H.R. 1044: Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2020

116th Congress · introduced 2019-02-07 · Immigration · Latest: Message on Senate action sent to the House.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2019-02-07 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-19] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: 1 recorded vote in our records. Latest: House roll call 437 (2019): On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, HR1044 (2019-07-10), Passed. See all
Where it stands now: Message on Senate action sent to the House. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2020

Plain summary

Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2020 This bill modifies requirements related to employment-based visas, changes annual limits on certain visas, and contains other related provisions. The bill increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from 7% of the total number of such visas available that year to 15%, eliminates the 7% cap for employment-based immigrant visas, and limits the percentage of employment-based visas which may go to an alien on an H-1B (specialty profession) or H-4 (family member of H-1B visa holder) nonimmigrant visa. The bill establishes various transition rules for employment-based visas such as (1) reserving a percentage of EB-2 (workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability) and EB-3 (skilled and other workers) visas for individuals not from the two countries with the largest number of recipients of such visas, (2) reserving a percentage of visas for certain immigrants with approved backlogged petitions, and (3) allotting a number of visas for eligible professional nurses and physical therapists. The bill removes an offset that reduced the number of visas for individuals from China and also bars an alien affiliated with China's military forces from obtaining permanent legal resident status. The bill also imposes additional requirements on an employer seeking an H-1B visa, such as (1) requiring an employer to provide certain information in a new application for such a visa, such as the qualifications and application process for the position; (2) prohibiting an employer from advertising that the open position is only available to an H-1B applicant or that an H-1B applicant is preferred; and (3) prohibiting an employer of a certain size from having more than half of its employees as H-1B or other nonimmigrant visa workers. The Department of Labor shall create a publicly-available website where an employer seeking an H-1B visa shall post certain information about the open position to be filled by the H-1B worker. The bill also expands Labor's authority to review and investigate H-1B applications for fraud or misrepresentations of material fact, whereas currently Labor is generally only authorized by statute to review applications for completeness and obvious inaccuracies. The bill also increases civil monetary fines for certain visa-related violations. The bill also establishes a mechanism allowing an eligible alien (and the alien's dependents) to obtain authorization to work or travel outside of the United States, if the alien has an approved immigrant visa petition but is awaiting an immigrant visa to become available. Generally, this mechanism shall be available to an alien on an employment-based nonimmigrant visa who files an application with the Department of Homeland Security at least two years after the immigrant visa petition was approved.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2020

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Passed Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-19] · 311 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Don Bacon (R-NE), Andy Barr (R-KY), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Ami Bera (D-CA), Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Ken Calvert (R-CA), André Carson (D-IN), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Steve Cohen (D-TN), James Comer (R-KY), Jim Costa (D-CA), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Jason Crow (D-CO), John R. Curtis (R-UT), Sharice Davids (D-KS), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Tom Emmer (R-MN), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Ron Estes (R-KS), Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Bill Foster (D-IL), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Michael Guest (R-MS), Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Josh Harder (D-CA), J. French Hill (R-AR), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Rick Larsen (D-WA) and 251 more.

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-19] reported raising $2.0 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

Recorded votes

House roll call 437 (2019): On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, HR1044 (2019-07-10): Passed

Words on this page, explained (5)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.
Statute: A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116hr1044.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/hr>

Record fed-us-cong116-hr1044 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116