This bill changes parts of the Immigration and Nationality Act that deal with family-based immigration. It removes "parents" from the definition of "immediate relatives," leaving only children and spouses in that category. It limits family-sponsored immigrant visas for spouses and children of lawful permanent residents to the worldwide level set in section 201(c). The bill sets the worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants in section 201(c) to "88,000; minus the number computed under paragraph (2)," and removes several related paragraphs. The bill also revises how visa numbers are allocated across countries, including a rule that 75% of family-sponsored visas under section 203(a) are issued without regard to per-country limits and the remaining 25% are subject to a defined ceiling. Several other sections are updated to conform to these changes.
The bill creates a new nonimmigrant category for parents of U.S. citizens who are at least 21 years old (section 101(a)(15)(W)). That nonimmigrant status has rules: an initial authorized admission of 5 years, possible extensions while the citizen child lives in the United States, no authorization to work, and ineligibility for federal, state, or local public benefits. The citizen child is made responsible for supporting the parent and must arrange health insurance for the parent at no cost to the parent. The bill takes effect on the first day of the second fiscal year after enactment and says certain petitions and visa applications for family categories eliminated by the bill that are filed after the bill's introduction in the House are invalid.
The bill's title and text state its purpose is to make changes related to family-sponsored immigrants and to reduce the number of such immigrants. Provisions in the bill focus on narrowing immediate-relative status, capping family-sponsored visas, and creating a conditional nonimmigrant route for parents of adult U.S. citizens.
No publicly available information.