The bill, which will move on to the House floor, also restricts H-1B employment to no more than half of an employer’s workforce, a provision aimed at the heaviest users of the visa, offshore outsourcing firms. The bill doesn’t expand the number of H-1B visas or employment-based visas issued per year, but it will reshuffle how green cards are issued.
“Because of the per-country caps, foreign nationals from some countries must wait decades in the immigrant visa backlog,” said Committee Chair Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y. “In some instances, the backlog is so long that the promise of a green card is practically illusory.”