US: Biden Administration Introduces Immigration Bill In Congress

Joe Biden’s administration introduced the most talked about ‘immigrants bill’ in Congress. The US Citizenship Act of 2021 proposes a 8-year pathway to citizenship to 11 million undocumented workers, elimination of per country quota for employment-based green cards, and also work authorization for dependents of H-1B foreign workers.

The proposal to eliminate the per-country cap for employment-based green cards would benefit a huge number of IT professionals from India. This immigration bill if passed by both, House and the Senate, will be signed into law by the President and it would grant citizenship to millions of foreign nationals including undocumented workers.

The proposed bill would establish an 8-year path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US by Jan 1.

For those who have been on wait for a Green Card for more than 10 years, the legal permanent residency would be granted immediately as would be exempted from the visa cap. The aim of the bill is to bring major changes to the employment-based immigration system, eliminating per-country caps, provisions for STEM advanced degree holders from US universities to stay in the country, and also giving better access to green cards for workers in lower-wage industries.

As a big benefit for H-1B holders, the dependents will be given work authorization and also prevent their children from aging out of the system.

The bill also eliminates discrimination against LGBTQ families, provides protection for orphans, widows, and children, allows immigrants with approved family-sponsorship petitions to join the family in the US on a temporary basis before they are issued green cards.

Democrats have a majority in both the House and Senate, but they need at least 10 Republicans in the Upper house to it to the law through congress.