In news- A legislation that aims to remove the country cap for permanent residency visas was recently introduced in the US House of Representatives. It would have to be passed through the House of Representatives and the Senate, and then signed by the President of the United States for it to become a law.
About the Act-
- The Equal Access to Green cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act of 2021 allows American employers to focus on hiring immigrants based on their merit, not their birthplace.
- The new law helps Indians who are not able to get green cards due to the country caps and the lottery system in the US.
- The act seeks to remove the seven percent cap for each country for employment-based immigrant visas.
- The seven per cent limit which was introduced in the mid-20th century, has led countries with relatively small populations to be allocated the same number of visas as a relatively large-population country.
- The per-country limit on family-sponsored visas will also be raised from 7 percent to 15 percent.
- The act aims for the limitations to be removed in a phased manner over the next 9 years.
- However, the act won’t allow domination by Chinese and Indian visa applicants as it would put in reserve visas for a period of nine years for ‘Lower Admission States’.
- It will ensure that “no country may receive more than 25 percent of reserved visas and 85 percent of unreserved visas” in the nine fiscal years.
A similar Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act (HR1044) was passed by the House of Representatives in July 2019. Another version of the bill – S386 was passed by the Senate in the 116th session of the Congress.
Source: Indian Express
