Should Family Sponsored Immigrant Visas Only Go to Spouses and Children? (H.R. 1149)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is H.R. 1149?
(Updated August 26, 2021)
This bill would reduce the number of family-sponsored immigrants by eliminating the extended family visa categories and replacing them with a single preference category that includes only the spouses and children of permanent residents & citizens. The total number of family-sponsored immigrant visas would be set at about 88,000 each fiscal year with reductions made to account for people who were granted visas but didn’t depart the country or who became permanent residents.
A nonimmigrant visa would be created for adult, non-citizen parents of adult U.S. citizens that would last for five years and could be extended. The visa wouldn’t allow the parent to work or receive any public benefit, and would require that the U.S. citizen son or daughter has arranged for health insurance coverage during their parent’s presence in the country.
Argument in favor
The immigration system should end “chain migration” that lets lawful immigrants sponsor extended family members, and instead prioritize those visas on nuclear families.
Argument opposed
Visas that are currently available for extended family members of lawful permanent residents should remain in place, eliminating those visas and focusing on nuclear families is wrong.
Impact
Family members of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents; U.S. customs and immigration services.
Cost of H.R. 1149
A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.
Additional Info
In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) introduced this bill to “reform an antiquated immigration selection process and prioritize keeping nuclear families intact.” He also introduced this legislation during the last session of Congress, saying:
“Part of the problem the Nuclear Family Priority Act addresses is the false sense of assurance that legal status will be granted to the extended family of legal immigrants, regardless of their ability to contribute to our nation. This legislation does not hinder the efforts of legal immigrants to reunite with their immediate families in America, but instead prevents abuse of our overwhelmed immigration system.”
This legislation has the support of 15 Republican cosponsors in the House.
Of Note: Under current law family sponsored immigrant visas are limited to 226,000 per year.
Media:
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Sponsoring Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) Press Release
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Law360 (Previous Version)
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NumbersUSA (In Favor - Previous Version)
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ThinkProgress (In Favor - Previous Version)
Summary by Eric Revell
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