H.R. 1044, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act is a bipartisan effort to make our legal immigration process more fair, efficient, and better able to keep world-class talent in the United States. Over the last decade, this legislation has failed to be signed into law, repeatedly buried in committees and blocked by leadership despite having overwhelming support on both sides of the aisle. That could change in the 116th Congress. Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Ken Buck (R-CO), alongside Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Kamala Harris (D-CA), have shown strong bipartisan leadership by re-introducing the legislation; as the House Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee’s Chair and Ranking Member, respectively, Reps. Lofgren and Buck have the authority to move the bill through the committee process immediately and urge Speaker Pelosi to put the bill on the floor.
If the legislation stalls once again, however, new rules passed by the majority party could be used to bypass the gridlock and bring the bill to the floor for a vote.