Gavin Howe
The HR 1044 bill, also known as the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, was introduced in the US House of Representatives in 2019. The bill aims to modify requirements related to employment-based visas, remove per-country limits on employment-based green cards, and increase the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas. For a bill to become a law, it must be passed by both the House and the Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President. While the HR 1044 bill has undergone significant amendments and passed in the Senate, it has not been agreed upon by the House. As of December 2020, there was no agreement, and the bill did not make it into the Omnibus Spending Bill.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Bill Number | H.R. 1044 |
| Bill Name | Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act |
| Bill Sponsor | Representative for California's 19th congressional district |
| Bill Passage Requirements | Passed by both the House and Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President |
| Amendments | Significant amendments made in the Senate |
| Bill Status | Passed by both chambers on December 2, 2020, but in non-identical forms |
| Bill Actions | Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, considered as unfinished business, debate, motion to reconsider |
| Bill Purpose | Remove per-country limits on employment-based green cards, modify requirements for employment-based visas, Increase per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas |
| Bill Effects | May create a green card backlog, may benefit Big Tech and certain groups of applicants, may increase work for immigration lawyers |
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What You'll Learn
The bill must pass both the House and Senate
For a bill to become a law, it must pass both the House and the Senate in identical form. Any member of Congress, from either the Senate or the House of Representatives, can draft a bill. The primary Congress member supporting the bill is called the "sponsor", and the other members who support it are called "co-sponsors". Once a bill is drafted, it must be introduced. If a Representative is the sponsor, the bill is introduced in the House, and if a Senator is the sponsor, it is introduced in the Senate.
Once a bill is introduced, it can be found on Congress.gov, the official government website that tracks federal legislation. The House of Representatives is responsible for creating, debating, and voting on bills to make laws for the United States. When the House or Senate passes a bill, it is referred to the other chamber, where it usually follows the same route through committees and finally to the floor. This chamber may approve the bill, reject it, ignore it, or change it.
If the House and the Senate pass different versions of the bill, Congress may form a conference committee to resolve or reconcile the differences. If the conference committee is unable to reach an agreement, the bill dies. If an agreement is reached, the committee members prepare a conference report with recommendations for the final bill. Both the House and the Senate must then vote to approve the conference report.
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The bill must be signed by the President
For the HR 1044 bill to become a law, it must be signed by the President. This is the final step in the process of a bill becoming a law. The first step is for the bill to be passed by the House and the second is for it to be passed by the Senate.
The HR 1044 bill, also known as the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, was passed by both the House and the Senate on December 2, 2020, but in non-identical forms. This means that the differences between the two versions of the bill that were passed by the House and the Senate respectively needed to be resolved before the bill could be signed by the President. However, as of December 21, 2020, there was no agreement on the bill, and it was not added to the Omnibus Spending Bill.
The bill was introduced in the 116th Congress, which met from January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2021. If legislation is not passed by the end of a Congress, it is cleared from the books. This means that the HR 1044 bill needed to be signed into law by the President before January 3, 2021, for it to become law.
It is not clear from the sources whether the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill were resolved and whether the bill was signed into law by the President before the end of the 116th Congress.
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The bill removes per-country limits on employment-based green cards
For a bill to become a law, it must be passed by both the House and the Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President. The HR 1044 bill, also known as the “Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act”, aims to remove per-country limits on employment-based green cards.
The bill seeks to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to eliminate the per-country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants. Currently, there is an annual limit of 140,000 petitions for all employment-based green card categories, with a cap of 7% (9,800) per country. The bill proposes to remove this cap, arguing that employment-based petitions should not be subject to per-country limits as they are based on employment, skills, and not related to diversity. The rationale is that it is unfair to have the same 7% quota for both small and large countries.
The bill also includes provisions to increase the per-country numerical limitation for family-sponsored immigrants from 7% to 15%. For the Fiscal Year 2020, the bill proposed that 15% of employment-based green cards be allocated to immigrants from two non-major foreign states, such as India and China.
The HR 1044 bill has faced opposition and criticism. Some argue that it would benefit specific industries, such as Big Tech, and favour certain groups of applicants, like Indian tech workers and Chinese investors, while squeezing out others. There are concerns that it would reward employers who replace American workers with less skilled contract workers on temporary visas. Additionally, critics highlight the lack of hearings and debates on the bill before scheduling a vote.
The bill was introduced in the 116th Congress, which met from January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2021. While it was passed by both chambers on December 2, 2020, it was not in identical form, and the differences were never resolved. It was confirmed that this bill would not be worked on in the 116th Congress session and would be pursued in the next Congress starting in 2021.
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The bill increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas
For a bill to become a law, it must be passed by both the House and the Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President. The HR 1044 bill, also known as the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, was introduced in the House of Representatives and passed on July 10, 2019, with a bipartisan vote of 365-65. The bill aims to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the per-country cap for employment-based immigrant visas and increase the per-country cap for family-based immigrant visas.
The current system sets a quota of 7% for each country for employment-based green cards. The HR 1044 bill proposes to increase the per-country cap for family-based immigrant visas from 7% to 15%. This change would allow more family members of skilled workers to obtain visas and join their relatives in the United States.
The rationale behind increasing the per-country cap for family-based immigrant visas is to address the backlog and long wait times for families from certain countries. For some countries, the wait has exceeded two decades. By raising the cap, the bill aims to expedite family reunification and reduce the time that families have to spend apart.
The bill also includes transition rules for employment-based visas from FY2020 to FY2022, reserving a percentage of visas for individuals from countries other than the two with the largest number of recipients. This rule aims to prevent monopolization by a few countries and ensure a diverse pool of talent.
However, there is opposition to the bill, with concerns that it may advantage certain groups, such as the high-tech industry and real estate developers, while potentially squeezing out other industries and applicants from other countries. Critics argue that a hearing should be held, and members should have the opportunity to offer amendments before passing a bill with such significant implications.
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The bill eliminates the 7% cap for employment-based immigrant visas
For a bill to become a law, it must be passed by both the House and the Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President. Legislation not passed by the end of a Congress is cleared from the books. Bills numbers also restart every two years.
HR 1044, also known as the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, was introduced in the 116th Congress, which met from January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2021. The bill was passed by both chambers on December 2, 2020, but in non-identical forms, and the differences were never resolved. The bill was not added to the Omnibus Spending Bill and did not get voted on.
The bill would dramatically change the employment green card distribution system by eliminating a safeguard that prevents green card numbers from being monopolized by citizens of one or two countries. Known as the "per-country cap," this provision ensures that employment-based visas are available to a truly global pool of talent in a wide variety of occupational sectors.
The bill also includes a provision to eliminate the per-country cap on the EB-5 category, which enables foreign investors to receive green cards. If passed, the result would be that primarily Chinese investors would receive these green cards, with citizens of other countries largely squeezed out.
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Frequently asked questions
HR 1044, also known as the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, is a bill introduced in the US House of Representatives that aims to eliminate the per-country cap on employment-based green cards.
The purpose of HR 1044 is to address the issue of green card distribution by removing the limit of 7% per country for employment-based green card petitions. Proponents of the bill argue that removing the cap will make the process fairer and eliminate discrimination based on nationality origin.
In addition to removing the per-country cap on employment-based green cards, HR 1044 also seeks to increase the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from 7% to 15%. It also establishes a mechanism for eligible aliens and their dependents to obtain authorization to work or travel outside the US while awaiting an immigrant visa.
HR 1044 was introduced in the 116th Congress, which met from January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2021. The bill was passed by both chambers on December 2, 2020, but in non-identical forms, and the differences were never resolved. It did not become law during that Congress.
For HR 1044 to become a law, it must be passed by both the House and the Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President.
