A Ray of Hope for Immigrants: The 2020 Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act

America’s immigration system is far from perfect, and with millions of immigrants migrating to America, it’s no wonder that millions are also stuck waiting for their visa approval. In particular, immigrants from China and India are the most backlogged group, restricted by arbitrary per-country caps. However, there is now a ray of hope for Chinese and Indian immigrants: The Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act. 

The Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act was proposed in February 2019 by 14 Senators, including Senator Mike Lee and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. At the Senate, it was amended and unanimously passed on December 2, 2020. Among other provisions, the most significant action of this bill is its elimination of the 7% country cap for employment-based immigrant visas. 

Currently, there is a backlog of almost one million foreign nationals and accompanying family members in the United States who are waiting to receive Green Cards. For instance, the employment-based green card backlog from India reached 741,209 in April, with an expected wait time of 84 years. In contrast, individuals from other countries face little to no wait time to receive Green Cards. Ultimately, by eliminating the seven percent cap for employment-based visas, S-386 will not only address the severe backlog but also end nationality discrimination in Green card allocation. 

Some critics argue that eliminating the per-country limit will lead to an onslaught of immigrants who would backlog the system again. However, the bill will ultimately smooth out the immigration process and serve as an immense relief for the tens of thousands of nationals stuck in the system. Moreover, S-386 includes transition rules that reserve a percentage of visas for immigrants who aren’t from India and China and guarantees that no more than 85% of the unreserved visas will be allotted to immigrants from one country. Both of these measures prevent Indians and Chinese nationals from monopolizing available green cards and avoid a more extreme backlog. 

Though S-386 appears to be a change for the better, immigrants shouldn’t relax just yet. The Senate has passed the bill back to the House of Representatives, where it was first conceived. Although the bill has received unanimous support from the Senate, some members of the House feel less supportive. The original sponsor of the bill, California Rep. Zoe Lofgren, stated in a press release that “the provisions sent to the House by the Senate yesterday most likely make matters worse, not better.” She plans to make further revisions in the House before passing the bill. Despite the opposition, A.I. research and data engineering company Skopos Labs has predicted that the amended act has an 82% chance of being enacted. This is supported by the House’s initial vote on the bill, where 365 votes out of 430 were for it. After the House, the bill would have to be approved by the president, where it’s likely to go through as Joe Biden plans. Overall, the future of the 2020 Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act seems pretty optimistic.

While we wait to see how this bill progresses, it’s important to think about what it means for our country. We have always prided ourselves on being a place where people who come from nothing can make a living, achieve their dreams, and ensure the prosperity of the next generation. Our Congress has taken an important step to ensure that no one is unfairly excluded from these opportunities. Hopefully, the introduction of the Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act introduction can demonstrate to all prospective migrants that America still strives to be a melting pot of diversity, welcoming those from all corners of the world.