The H-1B visa is designed to provide a timely process for US businesses to hire foreign-born professionals in speciality occupations, particularly the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields. 

To ensure that businesses are not hiring foreign-born workers to drive down wages, salary and terms and conditions must be the same for them as those of Americans in similar occupations. The foreign professionals must have a four-year advanced degree (a bachelor's degree or its equivalent). 

Current laws set this visa program at a 65,000 cap for new H-1B workers each year, plus an additional 20,000 for foreign workers with a master's or higher degree from a US university. 

Usually, H-1B visas are valid for two or three years, with a six-year maximum total stay in the US. 

It is expected that about 2.6 million jobs will have opened for STEM workers between 2010 and 2020, constituting the fastest growth of any field.

However, by 2018, the US will face a projected shortfall of 223,800 workers in STEM fields. While there will be 779,000 STEM job openings that year, only 555,200 US workers will be qualified to fill them. 

***CONSULT EXPERTS*** Census data show that only about 19% of US-born students complete a bachelor's degree program in a core STEM field, a rate roughly 1/2 of that found in many developed nations. 

(Another reason for this shortage is that many Americans who study STEM end up working in non-STEM jobs. This is not because there is a lack of STEM opportunities, but because many Americans find job opportunities in other, non-STEM fields. ------ WAIT ON EXPERTS' FEEDBACK)

While the H-1B provides many necessary safeguards to protect American STEM workers, it has much room for improvement. Many businesses are not able to get the talent they need. Between average wait times of 250 days and filing costs, hiring foreign-born workers is a tedious and burdensome process. 

(COULD THIS BE A VISUAL? -- gameboard possibly) -- 7 steps (for US company) from page 16, and 6 steps (for entrepreneur) from page 17 in proposal. 

In 2013, the Census Bureau found that all 14 major sectors of the US economy, including agriculture, education, mining, and transportation, need STEM workers.

As a share of STEM employment by industry for the years 2009-2011, immigrants made up 32.5% in Education, 29.6% in Finance/Insurance/Real Estate, 24.9% in Manufacturing, 28.6% in Healthcare, and 12.9% in Public Administration.  

In a report issued by the The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research and the Partnership for a New American Economy, a study of American Census data during a sample period of 2001–2010 shows that adding 100 H-1B workers results in an additional 183 jobs for US citizens in the state where the former are hired.

Between 2000 and 2007, employing 100 foreign-born high-skilled workers trained at US universities resulted in an additional 262 jobs for US-born workers, at the state level. While it may seem counterintuitive, this happens because many H-1B visa holders are taking jobs that are hard for US companies to fill, instead of competing with US born workers for the same pool of jobs. The increased productivity of companies with access to H-1B labor allows them to grow, paving the way for managerial and leadership roles for US born workers. 

A nationwide study of 219 cities, by The National Bureau of Economic Research, found that H-1B-driven increases in STEM workers were associated with wage increases of 7 to 8% for college-educated native-born workers.

A 10% growth in a company's H-1B population translates into a 3.3% increase in the number of patents awarded to the company.

In 2011, over 75% of patents awarded to the top 10 US patent-producing universities had at least one foreign-born inventor.

Foreign-born workers help US businesses sustain innovation and remain ahead of global competitors. 

There are more STEM jobs than Americans who can fill them. Employers who hire H-1B workers are filling job vacancies, not displacing American workers with cheaper foreign labor.

Since foreign-born and US-born workers typically specialize in different yet complemetary roles, hiring immigrants often raises wages for US-born STEM workers. As foreigners fill the more technical or lower-level jobs, US-born employees are able to attain managerial and leadership roles.

STEM fields with high percentages of foreign-born workers have low unemployment rates for native workers, often significantly lower than the national rate. 

According to a recent survey of developed countries, the US ranked second to last in terms of welcoming skilled immigrants and entrepreneurs. 

While the US rejects the majority of highly-skilled immigrant worker visas because of quotas, other countries such as Germany, Australia, Canada, and Singapore have no caps, low levels of intracompany transfer visa rejections, and a clear path to legal permanent residency.