HR3466-119

What This Bill Does

The SMART Act is a broad immigration bill. It repeals INA section 203(c), eliminating the diversity visa program and making conforming amendments. It caps annual refugee admissions at 50,000 and requires the President to enumerate asylees from the prior fiscal year. It narrows immediate relatives by removing parents of U.S. citizens, changing child references to younger than 18, reducing family-sponsored immigration to 88,000 minus certain parolee adjustments, and limiting family-sponsored immigrants to spouses or children of lawful permanent residents. The bill creates a points-based immigrant visa category with a 193,000 base level and demand-based adjustments; the incorporated points system uses criteria such as education, STEM and professional degrees, English proficiency, age, job offers, entrepreneurship, and other merit factors. It bars naturalization if an affidavit sponsor has not reimbursed means-tested public benefits received during the first five years after lawful permanent residence. It blocks SEVP approval for F or M student schools unless students attend in person at least three days per week. It directs DHS to use artificial intelligence to analyze immigration, travel, and other data for visa overstays. It changes H-1B allocation to a dynamic 115,000 to 195,000 range with additional increments and prioritizes compensation rates. Finally, it creates 25,000 annual gold-card visas from fiscal 2026 through 2035 for immigrants investing at least $5,000,000 for at least two years in enterprises expected to create at least 10 full-time jobs.

Who Benefits and How

High-scoring skilled immigrant applicants benefit from a points-based system that rewards education, English proficiency, STEM credentials, job offers, and other merit factors. Gold-card immigrant investors benefit from 25,000 annual visas outside ordinary worldwide numerical limits if they invest at least $5 million and create at least 10 jobs. High-wage H-1B employers benefit because cap-subject H-1B visas are allocated in order of compensation rate. DHS immigration enforcement staff benefit from a statutory mandate to use artificial intelligence and travel data to identify visa overstays.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Diversity visa applicants lose the diversity visa path entirely. Refugee applicants above the 50,000 annual cap face reduced admissions opportunity. Parents of U.S. citizens and other removed family-preference relatives face narrower family-sponsored immigration eligibility. SEVP-approved schools must require F and M students to attend in-person classes at least three days per week. Affidavit sponsors must reimburse means-tested public benefits before the sponsored immigrant can naturalize. Lower-wage H-1B employers face worse odds because H-1B selection is prioritized by compensation rate.

Key Provisions

• Repeals the diversity visa program and makes conforming immigration-law amendments.
• Caps refugee admissions at 50,000 per fiscal year and requires annual reporting of asylees.
• Narrows family immigration by removing parents from immediate-relative treatment and limiting family-sponsored categories.
• Creates a points-based immigrant visa system with a 193,000 base level and demand-based increases.
• Bars naturalization when an affidavit sponsor has not reimbursed means-tested public benefits for the first five years after admission.
• Requires SEVP schools to provide at least three in-person class days per week for F and M students.
• Directs DHS to use artificial intelligence to identify visa overstays.
• Reforms H-1B allocation around a 115,000 to 195,000 range and compensation-rate priority.
• Creates 25,000 annual gold-card immigrant visas for $5 million investors who create at least 10 jobs.