The S386 Bill green card debate is one of the most important — and most frustrating — stories in US immigration history. Introduced in 2019 to eliminate the 7% per-country cap that forces skilled workers from India and China to wait over a decade for permanent residence, the bill passed both the House and the Senate, but never became law. It has been reintroduced, renamed, and revised across four Congresses. As of April 2026, the country cap is still fully in force. This guide explains exactly what S.386 proposed, what happened to it, what has followed, and what the backlog means for immigrants around the world today.
| At a Glance — S386 Bill Status 2026 – Current status: Dead. Expired January 2021 with the 116th Congress. Never became law. – The 7% per-country cap it targeted is still fully in force as of April 2026. – Successor bills: EAGLE Act (2021, 2022, 2023), IVES Act (2023), Dignity Act (2025) — none have passed both chambers. – EB-2 India backlog (Sept 2025 Visa Bulletin): Priority date Jan 1, 2013 — over 12-year wait. The Dignity Act of 2025 proposes raising the cap from 7% to 15%, not eliminating it entirely. |
1. What Was the S386 Bill?
The S386 Bill — formally the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019 — was introduced in the US Senate on July 9, 2019, by Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah). A companion bill, HR.1044, was introduced simultaneously in the House of Representatives. The legislation had one central goal: to eliminate the 7% per-country ceiling on employment-based green cards, which had created decade-long backlogs for skilled workers from high-demand countries, primarily India and China.
The Problem It Was Trying to Solve
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, no single country can receive more than 7% of the total annual employment-based and family-sponsored preference visas — regardless of how many qualified applicants that country produces. For countries like Estonia or Iceland, this cap is never reached. For India, which generates the overwhelming majority of H-1B skilled worker visa holders, the cap creates an impossible bottleneck.
The scale of the problem is staggering: A 2020 Cato Institute analysis found that some Indian nationals in the EB-2 queue could face waits of up to 84 years under the existing rules — meaning many applicants would die before ever receiving a green card. By April 2020, USCIS data showed more than 1.2 million people stuck in the employment-based backlog, with approximately 740,000 from India alone.
What the S386 Bill Proposed
The bill had two main provisions:
- Eliminate the 7% per-country cap for employment-based green cards entirely, moving to a purely first-come, first-served system regardless of country of birth.
- Raise the per-country cap for family-sponsored visas from 7% to 15%, giving family-based applicants from high-demand countries better odds.
Importantly, S.386 did not propose increasing the total number of green cards issued each year — the annual cap of 140,000 employment-based visas would remain unchanged. It would simply distribute those visas based on queue position rather than on country of birth.
| Protections for Rest of World (ROW) Applicants Critics worried that eliminating the country cap would allow India and China to dominate the entire EB-2 and EB-3 queues for years. S.386 included temporary set-asides to address this: • Year 1: 30% of EB-2 and EB-3 visas reserved for ROW applicants • Year 2: 25% reserved for ROW • Year 3: 20% reserved for ROW • Maximum 85% of unreserved visas could go to any single country in a given year After the transition period, all applicants worldwide would compete on a pure first-come, first-served basis. |
2. What Happened to S.386 — The Full Timeline
The journey of S.386 through Congress was a case study in how a bill with broad bipartisan support can still fail to become law. Here is the complete timeline:
| Date / Period | What Happened |
|---|---|
| Jul-19 | S.386 introduced in US Senate by Sen. Mike Lee. HR.1044 companion bill introduced in House. |
| Jul-19 | HR.1044 passes the House with strong bipartisan support (365–65). |
| 2019–2020 | S.386 repeatedly blocked in Senate by individual senators placing holds. Multiple amendment rounds. |
| 2-Dec-20 | Senate passes amended S.386 / HR.1044 by unanimous voice vote. |
| 21-Dec-20 | House and Senate cannot reconcile differing versions before Congress adjourns. Bill expires with the 116th Congress. |
| Jan-21 | Bill officially dead. Must be reintroduced from scratch in the 117th Congress. |
| Jun-21 | EAGLE Act introduced — successor bill based on the Senate-passed version of S.386. |
| Dec-22 | EAGLE Act passes House but stalls again in Senate. Expires with 117th Congress. |
| Nov-23 | EAGLE Act reintroduced in 118th Congress by Sens. Cramer & Hickenlooper. Also: IVES Act introduced. |
| 2024 | Neither EAGLE Act nor IVES Act advances to a Senate floor vote. Both expire with 118th Congress. |
| 2025 | Dignity Act of 2025 introduced — proposes raising per-country cap from 7% to 15%, not eliminating it. Still in debate as of April 2026. |
| Apr-26 | 7% per-country cap still fully in force. No reform legislation has become law. |
| ⚠ Common Misconception: Did S386 Pass? Many websites — including older versions of immigration guides — state that “S386 passed” or “the Senate passed S386.” This is partially true but misleading. The Senate did pass its version on December 2, 2020. The House had passed its own version (HR.1044) in July 2019. However, the two versions were significantly different and required reconciliation in a conference committee before going to the President. That reconciliation never happened. Congress adjourned on January 3, 2021, and the bill expired. It never became law. |
3. Successor Bills: What Came After S.386
The failure of S.386 did not kill the underlying reform effort — it simply restarted the clock. Here is a comparison of every major bill that has followed:
| Bill | Key Proposals |
|---|---|
| S.386 / HR.1044 (2019–2020) | Eliminate 7% EB cap entirely. Raise family cap to 15%. 9-yr transition with ROW set-asides. |
| EAGLE Act (2021, 2022, 2023) | Based on Senate S.386 version. Eliminate EB cap. 9-yr transition. ROW protections included. |
| IVES Act (2023) | Eliminate EB cap. Raise H-1B minimum wage to $90K. Stronger American worker protections. |
| Dignity Act (2025) | Raise EB cap 7%→15% (not eliminate). $20K premium processing for 10+ yr waiters. Exclude dependents from EB caps. |
The Dignity Act of 2025 — The Latest Attempt
The most recent legislative effort is the Dignity Act of 2025, a comprehensive bipartisan immigration reform bill. Unlike S.386, which sought to eliminate the per-country cap entirely, the Dignity Act takes a more moderate approach. It proposes raising the cap from 7% to 15%, which would meaningfully reduce backlogs without the sudden disruption a full elimination would cause for applicants from smaller countries currently near the front of the queue.
Additional provisions in the Dignity Act relevant to the green card backlog include a $20,000 premium processing option for those who have waited more than 10 years, exclusion of spouses and minor children from annual numerical caps, and a pathway for Documented Dreamers — children raised in the US as dependents of H-1B workers who age out of status at 21 due to backlog delays.
As of April 2026, the Dignity Act is still being debated in the 119th Congress. No final vote has been taken in either chamber.
4. The 7% Cap Today — Current Backlog Data
While Congress has debated reform for over six years, the people in the queue have kept waiting. Here is where things stand as of the September 2025 Visa Bulletin — the most recent data available:
- EB-1 India: Priority date February 15, 2022 → approximately 3-year wait. For all other countries: Current (no wait).
- EB-2 India: Priority date January 1, 2013 → over 12-year wait. This is the category that affects the vast majority of Indian H-1B professionals.
- EB-3 India: Priority date May 22, 2013 → also over 12 years.
- EB-2 China: Priority date December 15, 2020 → approximately 4–5-year wait.
- EB-2 & EB-3 Rest of World: Experienced unexpected retrogression in mid-2025 due to record-high demand, showing that even countries without historical backlogs are now feeling pressure.
- All FY-2025 EB-2 visas exhausted before September 30, 2025 — processing paused until October 1 when the FY-2026 quota reset.
| What This Means in Human Terms An Indian software engineer who filed an EB-2 green card petition today joins a queue behind people who filed in early 2013. Their spouse cannot freely change jobs without risking their place in the queue. Children listed as derivatives who turn 21 before the priority date becomes current may lose their protected status entirely (the “aging out” problem). An equivalent engineer from Germany, Canada, or Brazil filing the same petition on the same day faces a wait of approximately 2 years. The only difference is the country of birth. |
5. What Immigrants Can Do Now
While waiting for Congress to act, there are several legitimate strategies that can improve your position:
- EB-1A Extraordinary Ability: No employer sponsorship, no PERM labour certification, no specific job offer required. The bar is high but the wait is significantly shorter — India EB-1 is currently only about 3 years versus 12+ for EB-2.
- EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW): Self-petition without employer sponsorship. Requires demonstrating your work is in the US national interest. Ideal for researchers, academics, and professionals with a strong track record.
- Cross-chargeability: If your spouse was born in a country with a shorter EB queue, both of you may be charged to your spouse’s country — even though you are the primary applicant. This single step can reduce a 12-year wait to under 2 years for eligible couples.
- Monitor the Visa Bulletin monthly at travel.state.gov. Priority dates move forward and can retrogress without warning. You need to know your exact eligibility window each month.
- Keep all documents current. Medical exams, police certificates, and passport validity all have expiry windows. An expired document can stall your case at the worst possible moment.
- Consult a licensed immigration attorney. The rules around PERM, I-140, Adjustment of Status, and AC21 portability are complex. A single procedural error can cost years.
6. Frequently Asked Questions
These questions cover what readers around the world are asking most about the S386 Bill and the green card country cap in 2025–2026.
Q: What was the S386 Bill?
The S386 Bill — formally the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019 — was a US Senate bill that aimed to eliminate the 7% per-country cap on employment-based green cards. It was introduced by Senator Mike Lee in July 2019 to address decade-long backlogs faced by skilled workers from India and China.
Q: Did the S386 Bill become law?
No. Although S.386 passed the Senate unanimously in December 2020, and a companion bill (HR.1044) had already passed the House, the two versions differed and could not be reconciled before the 116th Congress ended in January 2021. The bill expired without becoming law and had to be reintroduced in subsequent Congresses.
Q: Is the 7% Green Card country cap still in effect in 2026?
Yes, fully. As of April 2026, the 7% per-country ceiling on employment-based and family-sponsored green cards remains completely intact. No legislation reforming it has passed both the House and Senate and been signed into law.
Q: What replaced the S386 Bill?
The bill has been reintroduced in different forms: the EAGLE Act (introduced in 2021, 2022, and 2023) and the IVES Act (2023), which followed almost identical provisions. The most recent attempt, the Dignity Act of 2025, takes a more moderate approach — proposing to raise the per-country cap from 7% to 15% rather than eliminating it entirely.
Q: How long is the current wait for an Indian EB-2 green card?
As of the September 2025 Visa Bulletin, the EB-2 India priority date is January 1, 2013 — meaning applicants who filed in 2013 are only now being processed. The effective wait exceeds 12 years. For EB-3 India, the priority date is May 22, 2013 — also over 12 years. EB-1 India is shorter at approximately 3 years.
Q: Why does India face such long Green Card wait times?
India generates a disproportionately large share of employment-based green card applicants each year — primarily H-1B workers in tech and healthcare. The 7% per-country cap means India cannot receive more than 7% of all annual employment-based visas regardless of demand, creating a backlog that grows faster than it is cleared.
Q: What is the Dignity Act of 2025, and how does it differ from S386?
The Dignity Act of 2025 proposes raising the per-country cap from 7% to 15% (not eliminating it), introduces a $20,000 premium processing option for applicants who have waited 10+ years, excludes dependents from being counted against annual caps, and provides a pathway for Documented Dreamers. It is a more cautious reform than S.386 was, reflecting the political difficulty of passing more sweeping changes.
Q: What can skilled immigrants do while waiting for green card reform?
Several strategies can help: (1) EB-1A Extraordinary Ability — no employer or PERM required, faster for those who qualify; (2) EB-2 National Interest Waiver — self-petition without employer sponsorship; (3) Cross-chargeability — if your spouse was born in a country with a shorter queue, both of you may use that country; (4) Monitor the monthly Visa Bulletin at travel.state.gov; (5) Consult a licensed immigration attorney for options specific to your case.
| Sources: Congress.gov (116th–119th Congress bill records) · USCIS (uscis.gov) · FY-2025 Visa Bulletin (September 2025) · Congressional Research Service Report R46291 · Cato Institute (Bier, 2020) · AILA · National Immigration Forum · Wikipedia Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act. |