EAGLE Act of 2022

IB Union Calendar No. 267 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3648 [Report No. 117–353] To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the per-country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, to increase the per-country numerical limitation for family-sponsored immigrants, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 1, 2021 Ms. LOFGREN (for herself, Mr. CURTIS, Mr. NADLER, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Ms. BASS, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. VELA, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. WELCH, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. CORREA, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. YARMUTH, and Mr. KHANNA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary JUNE 7, 2022 Additional sponsors: Mr. EMMER, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. RUSH, Mr. TONKO, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. BACON, Ms. ROSS, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. STEVENS, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mrs. FLETCHER, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BUCSHON, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. CROW, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. HOULAHAN, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. WILD, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALO- NEY of New York, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Mr. TRONE, Mr. BERA, Mr. HIMES, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. PETERS, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mrs. BEATTY, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. ALLRED, Mr. TIMMONS, Ms. DEAN, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. CARSON, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. KILMER, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. PHILLIPS, Ms. SPANBERGER, Mr. KIND, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. STANSBURY, Ms. KUSTER, Ms. CHU, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, and Ms. PRESSLEY VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 08, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3648.RH H3648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3648 RH JUNE 7, 2022 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 1, 2021] A BILL To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the per-country numerical limitation for employment- based immigrants, to increase the per-country numerical limitation for family-sponsored immigrants, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 08, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3648.RH H3648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3648 RH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Equal Access to Green 4 cards for Legal Employment Act of 2022’’ or the ‘‘EAGLE 5 Act of 2022’’. 6 SEC. 2. NUMERICAL LIMITATION TO ANY SINGLE FOREIGN 7 STATE. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(a)(2) of the Immigra- 9 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(2)) is amended 10 to read as follows: 11 ‘‘(2) PER COUNTRY LEVELS FOR FAMILY-SPON- 12 SORED IMMIGRANTS.—Subject to paragraphs (3) and 13 (4), the total number of immigrant visas made avail- 14 able to natives of any single foreign state or depend- 15 ent area under section 203(a) in any fiscal year may 16 not exceed 15 percent (in the case of a single foreign 17 state) or 2 percent (in the case of a dependent area) 18 of the total number of such visas made available 19 under such section in that fiscal year.’’. 20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 202 of such 21 Act (8 U.S.C. 1152) is amended— 22 (1) in subsection (a)— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 08, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3648.RH H3648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3648 RH (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘both 1 subsections (a) and (b) of section 203’’ and in- 2 serting ‘‘section 203(a)’’; and 3 (B) by striking paragraph (5); and 4 (2) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol- 5 lows: 6 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULES FOR COUNTRIES AT CEILING.— 7 If the total number of immigrant visas made available 8 under section 203(a) to natives of any single foreign state 9 or dependent area will exceed the numerical limitation 10 specified in subsection (a)(2) in any fiscal year, immigrant 11 visas shall be allotted to such natives under section 203(a) 12 (to the extent practicable and otherwise consistent with this 13 section and section 203) in a manner so that, except as 14 provided in subsection (a)(4), the proportion of the visas 15 made available under each of paragraphs (1) through (4) 16 of section 203(a) is equal to the ratio of the total visas made 17 available under the respective paragraph to the total visas 18 made available under section 203(a).’’. 19 (c) COUNTRY-SPECIFIC OFFSET.—Section 2 of the Chi- 20 nese Student Protection Act of 1992 (8 U.S.C. 1255 note) 21 is amended— 22 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘(as defined in 23 subsection (e))’’; 24 (2) by striking subsection (d); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 08, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3648.RH H3648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3648 RH (3) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection 1 (d). 2 (d) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by this sec- 3 tion shall apply beginning on the date that is the first day 4 of the second fiscal year beginning after the date of the en- 5 actment of this Act. 6 (e) TRANSITION RULES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED IM- 7 MIGRANTS.—Notwithstanding title II of the Immigration 8 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.), the following 9 transition rules shall apply to employment-based immi- 10 grants, beginning on the date referred to in subsection (d): 11 (1) RESERVED VISAS FOR LOWER ADMISSION 12 STATES.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—For the first nine fiscal 14 years after the date referred to in subsection (d), 15 immigrant visas under each of paragraphs (2) 16 and (3) of section 203(b) of the Immigration and 17 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) shall be re- 18 served and allocated to immigrants who are na- 19 tives of a foreign state or dependent area that is 20 not one of the two foreign states or dependent 21 areas with the highest demand for immigrant 22 visas as follows: 23 (i) For the first fiscal year after such 24 date, 30 percent of such visas. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 08, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3648.RH H3648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3648 RH (ii) For the second fiscal year after 1 such date, 25 percent of such visas. 2 (iii) For the third fiscal year after 3 such date, 20 percent of such visas. 4 (iv) For the fourth fiscal year after 5 such date, 15 percent of such visas. 6 (v) For the fifth and sixth fiscal years 7 after such date, 10 percent of such visas. 8 (vi) For the seventh, eighth, and ninth 9 fiscal years after such date, 5 percent of 10 such visas. 11 (B) ADDITIONAL RESERVED VISAS FOR NEW 12 ARRIVALS.—For each of the first nine fiscal 13 years after the date referred to in subsection (d), 14 an additional 5.75 percent of the immigrant 15 visas made available under each of paragraphs 16 (2) and (3) of section 203(b) of the Immigration 17 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) shall be 18 allocated to immigrants who are natives of a for- 19 eign state or dependent area that is not one of 20 the two foreign states or dependent areas with 21 the highest demand for immigrant visas. Such 22 additional visas shall be allocated in the fol- 23 lowing order of priority: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 08, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3648.RH H3648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3648 RH (i) FAMILY MEMBERS ACCOMPANYING 1 OR FOLLOWING TO JOIN.—Visas reserved 2 under this subparagraph shall be allocated 3 to family members described in section 4 203(d) of the Immigration and Nationality 5 Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(d)) who are accom- 6 panying or following to join a principal 7 beneficiary who is in the United States and 8 has been granted an immigrant visa or ad- 9 justment of status to lawful permanent resi- 10 dence under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 11 203(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 12 Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)). 13 (ii) NEW PRINCIPAL ARRIVALS.—If at 14 the end of the second quarter of any fiscal 15 year, the total number of visas reserved 16 under this subparagraph exceeds the number 17 of qualified immigrants described in clause 18 (i), such visas may also be allocated, for the 19 remainder of the fiscal year, to individuals 20 (and their family members described in sec- 21 tion 203(d) of the Immigration and Nation- 22 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(d))) who are seek- 23 ing an immigrant visa under paragraph 24 (2) or (3) of section 203(b) of the Immigra- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 08, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3648.RH H3648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3648 RH tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) 1 to enter the United States as new immi- 2 grants, and who have not resided or worked 3 in the United States at any point in the 4 four-year period immediately preceding the 5 filing of the immigrant visa petition. 6 (iii) OTHER NEW ARRIVALS.—If at the 7 end of the third quarter of any fiscal year, 8 the total number of visas reserved under this 9 subparagraph exceeds the number of quali- 10 fied immigrants described in clauses (i) and 11 (ii), such visas may be also be allocated, for 12 the remainder of the fiscal year, to other in- 13 dividuals (and their family members de- 14 scribed in section 203(d) of the Immigration 15 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(d))) 16 who are seeking an immigrant visa under 17 paragraph (2) or (3) of section 203(b) of the 18 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 19 1153(b)). 20 (2) RESERVED VISAS FOR SHORTAGE OCCUPA- 21 TIONS.— 22 (A) IN GENERAL.—For each of the first 23 seven fiscal years after the date referred to in 24 subsection (d), not fewer than 4,400 of the immi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 08, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3648.RH H3648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3648 RH grant visas made available under section 1 203(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality 2 Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(3)), and not reserved 3 under paragraph (1), shall be allocated to immi- 4 grants who are seeking admission to the United 5 States to work in an occupation described in sec- 6 tion 656.5(a) of title 20, Code of Federal Regula- 7 tions (or any successor regulation). 8 (B) FAMILY MEMBERS.—Family members 9 who are accompanying or following to join a 10 principal beneficiary described in subparagraph 11 (A) shall be entitled to a visa in the same status 12 and in the same order of consideration as such 13 principal beneficiary, but such visa shall not be 14 counted against the 4,400 immigrant visas re- 15 served under such subparagraph. 16 (3) PER-COUNTRY LEVELS.—For each of the first 17 nine fiscal years after the date referred to in sub- 18 section (d)— 19 (A) not more than 25 percent (in the case 20 of a single foreign state) or 2 percent (in the case 21 of a dependent area) of the total number of visas 22 reserved under paragraph (1) shall be allocated 23 to immigrants who are natives of any single for- 24 eign state or dependent area; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 08, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3648.RH H3648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3648 RH (B) not more than 85 percent of the immi- 1 grant visas made available under each of para- 2 graphs (2) and (3) of section 203(b) of the Immi- 3 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) 4 and not reserved under paragraph (1), may be 5 allocated to immigrants who are native to any 6 single foreign state or dependent area. 7 (4) SPECIAL RULE TO PREVENT UNUSED 8 VISAS.—If, at the end of the third quarter of any fis- 9 cal year, the Secretary of State determines that the 10 application of paragraphs (1) through (3) would re- 11 sult in visas made available under paragraph (2) or 12 (3) of section 203(b) of the Immigration and Nation- 13 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) going unused in that fis- 14 cal year, such visas may be allocated during the re- 15 mainder of such fiscal year without regard to para- 16 graphs (1) through (3). 17 (5) RULES FOR CHARGEABILITY AND DEPEND- 18 ENTS.—Section 202(b) of the Immigration and Na- 19 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(b)) shall apply in deter- 20 mining the foreign state to which an alien is charge- 21 able, and section 203(d) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 22 1153(d)) shall apply in allocating immigrant visas to 23 family members, for purposes of this subsection. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 08, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3648.RH H3648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3648 RH (6) DETERMINATION OF TWO FOREIGN STATES 1 OR DEPENDENT AREAS WITH HIGHEST DEMAND.—The 2 two foreign states or dependent areas with the highest 3 demand for immigrant visas, as referred to in this 4 subsection, are the two foreign states or dependent 5 areas with the largest aggregate number beneficiaries 6 of petitions for an immigrant visa under section 7 203(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) that have been approved, but where 9 an immigrant visa is not yet available, as determined 10 by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 11 Secretary of Homeland Security. 12 SEC. 3. POSTING AVAILABLE POSITIONS THROUGH THE DE- 13 PARTMENT OF LABOR. 14 (a) DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WEBSITE.—Section 15 212(n) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 16 1182(n)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(6) For purposes of complying with paragraph 18 (1)(C): 19 ‘‘(A) Not later than 180 days after the date of 20 the enactment of the Equal Access to Green cards for 21 Legal Employment Act of 2022, the Secretary of 22 Labor shall establish a searchable internet website for 23 posting positions in accordance with paragraph 24 (1)(C) that is available to the public without charge, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Jun 08, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3648.RH H3648 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3648 RH except that the Secretary may delay the launch of 1 such website for a single period identified by the Sec- 2 retary by notice in the Federal Register that shall not 3 exceed 30 days. 4 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may work with private com- 5 panies or nonprofit organizations to develop and op- 6 erate the internet website described in subparagraph [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]