Current Affairs - International - Discussion

The United States (US) House of Representatives passed a Bill 'Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, 2019 or HR 1044' which removes the present 7% country-cap on issuing Green Cards. A Green Card allows a person to live and work permanently in the US. According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the bill increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from 7% of the total number of such visas available that year to 15% and eliminates the 7% cap for employment-based immigrant visas. It was passed by the 435-member House by majority of 365-65 votes. It establishes transition rules for employment-based visas from FY 2020-22 by reserving a percentage of EB-2 (workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability), EB-3 (skilled and other workers) and EB-5 (investors) visas for individuals from other than the two countries that get the largest number of such visas.