US House of Representatives has passed by an overwheming majority a legislation to remove the seven per cent country-cap on Green Card applicants, a development which could end the agonising wait of tens of thousands of talented professionals
from countries like India who have sought permanent residency.
from countries like India who have sought permanent residency.
The bill, when signed into law, increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from seven per cent of the total number of such visas available that year to 15 per cent and eliminates the seven per cent cap for employment-based immigrant visas.
A Green Card allows a non-US citizen to live and work permanently in America.
Indian IT professionals, most of whom are highly skilled and come to the US mainly on the H-1B work visas, are the worst sufferers of the current immigration system which imposes a seven per cent per country quota on allotment of the coveted Green Card or permanent legal residency.
The bill titled 'Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019' or 'HR 1044' to eliminate the per-country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, to increase the per-country numerical limitation for family-sponsored immigrants, and for other purposes, was passed on Wednesday by an overwhelming 365-65 votes in a 435-member House.
Lifting the per-country cap would mainly benefit professionals from countries like India, for whom the wait for Green Card is more than a decade. Some of the recent studies have said the waiting period for Indian IT professionals on H-1B visas is more than 70 years.
The bill also establishes transition rules for employment-based visas from Financial Year 2020-22 by reserving a percentage of EB-2 (workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability), EB-3 (skilled and other workers), and EB-5 (investors) visas for individuals not from the two countries with the largest number of recipients of such visas.
Of the unreserved visas, not more than 85 per cent shall be allotted to immigrants from any single country, Congressional Research Service (CRS) said.
The bill, however, has to be passed by the Senate, where the ruling Republican Party enjoys a majority, before it can be signed into law by US President Donald Trump.
A similar bill being supported by a bipartisan group of senators, including Indian-origin Senator Kamala Harris, is slated to come up for consideration soon in the Senate.
Congressman John Curtis, speaking on House floor, said that bill will create a first-come, first-serve system providing certainty to workers and families and enabling US companies to flourish and compete in a global economy as they hire the brightest people to create products, services, and jobs - regardless of where they were born.
"This bill would do nothing to move the current employment-sponsored system toward a more merit-based system," said Joseph S Joh, Assistant Director and Senior Advisor in the Office of Legislative Affairs, Department of Homeland Security.
The passage of the bill was welcomed by Indian professionals from across the country, in particularly in the Silicon Valley in California, Seattle area in Washington State, the Greater Washington DC Area and the tri-State area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Top American IT companies also welcomed the passage of the bill and urged the Senate to pass it at earliest so that the President can sign it into law.
"Today the US House passed legislation to ensure people from all countries are treated the same in the green card process. This promotes a fair high-skilled immigration system that's good for business and our economy," said Microsoft president Brad Smith.
