Immigration News – President Trump Backs RAISE Act

What is The RAISE Act?

• The RAISE Act replaces the current permanent employment-visa framework with a skills-based system that rewards applicants based on their individual merits.
• The system rewards education, English-language ability, high-paying job offers, past achievements, and entrepreneurial initiative.
• This system is similar to the merit-based immigration systems used by Canada and Australia.
• The RAISE Act reduces overall immigration numbers to limit low-skilled and unskilled labor entering the United States.
• The RAISE Act prioritizes immediate family members of United States residents, including spouses and minor children, but ends preferences for extended family members and adult children.
• United States citizens needing to take care of elderly parents can receive renewable, temporary visas for them.
• The RAISE Act eliminates the outdated Diversity Visa lottery system, which serves questionable economic and humanitarian interests.
• The RAISE Act limits permanent resident status for refugees to 50,000 a year, in line with the 13-year average.