S. 2394, the American Jobs First Act of 2015, would implement major reforms of the H-1B program including adding a minimum wage provision ($110,000), and increasing the fee for employers to $10,000. More than 90% of H-1Bs issued in 2013 were for positions that paid less than $110,000 per year. The bill would also end the Visa Lottery.
S. 98, the STEM Jobs Act of 2015, would cancel the visa lottery program and transfer the 55,000 yearly visas that would have been granted through the visa lottery into two new priority categories (doctorate and masters degree) under 203(b). For the first two fiscal years of the program, unused visas for which petitions or applications for labor certification have been filed will be added to the total visas for the next fiscal year. Following the first two years, remaining unused visas do not transfer to the next fiscal year.