November 29, 2012
Update: On November 30, the House passed HR 6429. It is not expected to be considered by the Senate.
Republicans in the US House of Representatives have proposed a step toward immigration reform. The bill would change who can receive an annual block of 55,000 US permanent resident visas. Currently those visas go to people from countries with relatively low rates of immigration to the US via a lottery system. The new bill would close that program and reallocate the visas toward people earning doctorates in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Lamar Smith and his colleagues deserve two cheers for this bill.
- The bill recognizes that immigration is critical to the US economy. Right now, just 15% of US permanent resident visas are employment-based. That’s the lowest fraction of any major Western economy, as Pia Orrenius and Madeleine Zavodny have pointed out. Smith’s bill would push that up to 20%. That’s still low, but it’s a start.
- The bill includes an overdue change in the treatment of the overseas spouses and children of US permanent residents. When those spouses and children apply for their own resident visas, they currently must wait in line at home, separated from their well-established husband, wife, or parent in the US—sometimes for years. I’ve argued that this requirement can be cruel when the home country has recently experienced a major natural disaster. But it doesn’t make much sense for any country. The new bill will reportedly allow those spouses and children to spend some of that wait-time together, in the US, without changing their place in line. That’s good sense.
- A similar bill proposed by Senators Schumer and Coons would create new STEM visas without killing other types of visas. This is a much better path. The benefits of STEM immigrants are clear, but low-skill workers also power the economy.
- Orrenius and Zavodny propose a more far-reaching and business-friendly reform: much greater focus on work visas over family visas, a mix of high-skill and low-skill, and an auction system to direct work visas to the companies that will use them most productively.
Disclaimer
CGD blog posts reflect the views of the authors, drawing on prior research and experience in their areas of expertise. CGD is a nonpartisan, independent organization and does not take institutional positions.