subject to perjury charges.
• Suspend companies from H-1B visa eligibility for failure to help foreign workers obtain green cards: Many companies misuse the H-1B visa program to train foreign workers that they intend to send back overseas to compete with America. The law must impose additional requirements on employers to pursue Legal Permanent Resident status on behalf of their H-1B visa-based foreign workers, or risk loss of access to the program.

"Ted Cruz, Jeff Sessions Roll Out Antidote To Broken H-1B Program: American Jobs First Act" - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3371276/posts

"Ted Cruz Explains why His Position on H-1B Visas Has Changed" - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3376485/posts