Latin American immigrants could face visa backlog under proposed changes in Congress
The House and Senate are negotiating a proposed change to the allocation of employment-based visas for high-skilled immigrants that could win approval this month, leading to longer wait times for Latin American immigrants while helping Indian and Chinese immigrants, who must wait years to obtain a visa under the current system.
The proposal, called the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, wouldn’t lessen the overall wait time for employment-based visas. Instead, it would distribute the backlog across all countries by changing the application system to a first-come, first-served basis. Under the existing system, no more than 7% of high-skilled immigrant visas go to a single country each year. The change would reduce the current backlog of Indian and Chinese visa applications at the expense of immigrants from other countries.
For months, Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott has objected to the bill and prevented its passage in the U.S. Senate. He argued that Florida’s economy would suffer if the current system is changed to benefit Indian and Chinese immigrants working in the tech industry.
“I’ve heard from many constituents about how this bill would impact people in Florida, especially those who came to Florida from Latin America,” Scott wrote in a Miami Herald op-ed in August. “We must look at the sectors that eliminating this cap would unjustly benefit, particularly the tech industry, and what sectors it would hurt.”
But Scott recently dropped his objections after he was able to amend the Senate version of the bill to cap the number of temporary highskilled visa holders who are allowed to receive a green card to stay in the U.S. permanently and ban permanent visas for Chinese nationals with ties to the country’s Communist Party or military.
The temporary H1B visas, which are employer sponsored, are popular in the tech industry. The cap on green cards for H1B visa holders could make it easier for immigrants in states like Florida, where immigrants often hold visas for other types of work, to obtain green cards.
Scott’s office and immigration attorneys say Democrats are trying to include the House version of the bill — which does not include Scott’s amendments — in a year-end spending bill that will shut down the federal government if it isn’t passed. The House and Senate agreed to a one-week extension on Friday as negotiations on the spending bill continue ahead of a Dec. 18 deadline.
Scott would likely oppose the bill again, without his amendments. “The challenge with this bill is getting people to pay attention,” Scott spokesperson Chris Hartline said. “It’s a significant change to the immigration system that’s happening behind the scenes.”
Ira Kurzban, a Miami immigration attorney known for his work on behalf of Haitian refugees and a critic of GOP efforts to limit immigration, is also not in favor of the bill.
“If you’re a Colombian who is one of the leading authorities in the world on climate change and you want to apply today to get a visa, [you’re] going to wait 10, 20 or even 30 years,” he said.
Hartline said Democrats are trying to include the immigration bill, which has bipartisan support, into the must-pass legislation without major changes because they think it won’t raise enough objections to sink the yearend spending bill — which would shut down the federal government if it doesn’t pass.
“That’s not something we support and most Senate Republicans don’t support it,” Hartline said.
Many Republicans support the legislation because it does not increase the total number of visas available to high-skilled immigrants, but changes the allocation to help other immigrants.
California Democratic
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, who sponsored the House version of the legislation, said she did not support Scott’s changes to the bill.
“While I recognize the sincerity of all members struggling to find solutions, unfortunately the provisions sent to the House by the Senate most likely make matters worse, not better,” Lofgren said in a tweet. “I plan to swiftly & thoughtfully work with my colleagues to resolve outstanding issues & get a measure across the finish line that can pass both Houses of Congress.”
Lofgren’s office declined to comment on any negotiations related to the legislation’s inclusion in the yearend spending bill.
Kurzban said industries outside the tech field will suffer if the bill is passed.
“What does this mean? All the visas go to the high-tech industry and maybe some doctors, but what about everyone else?” Kurzban asked. “What about people who work in A.I., solar energy or engineers we need to create a version of the Green New Deal? All those people are excluded for at least the next 10 years or maybe as long as 30 years. It’s an untenable bill.”
Kurzban is also opposed to the way the legislation moved through Congress without a formal hearing, arguing that the bill doesn’t provide any additional visas while continuing to pit immigrants from different countries against each other. He said the bill’s attempt to undo the current backlog of immigrants from India and China will mean any new applicants will be placed at the back of the line.
The Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan think tank funded by Congress to evaluate legislation, released a report in March showing that Indian nationals currently have an eightyear wait for a EB1 visa, a 27-year wait for an EB3 visa and a 195-year wait for an EB2 visa. All three visas are for immigrants and their families with particular skills or degrees.
Immigrants from countries other than India or China currently wait a year or less for a visa.
If the bill becomes law, by 2030, immigrants from all countries would face a sevenyear wait for an EB1 visa, an 11-year wait for an EB3 visa and a 37-year wait for an EB2 visa. Those wait times assume that Congress will not increase the number of employment-based visas for high-skilled workers, which is around 140,000 annually.
The Immigrants’ List Civic Action, a left-leaning political group that opposes immigration restrictions, is also against the bill because “no one can wait less until someone waits longer.”
If the visa reallocation bill doesn’t become law before 2021, it will need to go through the legislative process again in the next Congress.