The House Reconciliation Bill is in Congress and the Democrats are close to finalizing it. However, the latest version of the bill no longer includes a pathway to US citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants.
What Are the Proposals Mentioned in the House Reconciliation Bill?
Work Permit for Undocumented Immigrants:
The bill will be offering temporary work permit options to almost 7 million undocumented immigrants who have been residing in the US since January 1, 2011. That’s the majority of 11 million undocumented immigrants present in the US currently. Eligible immigrants will be given temporary protection from deportation and allowed to apply for a temporary work permit.
Recapturing Unused Green Cards:
If the bill is passed, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will recapture around 1 million Green Cards that were previously authorized by Congress and have gone unused since 1992. The bill will also allow employment-based visa applicants who have been waiting in the backlog for more than 2 years to pay a supplemental fee of $5,000 to waive off their annual, per-country visa limitations.
Family-based visa immigrants will be able to pay a supplemental fee of $2,500 to waive off the annual visa cap limitations. The bill will also protect Diversity Visa Lottery winners who were unable to travel to the US under the Trump administration due to travel bans, Covid-19 related travel restrictions, and Embassy and Consulate closures.