The Immigration Visa Efficiency and Security Act of 2023 (H.R.6542) is a bill that aims to facilitate and expand access to family- and employment-based visas in the United States. The bill was introduced by Representative Richard McCormick (R-Georgia) on December 1, 2023. At the time of this article’s publication, it had been co-sponsored by 32 representatives from both parties – 17 Democrats and 15 Republicans.
The Immigration Visa Efficiency and Security Act would:
- Increase the annual per-country limitation on family-based immigrant visas from 7% to 15% of the total number of such visas available and up to 30% for countries with lower admission rates.
- Eliminate the per-country cap for employment-based immigrant visas.
- Reserve a minimum of 4,400 visas for applicants seeking work in a shortage occupation included in the Schedule A list.
- Mandate the Department of Labor to create a publicly available website for employers to post information about open positions and prohibit employers from advertising that a position is limited to H-1B visa applicants.
- Expand the Department of Labor’s authority to investigate H-1B applications for fraud or misrepresentations.
Discussion
Every year, the U.S. sets aside 226,000 family-preference green cards for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and 140,000 employment-based green cards for workers and investors. However, these green cards are subject to per-country caps. This means that, under existing federal law, individuals from any one country cannot be issued more than 7% of the total number of green cards each year. This results in green-card applicants facing years of backlog, especially in countries with application rates, such as India, China, Mexico, and the Philippines.
These obsolete numerical caps and per-country limitations have not been sufficient to meet the labor demands in the United States, where there are only five available workers for every nine job openings. This labor deficit, which has persisted since mid-2021, is also reflected in the U.S.’s low unemployment rate— 3.9% as of April 2024.
While the lack of workers affects many industries across the U.S., key industries have struggled for years to find qualified American workers. Therefore, companies are forced to recruit workers from abroad. However, the numerical caps and per-country limitations hinder the employer’s access to labor from other countries. Therefore, this bill also suggests that a minimum of 4,400 visas be reserved for applicants seeking work in a shortage occupation included in the Schedule A list.
Conclusion
The Immigration Visa Efficiency and Security Act of 2023 would lighten the application backlog from countries with high application rates by increasing the cap from 7% to 15% of the total number of green cards to individuals from a certain country. The Act would also address the labor shortage problem in the U.S. by eliminating the annual per-country cap for employment-based immigrant visas and expanding the Department of Labor’s authority to investigate H-1B violations. Therefore, the Immigration Visa Efficiency and Security Act of 2023 would alleviate the green card application backlog and reduce pressure on the labor shortage affecting the country.