Public Description:
S. 1350 would reallocate two-thirds (i.e., 36,667) of the visas available for the visa lottery to aliens holding advanced degrees in science, math, technology, or engineering; would require the State Department – in consultation with the Departments of Commerce and Labor – to make annual determinations as to which of those degrees will “provide immigrants with the knowledge and skills…most needed to meet anticipated workforce needs and protect…[U.S.] economic security”; would require immigrant visas to be issued randomly if this determination is not made, but if the determination is made and the number of eligible qualified immigrants who apply for an immigrant visa is: (1) greater than 36,667, would require DHS to issue immigrant visas to all of them, but in a strictly random order; or (2) not greater than 36,667, would require DHS to issue immigrant visas to eligible qualified immigrants with the degrees determined to be most useful to our “economic security” and must issue any remaining visas to other eligible qualified immigrants with other advanced math/science degrees in a strictly random order; would authorize the granting of these visas regardless of fiscal year (i.e., if an application is pending at the end of a fiscal year, the applicant may be granted a visa nonetheless).
