The U.S. Senate's so-called "Gang of 8," including 4 Democrats and 4 Republicans, have formally filed their bill for comprehensive immigration reform.
Some of the major points of the bill include:
- "Path to Citizenship" for current undocumented aliens who arrived before Jan 1, 2012, including possible green card within 10 years; "Dreamer" youth can obtain green card in 5 years
- Replaces the green card lottery with a points-based system
- Eliminates quotas per country
- U.S. companies must implement "E-verify"
- Cap on H-1B visas would double from 65,000 to 110,000
- Raises age to 21 for stepchildren and 18 for adoptions
- New Guest Worker "W-visa" for lower-skilled workers
See the full text of the bill here
We will be following the progress of the latest immigration reform efforts and will keep you updated.