EAGLE Act of America
EAGLE Act of America
Recently, the US House of Representatives has introduced a law to eliminate the per-country limit on employment-based green cards.
This law is known as the “EAGLE Act”. Earlier it was introduced with an aim to benefit Indian IT professionals who have been waiting for green cards for decades.
What is the EAGLE Act, 2021?
- EAGLE Act is also called “Equal Access to Green cards for Legal Employment Act”. It seeks to eliminate the 7 percent per country cap on employment-based immigrant visas. Efforts are also being made to increase the limit of 7 per cent per country on visas to 15 per cent through this act.
How will this help Indians?
- At the present time, due to the 7 percent per country limit, people from a country with a large population like India, who have exceptional ability and who can contribute to the US economy and can also create jobs, are denied visas, while a person with less qualification from a smaller country gets a visa. Thus, this new law will reduce the waiting time for Indian professionals.
Indian Diaspora in America
- Immigration from India to America began in the 19th century,when Indian immigrants started settling in communities along the west coast. They originally arrived in small numbers but increased in population as new opportunities opened up in the mid-20th century.
- As of 2019, more than 7 million Indian immigrants live in the US. Indian immigrants make up 16% percent of the foreign-origin population in the US. Thus, they are the second-largest immigrant group in the country after Mexico.
Source: Indian Express
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