US Senate passes High-Skilled Immigrants Act easing Indian professionals' green card bid

In what is being called a massive relief for the Indian nationals working in the United States, the US Senate passed the 'Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act' or S.386 bill on December 2 that eliminates the per-country numerical limitation on the employment-based green card.

According to a release by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, thousands of Indian nationals can now avail the opportunity to work abroad as the US senate eliminated the per-country percentage cap on the employment-based immigrant visas available to natives of any foreign country in a given year. Earlier, this cap could not have exceeded 7 percent of the total number of visas issued. 

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India is a high-volume user country, therefore, the new percentage cap would shorten the green card wait times for employment-based immigrants. However, the bill must still pass by both houses of the US Congress and shall be signed into law by US President Donald Trump.

The bill passed by the House of Representatives (Fairness for High-Skilled Workers Act HR 1044), and the one passed by the Senate are two different versions and will have to be reconciled into a final law. 

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From 7 percent cap to 15

The bill increases the family-based visa limits from the previously set 7 percent per country to 15 percent per country, removing figurative limitations on the employment-based green card that were issued by the fiscal year 2020. When signed into law, H.R. 3012 would make the immigrant visas for India immediately available and will create backlogs for natives of other countries.

US companies can also sponsor foreign nationals due to ease in percentage cap. Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi hailed the bill, saying, it’s great news for Indian IT professionals who come to the US on H-1B work visas. The bill was initially proposed by Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah.

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(With ANI Inputs; Image Credit: AP)