Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York) plans to introduce a bill today aimed at making an additional 55,000 green cards available annually to foreign-born graduates with Master’s degrees or higher from American universities in science, math, engineering or technology (STEM) fields.  This bill is similar to another high-skilled immigration bill introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) in the House of Representatives except that Smith’s bill calls for an elimination of the Diversity Visa (DV) lottery.

Smith’s bill has come under fire from House Democrats who believe that the DV lottery provides an additional means of legal immigration to the U.S. that should not be rescinded.  The DV program makes 55,000 visas available to people who have met certain eligibility requirements and come from countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S.  The visas are allocated by random selection.

Schumer’s bill — called the Benefits to Research and American Innovation through Nationality Statutes (BRAINS) Act — would create a two-year pilot program that would provide 55,000 new green cards for STEM graduates who have a job offer in the U.S. for a STEM-based position.  Graduates with STEM degrees from for-profit colleges or Internet-based university programs will not be eligible for this new visa program.

There is still a chance that neither of these bills will even be voted on, as there is very limited time remaining in this session of Congress.  Orner & O’Brien will continue to provide updates as they become available.