PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jan 24, 2017
High-Skilled Integrity and Fairness Act of 2017
This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) eliminate the per-country limit for employment-based immigrant visas, and (2) increase the limit for family sponsored visas.
The bill revises: (1) the H-1B nonimmigrant visa (specialty occupation) program, including by revising the definition of "exempt H-1B nonimmigrant"; and (2) the computation of prevailing wage level for purposes of occupational classification.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The bill provides that H-1B visas will be allocated on a three-tiered wage-based system if H-1B visa petitions exceed the number of visas available for a fiscal year.
An employer may not reduce H-1B wages, except for taxes, garnishments, or under a collective bargaining agreement or where otherwise customary.
The bill reserves 20% of fiscal year H-1B visas for employers with 50 or fewer full-time employees, including parent, subsidiary, and other affiliated entities.
The bill authorizes dual intent for F-1 visa foreign students. (Dual intent is an immigration concept that allows aliens to be temporarily present in the United States with nonimmigrant status and immigrant intent.)
Students may use work experience as qualifying labor certification experience.
An amended H-1B petition shall not be required where a petitioner has a valid labor condition application for a new place of employment that has terms and conditions of employment that are the same as the previous place of employment.
The receipt of information from an employer for H-1B hiring purposes shall not be considered to be the receipt of information for purposes of determining employer compliance with labor condition requirements.
People & committees
Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-19] · D–CA
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Aug 11, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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