Legislation in US Congress to phase out country quota for green cards

Legislation in US Congress to phase out country quota for green cards

Washington: Top American senators have announced the introduction of legislation to phase out country quotas for green cards and capture the unused visas from the annual Green Card quota for doctors and nurses as the healthcare sector faces a significant shortage of workforce in the US.

The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, a legislation led by Senator Kevin Cramer and Dick Durbin, makes a limited number of green cards available to qualified immigrant doctors and nurses to address critical healthcare workforce shortages.

This Bill allows the “recapture” of green cards already authorised by Congress but unused in previous years, allotting up to 25,000 immigrant visas for nurses and up to 15,000 immigrant visas for physicians. The Bill does not authorise any new visas.

A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently.

The Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act, which will be reintroduced by Senator Cramer and John Hickenlooper, allows American employers to focus on hiring immigrants based on their merit, not their birthplace.

The legislation would phase out the seven per cent per-country limit on employment-based immigrant visas and raise the seven per cent per-country limit on family-sponsored visas to 15 per cent.

Most prospective employment-based immigrants currently live and work in the US on temporary visas while waiting for a visa to become available, a media release said.

Some of these individuals remain in temporary status for many years, if not decades, because of the caps applied to their country of nationality.

The EAGLE Act would ease the backlog for those who wait the longest, said a statement issued by the office of Senator Cramer.

This Bill makes the system more merit-based. The Bill transitions the allocation of employment-based green cards to a first-come, first-served application while not unduly burdening foreign nationals from countries that were accustomed to special treatment and had no wait time at all to receive green cards due to discriminatory per country limits,” said Aman Kapoor of Immigration Voice.

“The Bill ensures that American workers are made the top priority for hiring by all US companies such that no foreign worker can undercut an American worker for a US job. We are incredibly grateful to Senator Cramer and Senator Hickenlooper for leading the bill and urging its swift passage in Congress,” he said.

The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would require employers to attest immigrants from overseas who receive these visas will not displace an American worker. Additionally, it would necessitate eligible immigrant medical professionals to meet licensing requirements, pay filing fees, and clear rigorous national security and criminal history background checks before they can receive recaptured green cards, a media release said.

The Bill is being supported by several stakeholders. This legislation would address the healthcare workforce shortages facing North Dakota hospitals and provide the needed flexibility for hiring both highly trained international nurses and physicians.

“Both professionals play such critical roles when providing patient care,” said Tim Blasl, President of the North Dakota Hospital Association.

“This legislation will allow additional nurses to immigrate to North Dakota, where they will find fulfilling jobs to care for our elderly and welcoming communities who value their caring hearts and strong work ethic. Immigrants are a vital part of our workforce,” said Shelly Peterson, President of the North Dakota Long Term Care Association.

Joining Senators Cramer and Durbin are Senators Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, Mike Rounds, Joni Ernst, Todd Young, Roger Wicker, John Thune, Chris Coons, Kyrsten Sinema, Ron Wyden, Cory Booker, Tom Carper, Alex Padilla, and Tammy Duckworth.