A proposal to eliminate the per-country limit on employment visas, known as the EAGLE Act, is scheduled to be voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives in the coming week. The effort aims to address ongoing labor shortages. However, criticism from the Congressional Black Caucus’ immigration task force may stand in the way. The chair of the task force cites concerns over inequities for Black migrants. Changing the approach to increasing the per-country cap rather than eliminating the per-country cap entirely is preferred.
As India and China have the most employment-based visa applications, the two countries could use the vast majority of available visas. As such, individuals from Caribbean and African countries could see very limited availability of employment-based visas. The chair of the committee further suggests an overall increase in the number of available employment-based visas could address the issue.
The proposal, known as H.R. 3648, the Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment, or EAGLE Act, originally debuted in June 2021. The proposal attempts to address the multi-year wait time for green cards for individuals from countries with larger populations. The bill also suggests increasing the cap for family-based visa categories from 7% to 15%. In addition, H-1B requirements are proposed to be expanded with additional restrictions as well. Further, caps would be phased out on employment-based visas over nine years. The phasing approach is an effort to help countries continue to get visas as the transition proceeds. However, with the phased-in approach, only 5% of visas would be available for countries with lower admissions.
The Biden Administration supports the bill, noting the benefits immigrants have made and continue to make to the U.S. economy in terms of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Other immigration groups agree with the Black Caucus Immigration Task Force issues. The American Immigration Lawyers Association is one of them. They state that the bill does not properly balance the negative impact of removing the per-country cap.
We continue to actively monitor ongoing proposed legislation to ensure our clients are prepared and get the right advice for their particular situations. If you have questions on employment-based visas or any other immigration-related issue, please contact us.