18 May,2019 08:10 AM IST | Washington | Agencies
Donald Trump. Pic/AFP
US President Donald Trump has unveiled a new merit and points-based immigration policy that substantially hikes the quota for young and highly-skilled workers from 12 to 57 per cent, a move likely to benefit thousands of Indian professionals.
Trump said the current "broken" system of legal immigration has failed to retain and attract the brilliant talent from across the globe. The president said he was proposing a merit-based immigration system wherein permanent legal residency would be given based on points for age, knowledge, job opportunities and civic sense, besides passing English and civic tests.
"We discriminate against genius. We discriminate against brilliance. We won't anymore once we get this passed, and we hope to get it passed as soon as possible. We want these exceptional students and workers to stay, flourish and thrive in America," Trump said.
The move will benefit hundreds and thousands of Indian professionals and skilled workers in the US whose current waiting period for a Green Card on an average is more than a decade.
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Harris criticises new immigration plan
Kamala Harris, the first Indian-origin Senator castigated President Trump's merit-based immigration plan saying it was "short-sighted" and invoked her unique background as a Democratic candidate for the White House in 2020 -being the daughter of an Indian immigrant. Harris, Senator from California, criticised his proposal saying that Americans routinely celebrate a "unified culture" and the US Constitution guarantees equality for all people.
Build America Visa replaces Green Card
Trump has said he will replace the existing green cards with 'Build America' visa as part of the new merit and points-based immigration policy that seeks to increase the quota for highly-skilled workers from 12 to 57 per cent. Every year the US issues nearly 1.1 million green cards that give foreign nationals life-time permit to work in the US.
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