Senators Kevin Cramer and John Hickenlooper have proposed a new law called the EAGLE Act to reform the US immigration system. The EAGLE Act aims to prioritize the skills and qualifications of immigrants over their country of origin when making employment decisions.
The senators want to remove green card quotas and use unused visas from the annual Green Card quota to address the shortage of healthcare workers, especially doctors and nurses. They also want to make the green card application process more fair and efficient by changing it to a first-come, first-served system.
Senator Cramer said that many immigrants who are currently working in the US on temporary visas are facing long wait times for green cards because of country-specific caps. He said that this is illogical and that we should have a skills-based immigration system.
Senator Hickenlooper said that arbitrary caps on employment-based visas are hurting the economy, especially in industries that are short of workers. He said that the EAGLE Act is a practical solution to these problems.
The EAGLE Act also includes provisions to prioritize American workers. For example, companies would still be required to hire American workers first, even if they have an EAGLE Act green card.
US Employment Visas, Visa Caps Legislation, EAGLE Act, US Immigration Reform, Employment Visa Equality