Immigration bill has bipartisan backing

• Tweet

WASHINGTON, June 6 (UPI) -- Republicans and Democrats agreed on one piece of immigration policy Wednesday, that immigrants who get high-tech U.S. graduate degrees should be able to remain.

A bipartisan group introduced Startup2.0 in the House of Representatives, The Washington Post reported. The measure also allows immigrants who start U.S. companies to get visas.

The bill was introduced in the Senate last week, also with bipartisan support.

Congress failed to pass a similar bill earlier this year with lawmakers suggesting graduates born in the United States could lose jobs to immigrants. But supporters of the legislation say there are too few citizens earning graduate degrees in science, math, engineering and technology to fill available job openings.

"U.S. immigration policy should help, not hurt, the ability of U.S. companies to attract top talent," Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., said. "As our economy continues to recover, we must further enable our entrepreneurs to grow and to create jobs."