Nationwide – The House voted to pass the Build Back Better Act on November 19 which includes broad immigration provisions that are key to clearing the backlog and strengthening the family immigration system. Specifically, key immigration provisions include the recapture of hundreds of thousands of unused green cards since 1992 to prevent worsening family & employment visa backlogs. This version of the bill will also allow 40,000 individuals who were selected for the diversity visa lottery but affected by Trump’s discriminatory bans to reapply.

The Value Our Families Coalition issued the following statement:

“The wins on family immigration and visas are important, necessary, and historic. Visa recapture could provide up to 500,000 green cards for family members stuck in our immigration system’s infamous backlog that has kept thousands of families separated due to bureaucracy. If passed by the Senate, this will be one of the most significant reforms to the family-immigration system in decades.

While we applaud the passage of this bill, the fact is that there is still much work left to be done.

In the upcoming Vote-a-rama and as this bill heads to the Senate, we must ensure that so-called “Moderate Democrats” do not side with anti-immigrant policies or rhetoric that are committed to removing important immigrant visa protections and derailing this entire process. We must stand strong and remember our commitment to the millions of immigrant families we are fighting for.

We have fought for a pathway to citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants for decades, this is a crucial component to the overall success of this reform. Greater inclusion and legalization continue to be central to this negotiation.

We are very concerned by the increase in fees and the inclusion of non-waivable fees that would harm low-income families and petitioners who are seeking to reunite with their loved ones. These fee increases would prevent many immigrant families from being able to apply or process their visas, effectively excluding them altogether. Affordability and access to the system is a must-have. This must be addressed in the Senate version.

**Immigration experts available for comment.

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