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Section 1611 of the ARRA, called the Employ American Workers Act, was added to the stimulus bill by Senators Sanders (I-Vt.) and Grassley (R-Iowa) to limit certain banks, financial institutions and businesses that receives funding under Section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. § 342 et seq., authorizing the Federal Reserve’s “Discount Window” for short-term, secured loans to financial institutions, banks and companies that have taken credit from the federal reserve through loans and guarrantees) from hiring H-1B workers unless they had offered positions to equally- or better-qualified US workers, and to prevent banks from hiring H-1B workers in occupations in which they had laid off US workers.

The H1B program allows 65,000 skilled immigrants to work in the U.S. every year. Tech companies, such as Microsoft or Redwood City-based Oracle Corp., are often arguing for an increase in the number of workers allowed under the program.

The EAWA covered by TARP provides that it will be unlawful for any recipient of funding to “hire” an H-1B nonimmigrant unless the recipient has complied with the extra Labor Condition Application attestations previously imposed on “H-1B dependent employers.” These extra attestations are:

a) that the employer has, prior to filing the H-1B petition, taken good-faith steps to recruit U.S. workers for the position for which the H-1B worker is sought, offering a wage that is at least as high as that required under law to be offered to the H-1B worker. The employer must also attest that, in connection with this recruitment, it has offered the job to any U.S. worker who applies and is equally or better qualified for the position.

b) that the employer has not laid off, and will not lay off, any U.S. worker in a job that is essentially equivalent to the H-1B position in the area of intended employment of the H-1B worker within the period beginning 90 days prior to the filing of the H-1B petition and ending 90 days after its filing.

Ref: http://www.worldlawdirect.com/forum/h-1b-worker-visas/21443-stimulus-bill-contains-h1b-restrictions.html and http://www.visalawyerblog.com/2009/02/h1b_visa_faqs_on_the_h1b_provi.html