🚨 WHAT IF H-1B VISAS WEREN’T AWARDED BY LOTTERY? 🧵 (1 of 2)👇
Congressman David Schweikert has introduced a sweeping proposal to rewrite major parts of America’s legal immigration system, including a very different way of selecting skilled foreign workers.
H.R. 10400, the SMARTER Act, would redesign H-1B, create a points-based employment green card system, change prevailing-wage rules, eliminate employment-based country caps, narrow family immigration and create new protections addressing displacement of U.S. workers.
I read through the bill.
Here’s what’s actually in it:
THE BIG PICTURE
The proposal would move major parts of U.S. legal immigration away from the current combination of fixed employment categories, country caps and lotteries toward a system that places greater weight on economic value, wages, education, English proficiency, age and labor-market demand.
A new five-member SMART Board within the Commerce Department would help determine future employment-based immigrant and skilled-worker visa levels using factors including unemployment, job vacancies, wages, productivity, innovation and fiscal effects.
Annual aggregate changes would generally be limited to 10% in either direction.
1: H-1B WOULD BE FUNDAMENTALLY REDESIGNED
Section 6 is titled:
“Reform and replace H-1B nonimmigrants with SMARTER nonimmigrants.”
The initial numerical limit would remain 85,000, but future levels would be determined based on economic conditions.
Beginning in the second year, visas would also be allocated among industries.
When demand exceeds supply, the bill says visas should be awarded in the order expected to:
“most increase long-term tax revenue.”
That would shift selection away from the current lottery-style system toward expected economic and fiscal contribution.
2: IT EXPLICITLY ADDRESSES DISPLACEMENT OF AMERICAN WORKERS
For an employment-based immigrant visa, an employer would have to attest to the offered salary AND that the job:
“does not displace a United States worker and will not lead to the layoff of a United States worker in an essentially equivalent job.”
That would make U.S.-worker displacement an explicit consideration in the employment-based immigration process.
3: IT CHANGES HOW PREVAILING WAGES ARE CALCULATED
The bill says the prevailing wage should be based on the:
“median compensation received by United States workers with the same education and experience”
working in the same occupation and geographic area.
Experience, education and supervisory responsibility would also factor into the calculation.
That would create a more specific comparison between foreign workers and similarly situated U.S. workers.
4: EMPLOYMENT GREEN CARDS WOULD MOVE TO A POINTS SYSTEM
Applicants would compete for available employment-based visas based on factors including:
Salary
Education
English proficiency
Age
Extraordinary achievement
Qualifying employment
Visas would generally go to applicants with the highest point totals.
Age 26-30 receives the maximum 10 age points.
Points decline thereafter, reaching zero at 51+, although applicants 51 and older could still qualify based on other factors.
Certain qualifying U.S. STEM degrees would receive additional points.
There’s also an unusual provision involving the university itself.
To receive certain enhanced U.S.-degree points, the school generally must meet federal R&D requirements AND have at least 60% U.S.-citizen enrollment.
5: SALARY WOULD CARRY SIGNIFICANT WEIGHT
A qualifying job offer could generate up to 28 points based on salary relative to the median household income in the state.
150%-174% = 10 points
175%-199% = 13 points
200%-224% = 16 points
225%-249% = 19 points
250%-274% = 22 points
275%-299% = 25 points
300%+ = 28 points
That makes compensation one of the largest individual components of the proposed points system.
govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILL…