Full Breakdown
Senate Bill Proposes Overhaul of U.S. Green Card System
By Drooid · · How we work
Bill Overview and Legislative Path
Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama has introduced the Americans First Immigration Act, a Senate proposal that would dramatically reshape legal immigration. The bill eliminates the Diversity Visa Lottery, bars new green-card routes for parents of U.S. citizens and several family-preference categories, and creates a points-based system for employment-based applicants. It mirrors a House version introduced in April by Republican Representative Barry Moore of Alabama and co-sponsored by Representatives Glenn Grothman, Wesley Hunt, and Troy Nehls, while adding expanded immigration attestations, tougher employer penalties, and revised transition rules for people already in the system.
Major Provisions and Numerical Limits
- Diversity Visa Lottery: eliminated; a separate annual allocation of 3,000 visas for religious workers is created.
- Family-based categories: parents are removed from the immediate-relative category; only spouses and children of U.S. citizens remain, and most family-preference categories are eliminated.
- Employment-based points system: an annual worldwide ceiling of 192,000 visas, reduced by the number of individuals not detained or released despite mandatory-detention provisions. Applicants must have a U.S. job offer, score at least 16 points, demonstrate English proficiency in the fifth decile, and be aged 18-51.
- Salary threshold: generally 200 % of the median state wage (or 150 % for certain U.S. STEM doctorates or medical degrees). Higher salaries can earn up to 35 points; extraordinary ability is fixed at 25 points. Additional points are awarded for English proficiency, age, qualifying military service, and extraordinary achievement.
- Conditional permanent residence: selected immigrants and their spouses/children receive conditional status for two years, which can be revoked for receiving means-tested public benefits, specified criminal convictions, or loss of qualifying employment.
- Employer penalties: civil fines up to $25,000 for a willful violation, $50,000 when a violation leads to a U.S. worker’s layoff, and a pattern or practice fine of at least $250,000, up to six months imprisonment, or both.
Political Context and Legislative Outlook
The House departed Washington on September 16 for a pre-election recess and is not expected to resume regular business until after the November 3 midterm elections. Republicans hold narrow majorities in both chambers—218-214-1 in the House (with two vacancies) and 53-45-2 in the Senate—making the bill’s passage uncertain.
Official Statements & Responses
Senator Tuberville’s release frames the current system as a “free-for-all” that fails to evaluate who is admitted, emphasizing the need for newcomers to “contribute to our society” and to “follow our laws.”
Verbatim Quotes
- “Our current immigration system does little to evaluate the type of people we let in—it’s a free-for-all,” — Tommy Tuberville, republican senator
- “My bill draws a hard line—the days of putting illegals, random diversity lotteries, and foreign labor ahead of American workers are over,” — Representative Barry Moore
