The bill also establishes
transition rules for
employment-based visas from
FY 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 from other than
the two countries that get the
largest number of such visas.
As per another provision of
the Bill, not more than 85
percent of the unreserved
visas, would be allotted
to immigrants from any
single country. Before it
can be signed into law by
the U.S. president, the Bill,
however, has to be passed
by the Senate, wherein the
Republicans enjoy a majority.
An identical bill sponsored by
Senators Kamala Harris and
Mike Lee is likely to be taken
up soon.
The Senate bill S386
currently has 34 co-sponsors.
Congressman John Curtis,
speaking on the floor of the
House, said the Bill will create
a first-come, first-served
system providing certainty
to workers and families and
enabling the U.S. companies
to flourish and compete in a
global economy as they hire
the brightest people to create
products, services, and jobs,
irrespective of where they
were born.
If President Donald Trump
“is serious about merit-based
legal immigration, he should
help usher this bill into law,”
said Congresswoman Zoe
Lofgren.
Bill Hailed by Indian
American Professionals
The passage of the Bill was
hailed by Indian professionals
from across the U.S.,
particularly those from the
Silicon Valley in California,
Seattle area in Washington
state, the Greater Washington,
D.C. area and the tri-state area
of New York, New Jersey, and
Connecticut.
The Department of Homeland
Security, however, has said
it does not support the Bill.
“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. Top American IT
companies welcomed the
passage of the bill and urged
the Senate to pass it at the
earliest.
“Today the U.S. House passed
the legislation to ensure
people from all countries are
treated alike in the Green
Card process. This promotes
a fair high-skilled immigration
system that’s good for the
business and our economy,”
said Microsoft president Brad
Smith.
“This bill will help ensure
those seeking permanent
residency don’t have to
wait for extraordinarily long
periods, - projected at 50
years or more for people
from countries like India and
China - simply because of
their country of origin,” said
FWD. U.S. president Todd
Schulte, hailing the passage
of the FHSI Act.
FWD.U.S. is an advocacy
organization representing top
Silicon Valley firms including
Facebook, Google, Microsoft,
and DropBox.
“Eliminating ‘per-country’
caps for employment-based
Green Cards and raising
caps for family-based
green cards will make the
system fairer for immigrant
families and strengthen
the United States’ ability to
recruit and retain top global
talent by establishing a
fair and predictable path to
permanent legal status,” he
said.
Hindu American Foundation
too welcomed the passage
of the Bill. “It is now up to
the Senate to ensure that
fairness is delivered to high-
skilled immigrants who have
been stuck in a decades-
long backlog waiting for
their chance to become
full-fledged contributors to
the American economy.
The time to act is now,” said
Jay Kansara of the Hindu
American Foundation.
AUGUST 2019 | WWW.WISHESH.NET