19 Feb US Citizenship Act 2021 Introduced to the House & Senate
On February 18, 2021, Representative Sánchez (D-CA) introduced the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 in the House (see US Citizenship Act House Bill 16 Feb 21) “to provide an earned path to citizenship, to address the root causes of migration and responsibly manage the southern border, and to reform the immigrant visa system, and for other purposes.”
This bill embodies the legislative proposals in Biden Harris Fact Sheet on Citizenship Act 2021 that President Biden announced on day one of his new administration.
The US Citizenship Act 2021 sets out an ambitious reform to the US immigration system including:
- Growing the US economy and attract highly skilled and professional workers to the US with reforms to employment-based immigration, increasing the number of temporary and permanent visas and making it easier for recent graduates of US advanced degree programs in STEM fields to stay in the US and eliminate other unnecessary hurdles for employment-based immigration.
- Creating a pilot program to stimulate regional economic development, giving the Department of Homeland Security the authority to issue green cards based on macroeconomic conditions, and incentivizes higher wages for temporary, high-skilled visas to prevent unfair competition with US workers.
- Creating an earned path to citizenship for the nearly 11 million undocumented individuals which includes many Irish citizens living in the who do not have US visa status. The Biden administration proposes allowing those without status in the US to apply for a temporary visa and a green card after five years which will lead to US citizenship.
- Keeping families together by removing the roadblocks like the three and ten-year bars to re-enter the US that are keeping many families apart.
- Clearing US visa backlogs to reduce wait times and eliminate per-country visa caps.
- Increasing Diversity Visa Lottery visas to 80,000 from 55,000 immigrants from underrepresented countries including Ireland.
- Prioritizing “Smart Border Controls” to guard US borders more effectively.
- Addressing the root causes of migration to prevent future border crises.
This posting is for informational purposes and not intended to be legal advice. If you have questions about the US Citizenship Act 2021, please contact Janice Flynn at janice@flynnhodkinson.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]