Title: Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019
This 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 also removes an offset that reduced the number of visas for individuals from China.
The bill also establishes transition rules for employment-based visas from FY2020-FY2022, by reserving a percentage of EB-2 (workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability) and EB-3 (skilled and other workers) visas for individuals not from the two countries with the largest number of recipients of such visas. Of the unreserved visas, not more than 85% shall be allotted to immigrants from any single country.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 386 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 386

   To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the per-
   country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, to 
  increase the per-country numerical limitation for family-sponsored 
                  immigrants, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 7, 2019

 Mr. Lee (for himself, Ms. Harris, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Blunt, Ms. Collins, 
   Mr. Moran, Mr. Carper, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Gardner, Mr. 
     Cotton, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Bennet, and Ms. Sinema) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the per-
   country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, to 
  increase the per-country numerical limitation for family-sponsored 
                  immigrants, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants 
Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. NUMERICAL LIMITATION TO ANY SINGLE FOREIGN STATE.

    (a) In General.--Section 202(a)(2) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(2)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(2) Per country levels for family-sponsored immigrants.--
        Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), the total number of 
        immigrant visas made available to natives of any single foreign 
        state or dependent area under section 203(a) in any fiscal year 
        may not exceed 15 percent (in the case of a single foreign 
        state) or 2 percent (in the case of a dependent area) of the 
        total number of such visas made available under such section in 
        that fiscal year.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 202 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1152) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``both 
                subsections (a) and (b) of section 203'' and inserting 
                ``section 203(a)''; and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (5); and
            (2) by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:
    ``(e) Special Rules for Countries at Ceiling.--If the total number 
of immigrant visas made available under section 203(a) to natives of 
any single foreign state or dependent area will exceed the numerical 
limitation specified in subsection (a)(2) in any fiscal year, immigrant 
visas shall be allotted to such natives under section 203(a) (to the 
extent practicable and otherwise consistent with this section and 
section 203) in a manner so that, except as provided in subsection 
(a)(4), the proportion of the visas made available under each of 
paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 203(a) is equal to the ratio of 
the total visas made available under the respective paragraph to the 
total visas made available under section 203(a).''.
    (c) Country-Specific Offset.--Section 2 of the Chinese Student 
Protection Act of 1992 (8 U.S.C. 1255 note) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``(as defined in 
        subsection (e))'';
            (2) by striking subsection (d); and
            (3) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (d).
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect as if enacted on September 30, 2019, and shall apply to fiscal 
year 2020 and each subsequent fiscal year.
    (e) Transition Rules for Employment-Based Immigrants.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraphs (2) through (5), and 
        notwithstanding title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
        (8 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.), the following rules shall apply:
                    (A) For fiscal year 2020, 15 percent of the 
                immigrant visas made available under each of paragraphs 
                (2) and (3) of section 203(b) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 
                1153(b)) shall be allotted to immigrants who are 
                natives of a foreign state or dependent area that is 
                not one of the two states with the largest aggregate 
                numbers of natives obtaining immigrant visas under such 
                paragraphs.
                    (B) For fiscal year 2021, 10 percent of the 
                immigrant visas made available under each of such 
                paragraphs shall be allotted to immigrants who are 
                natives of a foreign state or dependent area that is 
                not one of the two states with the largest aggregate 
                numbers of natives obtaining immigrant visas under such 
                paragraphs.
                    (C) For fiscal year 2022, 10 percent of the 
                immigrant visas made available under each of such 
                paragraphs shall be allotted to immigrants who are 
                natives of a foreign state or dependent area that is 
                not one of the two states with the largest aggregate 
                numbers of natives obtaining immigrant visas under such 
                paragraphs.
            (2) Per-country levels.--
                    (A) Reserved visas.--The number of visas reserved 
                under each of subparagraphs (A) through (C) of 
                paragraph (1) made available to natives of any single 
                foreign state or dependent area in the appropriate 
                fiscal year may not exceed 25 percent (in the case of a 
                single foreign state) or 2 percent (in the case of a 
                dependent area) of the total number of such visas.
                    (B) Unreserved visas.--Not more than 85 percent of 
                the immigrant visas made available under each of 
                paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 203(b) of the 
                Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) and 
                not reserved under paragraph (1), for each of the 
                fiscal years 2020, 2021, and 2022, may be allotted to 
                immigrants who are natives of any single foreign state.
            (3) Special rule to prevent unused visas.--If, with respect 
        to fiscal year 2020, 2021, or 2022, the application of 
        paragraphs (1) and (2) would prevent the total number of 
        immigrant visas made available under paragraph (2) or (3) of 
        section 203(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1153(b)) from being issued, such visas may be issued during the 
        remainder of such fiscal year without regard to paragraphs (1) 
        and (2).
            (4) Transition rule for currently approved beneficiaries.--
                    (A) In general.--Notwithstanding section 202 of the 
                Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by this 
                Act, immigrant visas under section 203(b) of the 
                Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) 
                shall be allocated such that no alien described in 
                subparagraph (B) receives a visa later than the alien 
                otherwise would have received said visa had this Act 
                not been enacted.
                    (B) Alien described.--An alien is described in this 
                subparagraph if the alien is the beneficiary of a 
                petition for an immigrant visa under section 203(b) of 
                the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) 
                that was approved prior to the date of enactment of 
                this Act.
            (5) Rules for chargeability.--Section 202(b) of such Act (8 
        U.S.C. 1152(b)) shall apply in determining the foreign state to 
        which an alien is chargeable for purposes of this subsection.
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