September 16, 2008

Legislative Update - House Judiciary Committee Marking Up Four Immigration Bills

The House Judiciary Committee is currently marking up H.R. 5882--a bipartisan bill which will allow the recapturing of immigrant visa numbers that have gone unused in past years due to bureaucratic delays. Contrary to popular belief, the bill does not create new visas or increase immigration. H.R. 5882, which is co-sponsored by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), would allow the government to issue visas for family and employment-based applicants, which were previously authorized by Congress. More specifically, H.R. 5882:

• Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish the fiscal year worldwide level of employment-based immigrants at 140,000 plus: (1) the previous year's unused visas; and (2) the number of unused visas from FY2002-FY2007.
• Establishes the fiscal year worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants at 480,000 minus the number of certain aliens not subject to direct numerical limitations plus: (1) the previous year's unused visas; and (2) the number of unused visas from FY2002-FY2007. (States that such annual level shall not be less than 226,000.)

The Immigration Policy Center has issued a Fact Sheet that provides additional information on this bill: http://immigrationpolicy.org/images/File/factcheck/RecaptureofUnusedVisas9-9-08.pdf.

The House Judiciary Committee is also marking up the following immigration bills:

• H.R. 6020: To provide immigration benefits for immigrant soldiers and their families, co-sponsored by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, (D-CA) and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX).
• H.R. 5924: To provide 20,000 employment-based visas per year for three years specifically for nurses and is co-sponsored by Rep. Robert Wexler, (D-FL) and Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., (R-WI).
• HR 5950: To ensure basic medical care for immigration detainees and is co-sponsored by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, (D-CA) and Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, (R-FL).

GT will provide further updates on this pending legislation and any other legislative updates as they become available.