Bill To Remove H1B Visa Limit For Indians, Chinese Passed By US House; But President Trump May Block It

PThere is both good news and bad news for Indian IT professionals who wish to work in the US, and obtain Green Card in the near future.

A crucial bill to remove the country-wise limit on Green Card and H1B visa has been passed by the US House.

But in order to make it a law, this has to be passed by Republican-dominated Senate, where President Trump may block it.

Bill To Remove Cap On Green Card, H1B Visa Passed

US Lawmakers inside the US House of Representatives has passed a crucial bill, which will remove any cap on country-wise allocation of H1B Visa and Green Card.

Currently, no country can get more than 7% share of the H1B visa or Green Cards in a year, and this has deterred several skilled Indians and citizens from other countries to enter the US.

Due to the cap, applicants need to wait for years before their visa application is approved.

To end this discrimination, US Lawmakers passed the bill titled Fairness of High-Skilled Immigrants Act, 2019 or HR 1044, with an overwhelming majority of 365-65.

This bill, if becomes a law, will be a huge boost for Indian skilled IT workers, as now, they can be allocated more Green Cards and more H1B visas.

But US President Trump May Block It

However, in order to convert this bill into a law, this has to be cleared in the Senate, where Republicans dominate, and they are clearly against this bill.

Joseph S Joh, assistant director and senior advisor in the Office of Legislative Affairs, Department of Homeland Security said, “This bill would do nothing to move the current employment-sponsored system toward a more merit-based system,” 

This is a clear sign that if the bill is moved to the Senate, it will be blocked.

American IT Firms Support This Removal Of Cap

American IT firms such as Microsoft, Facebook, Google etc have supported the bill to remove the cap on H1B and Green Card allocations.

As per them, once the limit is removed, the companies will be able to hire without any discrimination, and without any prejudice.

Microsoft president Brad Smith said, “Today the US House passed the legislation to ensure people from all countries are treated alike in the green card process. This promotes a fair high-skilled immigration system that’s good for the business and our economy,” 

FWD.US, which is an advocacy group representing the top Silicon Valley companies have also expressed their support to the bill. FWD.US represents companies like Microsoft, Google, Dropbox, Facebook and more

We will keep you updated, as we receive more updates.