A bill that would have helped H-1B visa workers from India get green cards was so overwhelmed by the opposition that it was pulled Wednesday from consideration by U.S. House Democratic leadership before a vote could be held.
The bill's chief sponsor, U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), sent a letter Thursday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi protesting the decision, requesting that she reconsider and bring the bill forward for a vote. But it's hard to see how Lofgren will get the votes for passage.
Republican leadership opposed the bill, and there was also dissent among Democrats, particularly from the Congressional Black Caucus.
The primary beneficiaries of the Eagle Act are high-skilled workers from India. No country gets more than 7% of the available employment-based permanent residency visas annually. A path for many of these workers is to first get an H-1B visa. Because of the 7% per-country cap, workers from India, who make up close to 75% of H1-B visa holders, can face wait times extending many years for a green card.
Removing the per-country cap created a first-come, first-serve line, which Lofgren argued was a "fair and equitable" approach. "Our immigration laws should treat everyone equally and should not discriminate based on a foreign national's country of birth," Lofgren said in her letter to Pelosi.
But opponents argued that the Eagle Act helps Silicon Valley firms, which Lofgren represents, while hurting other industries, such as healthcare.
Eliminating the...
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