Immigration Act of 1990

• Description
  
  • This was a significant revision of existing immigration laws, which greatly increased the number of people who could legally immigrate to the United States, and introduced provisions to facilitate the entry of specific groups for specialized work. The new law raised the ceiling on regular immigration (i.e. excluding refugees) to a flexible cap of 700,000 until 1995 and 675,000 thereafter. It also introduced the Diversity Visa lottery, which was designed for people who had been adversely affected by the preference system introduced through Hart-Celler Act of 1965. This allowed persons from any country that sent fewer than 50,000 immigrants over the past five years to enter a lottery for one of 40,000 diversity visas. Although initially intended to address a backlog of Irish, Italians and other Europeans, the lottery enabled a significant number of non-Europeans to immigrate. Applicants from African nations who lack the family relationships or skilled employment credentials to enter by the preference system have benefited significantly, receiving approximately 40% of diversity visas. The 1990 act also introduced the H-1B skilled worker visa program, allowing employers to apply to hire skilled workers using temporary visas. This increased the number of annual employment visas from 54,000 to 140,000. The Immigration Act of 1990 helped permit the entry of 20 million people over the next two decades, the largest number recorded in any 20 year period since the nation’s founding. The Act also provided Temporary Protected Status so that asylum seekers could remain in the United States until conditions in their homelands improved.
• Time
  Wednesday, November 29, 2023
• Where?
  Civil Rights Observance City Wide, Worcester - Map It
  

  The intent of these calendar entries is to provide information on landmark civil rights legislation, national and international human rights observances as well as cultural observances to bring awareness to the work of the Office of Human Rights and Disabilities and cultural diversity in our city. The hope is that it will serve to (1) Inform residents how the City is addressing human rights issues through the promotion of events and trainings; (2) Call attention to social inequities and celebrate cultural diversity; and (3) Increase resident involvement in civic functions.

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