House to Vote on H.R. 1044 Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019

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********UPDATE 7/10/19: House just passed H.R. 1044. Next step is the Senate version of the Bill, S. 386, which currently has 34 Cosponsors.

********UPDATE 7/10/19: House just completed debate on H.R. 1044. Later this afternoon, members will be recording their individual votes once debate finishes on 4 other bills******

 

This week, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act (now called H.R. 1044 instead of H.R. 392) using a fast-track process which requires 290 votes to pass.  It’s time to leave country of birth out of the employment-based immigration equation! With all the talk about a merit-based immigration system, let’s remind our legislators that our existing “merit-based” system has a simple fix that will distribute our employment-based green cards based on merit, not country of birth. It does not increase the number of people who will receive green cards, it simply levels the playing field so that our green cards are issued based on merit (the preference categories, EB-1 through EB-5). Why is it OK that a U.S. master’s degree holder born in India has to wait 9 years (although we all know it is more like 109 years), yet a person with the exact same degree but who was born in almost any other country does not have to wait at all? A merit-based system would say they should be treated equally. Now is the time to make that happen.

Below you will find instructions for sending an email to your Representative TODAY urging them to pass this important piece of legislation to modernize our legal immigration system. Please be sure to personalize your email to your unique circumstances. Ask your friends to send emails too!

 

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For Sending an Email to Your House Representative:

You can find the name and website of your Representative by going to https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative.  You can then click on your Representative’s website and find the button for Contact -> Email Me. When addressing your email, you can use the following format:

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Dear Representative (last name):

My name is __________, and I am writing this letter to urge you to pass H.R. 1044, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act. This bill does not increase the number of immigrants eligible to enter the United States, it simply ensures that eligibility is based on merit, not country of birth.

I am a _____job title_____ and have been living and working in the United States pursuant to a temporary work visa since ____date____. I began my journey towards lawful permanent residence in ___year of priority date____. I remain hopeful that I might finally achieve my goal of permanent residence in this country, but the per country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants keeps me stuck in limbo simply because of where I was born.

I want to contribute to this country. My work in the field of ___________helps _______describe the importance of your work to the US economy or society _______. I have done my best to comply with all the immigration rules of this country. I have been through ____ # of H-1B (or F-1, OPT, L-1, H-4, etc) ______ visa renewals over the years. Every time I want to travel to my home country, I have gone through a visa interview at a U.S. Consulate. The Department of Labor has already confirmed that my presence in the United States does not harm U.S. workers. I have a __master’s, bachelor’s____ degree in ___field of study___. Based on the statistics available, it is expected that I will have to wait 150 years for a green card to become available because I was born in ____. In contrast, an individual with the exact same education and job offer from almost any other country does not have any wait at all.

President Trump has recommended a merit-based immigration system where the highest-skilled are a priority. Our current employment-based immigration system already has a merit-based component based on the five preference categories. But, the per-country limit has turned it into a discriminatory process where preference is given based on country of birth.

The Senate has introduced similar legislation to eliminate the per-country cap and already has 15 cosponsors. The bill has also been endorsed by FWD.us, Compete America Coalition, the Information Technology Industry Council, Google, Walmart, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, The Heritage Foundation, La Raza, and many others. I urge you to join with thousands of other concerned individuals who are legally in this country and have waited patiently for so long to become lawful permanent residents. Please pass the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act . Treating people fairly and equally is part of America’s founding creed. Let my merit be the deciding factor, not my country of birth. Thank you for taking the time to read this email.

Sincerely,

 

____Name_______

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~ImmigrationGirl



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