The House of Representatives passed an economic competitiveness bill on February 4 that includes several immigration provisions. The bill is called the ‘‘America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength Act of 2022’’ or the America COMPETES Act of 2022. This bill (which is more than 2,900 pages long) is intended to boost […]
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Nearly one million lawfully present foreign workers are currently waiting to receive lawful permanent residence status (green card). This backlog is primarily caused by statutorily imposed numerical limits that cap the number of immigrant visas that can be issued per year along with a per-country ceiling that only allows 7% of the visas to be allocated to individuals born in any one country. The backlogs primarily affect those born in China and India. Such backlogged foreign nationals experience long wait times before they are eligible to obtain permanent residence even when the underlying bases have already been approved. In addition to the hardships foreign nationals face as a result of these backlogs, it’s also adversely impacted the U.S. job market by making it more difficult for U.S. employers to attract highly trained talent uniquely qualified for certain positions.