Congress should reject proposed legislation that would place undue burdens on employers that legitimately use the H-1B and L-1 visa programs, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

In an August 21 letter to the bill sponsors, Sens. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Charles Grassley (R-IA), the Chamber cautioned that the bill would institute new H-1B visa restrictions based on an employer's make-up and size.

Under the bill, if an employer has more than 50 employees and the number of H-1B visa holders combined with L-1 visa holders totals more than 50% of the company's workforce, the employer would lose its right to obtain further H-1B workers.

"This arbitrary formula would constitute an automatic forfeit of highly-skilled foreign workers for many legitimate businesses creating jobs in the United States and may lead to retaliation against American businesses abroad," the Chamber says in the letter.

Read the letter.