Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011
Latest action · Jan 23, 2012 Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 293.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedSep 22, 2011
- Passed HouseNov 29, 2011
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on November 18, 2011. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) eliminate the per country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, and (2) increase the per country numerical limitation for family based immigrants from 7% to 15% of the total number of family-sponsored visas.
Amends the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 to eliminate the provision requiring the reduction of annual Chinese (PRC) immigrant visas to offset status adjustments under such Act.
Sets forth the following transition period for employment-based second and third preference (EB-2 and EB-3) immigrant visas: (1) for FY2012, 15% of such visas allotted to natives of countries other than the two countries with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2010; (2) for FY2013, 10% of such visas allotted in each category to natives of countries other than the two with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2011; and (3) for FY2014, 10% of such visas allotted in each category to natives of countries other than the two with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2012.
Sets forth the following per country distribution rules: (1) for transition period visas, not more than 25% of the total number of EB-2 and EB-3 visas for natives of a single country; and (2) for non-transition period visas, not more than 85% of EB-2 and EB-3 visas for natives of a single country.
Provides that the amendments made by this Act will take place as if enacted on September 30, 2011, and shall apply beginning in FY2012.Recorded votes 1
Newest first. Open one to see how every member voted.
| Roll call | Question | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House 860 | On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended | Passed389–15 | Nov 29, 2011 |
Cosponsors 11
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Sep 22, 2011 to Nov 18, 2011; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-TX | Lamar Smith | Original | Sep 22, 2011 |
| R-AR | Tim Griffin | Oct 11, 2011 | |
| D-CA | Zoe Lofgren | Oct 25, 2011 | |
| D-NJ | Rush Holt | Oct 31, 2011 | |
| R-VA | Bob Goodlatte | Nov 4, 2011 | |
| D-IL | Luis V. Gutierrez | Nov 4, 2011 | |
| D-IL | Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. | Nov 15, 2011 | |
| R-PA | Glenn Thompson | Nov 16, 2011 | |
| D-NY | Carolyn B. Maloney | Nov 18, 2011 | |
| D-VA | James P. Moran | Nov 18, 2011 | |
| R-AZ | Jeff Flake | Nov 18, 2011 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Sep 22, 2011Markup Oct 27, 2011Reported Nov 18, 2011 |
| Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee | Referred Sep 23, 2011 |
Actions 17
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 23, 2012Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 293.
- Dec 17, 2011Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
- Nov 30, 2011Received in the Senate.
- Nov 29, 2011Mr. Chaffetz moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Nov 29, 2011Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H7903-7905)
- Nov 29, 2011DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3012.
- Nov 29, 2011At the conclusion of debate, the chair put the question on the motion to suspend the rules. Mr. Cohen objected to the vote on the grounds that a quorum was not present. Further proceedings on the motion were postponed. The point of no quorum was withdrawn.
- Nov 29, 2011Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H7916-7917)
- Nov 29, 2011Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 389 - 15 (Roll no. 860). (text: CR H7903)
- Nov 29, 2011Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Nov 18, 2011Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 112-292.
- Nov 18, 2011Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 193.
- Oct 27, 2011Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Oct 27, 2011Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- Sep 23, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement.
- Sep 22, 2011Introduced in House
- Sep 22, 2011Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
In the Congressional Record 7
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4889 | Chuck Grassley R-IA | Jul 11, 2012 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S1921 | Richard J. Durbin D-IL | Mar 21, 2012 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S13 | Harry Reid D-NV | Jan 23, 2012 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S8782 | Harry Reid D-NV | Dec 17, 2011 |
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E2175 | Jeff Flake R-AZ | Dec 2, 2011 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Nov 30, 2011H.R. 3012, Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants ActCost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on October 27, 2011
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H6414.
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 112-136 | DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY288 pages | Judiciary Committee | Jul 19, 2012 |
| Serial No. 112-16 | HEARING TO REVIEW PENDING FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS141 pages | Agriculture Committee | May 12, 2011 |
CRS reports 2
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 2
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R42530 | Immigration of Foreign Nationals with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Degrees Archived | Report | Dec 17, 2012 |
| R42560 | Mexican Migration to the United States: Policy and Trends Archived | Report | Jun 7, 2012 |
Related bills 5
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1857 | Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act | Identical bill | Nov 10, 2011 |
| S 1866 | AGREE Act | Related bill | Nov 16, 2011 |
| S 1983 | Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011 | Related bill | Dec 13, 2011 |
| S 3217 | Startup Act 2.0 | Related bill | May 22, 2012 |
| HR 3476 | AGREE Act | Related bill | Jan 12, 2012 |
Titles 4
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- 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.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act
- Short Titles as Reported to House
- Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011
- Short Titles as Passed House
- Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Immigration.
Text 5
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 23, 2012Placed on Calendar Senate
- Dec 17, 2011Received in Senate
- Nov 29, 2011Engrossed in House
- Nov 18, 2011Reported in House
- Sep 22, 2011Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
