Immigration Act of 1990
Encyclopedia
The Immigration Act of 1990 increased the number of legal immigrants
allowed into the United States
each year. It also created a lottery
program
that randomly assigned a number of visas
. This was done to help immigrants from countries where the United States did not often grant visas. The modifications also removed homosexuality as a grounds for exclusion from immigration.
The law also provided for exceptions to the English testing process required for naturalization set forth by the Naturalization Act of 1906
.
from the list of illnesses making a prospective immigrant ineligible to enter the country.
Visas created by the act:
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
allowed into the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
each year. It also created a lottery
Lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...
program
Diversity Immigrant Visa
The Diversity Immigrant Visa program is a United States congressionally mandated lottery program for receiving a United States Permanent Resident Card. It is also known as the Green Card Lottery. The lottery is administered on an annual basis by the Department of State and conducted under the terms...
that randomly assigned a number of visas
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
. This was done to help immigrants from countries where the United States did not often grant visas. The modifications also removed homosexuality as a grounds for exclusion from immigration.
The law also provided for exceptions to the English testing process required for naturalization set forth by the Naturalization Act of 1906
Naturalization Act of 1906
The Naturalization Act of 1906 was an act of the United States Congress signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt that revised the law from 1870 and required immigrants to learn English in order to become naturalized citizens. The bill was passed on June 29, 1906, and took effect September 27, 1906...
.
Significance
After it became law, the United States would admit 700,000 new immigrants annually, up from 500,000 before the bill's passage. The new system continued to favor people with family members already in the United States, but added 50,000 "diversity visas" for countries from which few were emigrating as well as 40,000 permanent job-related visas and 65,000 temporary worker visas. Additional provisions strengthened the U.S. Border Patrol and altered language regarding disease restrictions in a way that permitted the Secretary of Health and Human Services to remove AIDSAIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
from the list of illnesses making a prospective immigrant ineligible to enter the country.
Visas created by the act:
- EB-1 visaEB-1 visaThe EB-1 visa is a United States visa created by the Immigration Act of 1990. This visa provides a method of obtaining permanent residency for "priority workers". Those are foreign nationals who either have "extraordinary abilities", or are "outstanding professors or researchers", and also...
- EB-2 visaEB-2 visaEB-2 visa is a United States visa created by the Immigration Act of 1990. This visa provides a method of obtaining employment authorization for aliens who are "members of the professions holding advanced degrees or their equivalent" and aliens "who because of their exceptional ability in the...
- EB-3 visa
- EB-4 visa
- EB-5 visaEB-5 visaThe EB-5 visa for Immigrant Investors is a United States visa created by the Immigration Act of 1990. This visa provides a method of obtaining a green card for foreign nationals who invest money in the United States. To obtain the visa, individuals must invest $1,000,000 , creating or preserving...