Republican Congressman Kevin Yoder from Kansas, who on Wednesday became the lead sponsor of the previously Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, argued that the existing country-specific quota for Green card is unjust for people from countries like India and China.
A report released this week said that the average wait time for an Indian technology professional or those seeking green card under the employment category is more than 12 years.
The Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act was previously introduced by former-Representative Jason Chaffetz, with Yoder as an original cosponsor.
Currently, 230 Members of Congress are signed on as cosponsors of the bill, with more than 100 Members from each party in support.
On Wednesday, Yoder became its lead sponsor.
The Act reforms the legal immigration system by eliminating the existing, arbitrary per-country percentage caps that have caused backlogs in the employment-based green card system, he said.
"Under the existing per-country percentage caps, large nations like India and China, which account for more than 40 percent of the world's population, receive the same amount of visas as Greenland, a country that accounts for one-one thousandth of a per cent of the world's population," he said.
"With about 95 per cent of the employment-based green card applicants already living and working in America on temporary visas, the vast majority of applicants are simply waiting in line to get approved for permanent residence.
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