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H.R. 2278: RAISE Act

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H.R. 2278: RAISE Act

116th Congress · introduced 2019-04-10 · Immigration · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2019-04-10 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Rooney, Francis [R-FL-19] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. 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

RAISE Act

Plain summary

Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act or the RAISE Act This bill eliminates the diversity visa program, replaces employment-based immigration programs with a points-based system, and imposes various limits on various types of immigration. Aliens that reach the minimum number of points may apply for a points-based visa. Points are awarded for various characteristics including age, English language proficiency, education level, and investments made in the United States. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shall periodically invite the highest scoring applicants to petition for visas. The bill limits eliminates various preference allocations (visa categories subject to various annual caps) for family-sponsored immigrant visas, such as those for the adult children of U.S. citizens. Only the spouses and children of U.S. citizens shall qualify as immediate relatives , whereas currently parents also qualify (visas for immediate relatives are not subject to direct numerical caps). The bill creates a nonimmigrant visa for such alien parents. The bill reduces the baseline annual cap for family-sponsored visas from 480,000 to 88,000 and revises the methods for calculating the cap. It also imposes a limit of 50,000 refugees admitted in any fiscal year. An alien who received needs-based public benefits shall not be naturalized as a U.S. citizen until the individual who signed the affidavit of support for the alien has reimbursed the federal government for such benefits. The bill imposes various reporting requirements related to the points-based system.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), 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.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

RAISE Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Arguments against (opponents)

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Alternatives

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Rooney, Francis [R-FL-19] · 10 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ), Scott Perry (R-PA), W. Gregory Steube (R-FL), Ralph Norman (R-SC)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
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).
Fiscal year
The 12-month period a government uses for its budget. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends. Most states use July 1 to June 30.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong116-hr2278 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116