Thread by @gsiskind

Happy that S. 386 has finally passed in the Senate and we're a step closer to ending nationality discrimination in the visa allocation system. 1

However, there are significant differences with the House version that need to be negotiated (including a China provision that is going to be viewed as controversial unless clarified). 2

President-elect Biden also needs to use executive actions to address the backlogs and has options available to him that will ensure there are NO backlogs for anyone with or without country caps. 3

Given the late stage here, I would suggest people temper their expectations. Not at all clear what the House thinks about this and how much room there is to tweak if there are changes demanded. Also, we have a President likely to veto anything that is not 100% to his liking. 4

This is the language that's in question.

"The Secretary of Homeland Security shall not admit to the United States, or adjust status of, any alien affiliated with the military forces of the People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party..." 5

I've seen people saying this covers most Chinese which I doubt & it speaks to the present tense so if one is no longer in the military and resigns party membership, it would seem to not apply. But I agree that we need clarification from Senators Lee and Durbin what's intended. 6

I haven't heard about this provision until this evening and know nothing about its history. So I can't really speak to what the bill sponsors had in mind. 7

Here's the bill language. dropbox.com/s/x59mya8qfmz9…

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