The Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act that proposed ending the per-country cap for green cards is no longer scheduled for a vote in the current session of Congress.

Currently, a maximum of 7% of the Congressionally mandated green cards are available for any individual country. As a result, those countries with a higher number of qualifying applicants must wait for a green card to become available. For individuals from China and India, who have the highest number of individuals eligible for a U.S. green card, the wait can be ten years or more. Comparatively, individuals from countries with less demand for green cards must wait solely for processing, which can be as quick as a few months.

The EAGLE Act suggests that where individuals are from should not influence the wait time for a green card. Rather, the Congressionally capped limit should be processed based on the individual merits of the person and the wait time for all foreign nationals, not grouped by country. However, others believe that without a correlating increase in the number of green cards available, individuals from China and India would dominate immigration. As a result, individuals from other countries would have limited options to obtain a green card.

The EAGLE Act also proposed increasing the family-based visa cap from 7% to 15% per country.

Whether or not the EAGLE Act or some other piece of legislation will be proposed in 2023 is unknown.

If you have questions about a green card, visa, or any other immigration-related issue, please contact us. We work with our clients in their individual situations to ensure they get the right advice.