SMART Act

Securing Migration, Addressing Reform, and Talent Retention Act or the SMART Act

This bill modifies the U.S. immigration system, including by eliminating the diversity and employment-based visa systems, establishing a points-based system, and capping other immigration categories.

The diversity visa program—which makes visas available to individuals from countries that send fewer immigrants—is eliminated.

The bill caps annual refugee admission at 50,000. Currently, the President sets annual limits.

The bill limits the current family-sponsored immigration system by lowering the annual cap and narrowing the qualifications by, for example, lowering the age limit of qualifying children and eliminating siblings as a qualifying relationship. The bill also disqualifies noncitizen parents of adult U.S. citizens from this category and creates a new nonimmigrant visa for such parents. This visa has an initial authorization period of five years and may be extended for additional five-year periods.

The bill also eliminates the employment-based visa system and replaces it with a points-based system. Points are awarded on the basis of characteristics such as age, education, English proficiency, the salary of prospective employment, investment in and management of a new commercial enterprise, and number of dependent children. Visas are awarded to the applicants with the most points (and their immediate family members) until the annual cap is reached.

The bill also revises the H-1B visa program to award visas in order of compensation rate.

The bill also creates a visa for immigrants who invest at least $5 million into a new commercial enterprise.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov