Bipartisan Bills Aim to Eliminate Per-Country Caps on Green Cards, Addressing Immigration Backlogs

Two bipartisan bills, the Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act and the Immigration Visa Efficiency and Security (IVES) Act, seek to eliminate per-country caps on employment-based U.S. green cards and increase the per-country cap for family-based green cards. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and John Hickenlooper (D-CO) introduced the EAGLE Act in the Senate (S. 3291), while Representatives Rich McCormick (R-GA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) introduced the IVES Act (H.R. 6542) in the House of Representatives. The bills aim to streamline the immigration system by addressing green card backlogs, providing a potential solution for individuals and their families waiting for extended periods due to country-of-origin limitations. If enacted, the bills would phase out the 7% per-country limit on employment-based immigrant visas, including the EB-5 program, and raise the 7% per-country limit on family-sponsored visas to 15%. Critics argue that while the bills could benefit Indian and Chinese green card applicants, they may impact the demand for EB-5 from these countries, as individuals would have an alternative path to a green card through employer sponsorship. Immigration lawyers suggest potential amendments to allow recapturing unused green cards from the past two decades as a more comprehensive solution.

Source: eb5investors