Close X
Thursday, December 19, 2024
ADVT 
International

Senator Moves Amendments To Immigration Reform To Reduce Green Card Backlog

The Canadian Press, 15 Feb, 2018 11:55 AM
    In a move aimed at bringing in the issues of green card backlog and H-1B visa, a top American lawmaker has moved amendment to a White House-backed immigration bill that mostly focuses on illegal immigration and merit-based immigration.
     
     
    The amendments, moved by Senator Orrin Hatch, aim to eliminate annual per-country limits for employment-based green cards so that applicants from more populous countries are not unfairly discriminated against relative to applicants from less populous countries.
     
     
    “I have long said that high-skilled immigration is merit-based immigration,” Hatch said after moving the amendments on Wednesday.
     
     
    It increases worker mobility for individuals on the path to a green card by enabling such individuals to change jobs earlier in the process without losing their place in the green card line.
     
     
    It also codifies existing regulations regarding spousal work authorisation and post-education practical training.
     
     
    The amendments exempt holders of US master’s degrees or higher who are being sponsored for green cards from the annual numerical limitations on H-1B visas and subjects employers who fail to employ an H-1B worker for more than three months during the individual’s first year of work authorisation to a penalty.
     
     
    Also, it further updates the 1998 law exempting H-1B-dependent employers from certain recruitment and non-displacement requirements.
     
     
    In particular, the amendment raises from USD 60,000 to USD 100,000 the H-1B salary level at which the salary-based exemption takes effect, narrows education-based exemption to H-1B hires with a US PhD, and eliminates exemption for “super-dependent” employers altogether.
     
     
    “It’s immigration targeted at the best, the brightest, and the most highly educated. The amendments, I filed today, are focused, commonsense reforms that will make a real difference for our economy,” Hatch said.
     
     
    “In particular, they will help streamline the process by which a worker with in-demand technical skills can obtain a green card and will cut back on some of the troubling abuses we have seen with the H-1B programme. These are important reforms that can attract broad support, and I intend to pursue every opportunity to include them in the pending immigration bill,” the lawmaker said.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Indian-American Firm Launches Novel Education Programme In India

    Indian-American Firm Launches Novel Education Programme In India
    An Indian-American firm is planning to introduce a new method of teaching science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) to middle and secondary school students in India through experiential learning.

    Indian-American Firm Launches Novel Education Programme In India

    VIDEO: Pakistan Army’s First Sikh Officer Maj Hercharn Singh Ties The Knot

    VIDEO: Pakistan Army’s First Sikh Officer Maj Hercharn Singh Ties The Knot
    Born in 1986 in Nankana Sahib, where Sikhism’s first master Guru Nanak Dev was born, Maj Hercharn Singh was part of the Pakistan Military Academy’s 116th Long Course.

    VIDEO: Pakistan Army’s First Sikh Officer Maj Hercharn Singh Ties The Knot

    UK Says Jallianwala Bagh Massacre ‘Deeply Shameful’, Avoids Apology

    UK Says Jallianwala Bagh Massacre ‘Deeply Shameful’, Avoids Apology
    The UK has sidestepped London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s call for an official apology on the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, saying the government has “rightly condemned” the “deeply shameful act” in British history in the past.

    UK Says Jallianwala Bagh Massacre ‘Deeply Shameful’, Avoids Apology

    Indian-American Sapan Shah To Run For Us Congress From Chicago Suburb

    Indian-American Sapan Shah To Run For Us Congress From Chicago Suburb
    Sapan Shah, 37, the founder of Flagship Healthcare in Chicago, would run from the 10th Congressional District of Illinois which is currently being held by Democrat Brad Schneider.

    Indian-American Sapan Shah To Run For Us Congress From Chicago Suburb

    Indian National Jailed For Attacking Compatriot In Singapore

    Indian National Jailed For Attacking Compatriot In Singapore
    A 20-year-old Indian worker was on Wednesday sentenced to more than three years in jail and six strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to grievously hurting a compatriot following a quarrel in Singapore.

    Indian National Jailed For Attacking Compatriot In Singapore

    Indian-Americans Face Unfair Police Stops In USA: Survey

    Indian-Americans Face Unfair Police Stops In USA: Survey
    Indian-Americans say that they have faced discrimination in many areas in their daily lives in the US, according to a new survey about Asian-Americans.

    Indian-Americans Face Unfair Police Stops In USA: Survey