A Brief Legal History of Employment-Based Immigration: INA 1952, IMMACT 90, AC21, and the 20,000 Slots Established in 2004

01

INA 1952: Still the Framework Today

USCIS explains that the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) was enacted in 1952, has since been amended multiple times, and is codified in Title 8 of the U.S. Code. The community’s statement that “the INA is merely advisory” is inaccurate: the current employment-based numerical limits and allocation provisions are provisions of the INA as amended (such as 8 U.S.C. 1151–1153).

02

Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT 90)

Congress.gov records that S.358 (Immigration Act of 1990) was signed into law as Pub. L. 101-649 on 1990-11-29. The Code’s amendment notes show that the Act comprehensively rewrote provisions including 1152(a); the H-1B base cap of 65,000 in current 1184(g) also applies beginning with FY1992.

The community’s statement that “IMMACT 90 divided ordinary immigration into three categories—EB, FB, and diversity—and imposed caps” is broadly consistent with the structure of the current Code. This site has not individually verified details such as the “sponsor and date of introduction” against official pages, so those details are not listed here.

03

AC21 (2000)

S.2045 was signed into law on 2000-10-17 as Pub. L. 106-313, the public law containing AC21. The current Code shows that the H-1B cap was 195,000 for FY2001–2003; AC21 §104(a) added the rule in 1152(a)(5) under which quarterly remaining numbers are not subject to per-country caps; USCIS’s H-4 employment authorization page also cites AC21 §106(a)(b).

Two points need correction: first, AC21 did not “introduce per-country limits”—the 7% limit already existed; second, the H-1B “increase from 65,000 to 85,000” was not established by AC21: the regular cap remains 65,000, with a separate exemption for 20,000 holders of U.S. master’s or higher degrees.

04

The 20,000 H-1B Slots for Advanced-Degree Holders Dating from 2004

The Code’s amendment notes show that 8 U.S.C. 1184(g)(5)(C)—under which up to 20,000 holders of master’s or higher degrees from U.S. institutions of higher education are not counted against the cap—was added by Pub. L. 108-447 §425 (that public law was enacted in 2004). USCIS’s H-1B cap season page likewise specifies these 20,000 exempt slots.

05

The Relationship Between H-1B and Employment-Based Immigration

H-1B is a nonimmigrant work status, not a green card; nevertheless, it is closely related to employment-based immigration. For example, USCIS states that beneficiaries of approved EB-1/2/3 petitions may obtain H-1B extensions beyond six years. The community’s observation that “the two have always been intertwined” can be understood as referring to this procedural connection.