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S. 386 116th Congress Senate

Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019

Official title: A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the per-country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, to increase the per-coun… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the per-country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, to increase the per-country numerical limitation for family-sponsored immigrants, and for other purposes.

Introduced: February 7, 2019 Introduced by: Mike Lee Republican · Utah See on congress.gov
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This bill died when the 116th Congress ended
It never became law before the 116th Congress (2019–2020) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Feb 7, 2019
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Feb 7, 2019
Introduced in Senate
 Amendments to this bill 1

Amendments propose changes to this bill. Members vote on amendments separately before the final bill vote. An agreed amendment becomes part of the bill; a failed amendment does not.

AmendmentSponsorPurposeStatusLatest action
SAMDT 906 Grassley, Chuck To include provisions relating to the H-1B program and labor condition applications. No recorded outcome Jul 9, 2019
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 Latest action February 7, 2019

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019

This bill increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from 7% of the total number of such visas available that year to 15%, and eliminates the 7% cap for employment-based immigrant visas. It also removes an offset that reduced the number of visas for individuals from China.

The bill also establishes transition rules for employment-based visas from FY2020-FY2022, by reserving a percentage of EB-2 (workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability) and EB-3 (skilled and other workers) visas for individuals not from the two countries with the largest number of recipients of such visas. Of the unreserved visas, not more than 85% shall be allotted to immigrants from any single country.

 Related & companion bills 4
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Cosponsors 26
All 26 Democratic 12 Republican 13
D
Blumenthal, Richard
Connecticut · Oct 31, 2019
 D
Cortez Masto, Catherine
Nevada · Jun 26, 2019
 D
Smith, Tina
Minnesota · Jun 19, 2019
 R
Murkowski, Lisa
Alaska · Jun 12, 2019
 R
Ernst, Joni
Iowa · May 14, 2019
 R
Cornyn, John
Texas · May 13, 2019
 R
Young, Todd
Indiana · May 7, 2019
 D
Warner, Mark R.
Virginia · Apr 11, 2019
 D
Coons, Christopher A.
Delaware · Mar 28, 2019
 R
Risch, James E.
Idaho · Mar 28, 2019
 D
Klobuchar, Amy
Minnesota · Mar 26, 2019
 R
Hoeven, John
North Dakota · Mar 25, 2019
 R
Crapo, Mike
Idaho · Feb 25, 2019
 D
Duckworth, Tammy
Illinois · Feb 25, 2019
 R
Lankford, James
Oklahoma · Feb 25, 2019
McSally, Martha
· Feb 25, 2019
 R
Wicker, Roger F.
Mississippi · Feb 25, 2019
 D
Baldwin, Tammy
Wisconsin · Feb 7, 2019
 D
Bennet, Michael F.
Colorado · Feb 7, 2019
 D
Cantwell, Maria
Washington · Feb 7, 2019
 R
Collins, Susan M.
Maine · Feb 7, 2019
 R
Cotton, Tom
Arkansas · Feb 7, 2019
 R
Cramer, Kevin
North Dakota · Feb 7, 2019
 D
Merkley, Jeff
Oregon · Feb 7, 2019
 R
Moran, Jerry
Kansas · Feb 7, 2019
 D
Wyden, Ron
Oregon · Feb 7, 2019
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 386: Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-386/
MLA
"S. 386: Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-386/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 386, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-386/.
Markdown link
[S. 386: Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-386/)
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