The EAGLE Act of 2023 makes major changes to how the U.S. hands out green cards (permanent residency) for workers and their families. Here's what it does in practical terms:

For employment-based green cards, the bill eliminates country-by-country caps that have created massive backlogs, particularly for workers from India and China. Instead, it sets up a nine-year transition period where visas are reserved for countries with lower demand, gradually phasing out these preferences. It also creates special protections for skilled workers in shortage occupations and allows family members of employment-based immigrants to get visas more easily.

The bill makes significant changes to the H-1B visa program (used for specialty occupations like tech and engineering). Employers must now post job openings publicly for at least 30 days before hiring H-1B workers, and they can't advertise positions exclusively for foreign workers. The bill increases penalties for employers who violate these rules and requires annual audits of large employers who rely heavily on H-1B workers. It also creates a new government website where all H-1B job postings must appear.

For family-sponsored immigration, the bill increases the per-country limits, meaning families won't have to wait as long to reunite. Additionally, it allows certain workers waiting for green cards to apply for permanent status while still working, and lets them change jobs more easily while their applications are pending. However, they must maintain wages comparable to American workers in similar positions. The bill also adds new fees for processing these applications and establishes stricter rules around employer compliance and worker protections.

EAGLE Act of 2023

Cramer, Kevin

Equal Access to Green cards for Legal Employment Act of 2023 or the EAGLE Act of 2023 This bill modifies requirements related to employment-based visas and addresses related issues. The 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 per-country cap for employment-based immigrant visas. The bill establishes transition rules for employment-based visas such as (1) 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, and (2) allotting a number of visas for professional nurses and physical therapists. The bill imposes additional requirements on an employer seeking an H-1B visa, such as prohibiting (1) an employer from advertising that a position is only open to H-1B applicants or that H-1B applicants are preferred, and (2) certain employers from having more than half of their employees as nonimmigrant visa workers. The Department of Labor shall create a publicly available website where an employer seeking an H-1B visa must post certain information about the open position. The bill also expands Labor's authority to review and investigate H-1B applications for fraud or misrepresentations. The bill also allows certain non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) to obtain lawful permanent resident status if the individual (1) is in the United States as a nonimmigrant, (2) has an approved immigrant visa petition, and (3) has waited at least two years for a visa.