Senate Bill Proposes Points-Based System for Employment Green Cards

A new Senate proposal would replace the United States’ current employment-based green card categories with a points-based immigration system that rewards factors such as U.S. education, salary, English proficiency, age and extraordinary achievement.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., introduced S. 5485, the Americans First Immigration Act, on September 23, 2026. The bill was read twice and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Tuberville’s office publicly announced the legislation on September 24. As of September 26, it remains a proposal and has not changed current U.S. immigration law.

For international students and foreign professionals, the proposal is significant because it targets the employment-based permanent-residence system many F-1, OPT and H-1B workers eventually hope to use.

Current Employment-Based Green Card Categories Would Be Replaced

Under current law, employment-based immigrant visas are divided into five main preference categories: EB-1 for priority workers, EB-2 for advanced-degree professionals and people of exceptional ability, EB-3 for skilled workers and professionals, EB-4 for certain special immigrants and EB-5 for immigrant investors. Those categories remain in effect today.

The Americans First Immigration Act would take a different approach.

The official text of the House version, H.R. 8586, introduced earlier in 2026 by Rep. Barry Moore, would replace the existing employment-based preference allocation with a points-based immigrant visa program. The proposed annual level would begin at 192,000 visas, subject to a reduction formula included in the legislation.

Applicants would generally need at least 16 points, be between 18 and 51 when filing, meet an English-language threshold and have a qualifying U.S. job offer.

Points would be awarded based on factors including:

• education, with substantial additional points available for certain U.S. degrees;
• English-language proficiency;
• salary and employment offers;
• age;
• U.S. military service; and
• specified extraordinary achievements.

English ability would therefore become an explicit factor in employment-based permanent immigration. The House legislation would require applicants to score at least in the fifth decile on an approved English test, with higher scores earning additional points.

U.S. Degrees and High-Paying Job Offers Would Matter More

One provision could be particularly relevant to international students who earn degrees in the United States.

Under the House bill's points-based framework, a qualifying job offer would generally need to pay at least 150% of the median wage in the state for applicants who recently earned or will earn an eligible U.S. degree. Applicants without such a U.S. degree would generally need an offer paying at least 200% of the state median wage.

The proposal also gives substantial points to certain U.S. degrees, including STEM graduate degrees. For example, the bill provides 35 points for specified U.S. STEM doctoral degrees or U.S. medical doctorates meeting its requirements.

That means education in the United States could become more important in a future green card selection system if legislation using this framework were enacted.

However, earning a U.S. degree alone would not guarantee permanent residence. Selection would depend on the broader points criteria, visa availability and other statutory requirements.

What Would Happen to Existing Green Card Applicants?

One of the most consequential parts of the House legislation concerns people already in employment-based green card queues.

H.R. 8586 states that, if enacted, new petitions under the existing EB-1, EB-2, EB-3 and EB-5 framework generally could no longer be filed. It also provides that certain petitions still pending on the enactment date could not be approved under the old categories.

The bill contains transition provisions for people whose qualifying employment-based petitions were already approved before enactment. Those applicants could continue receiving visas under the old categories only within limits established by the legislation.

This distinction could be especially important for workers from countries with long employment-based visa backlogs. The September 2026 Visa Bulletin, for example, continues to show significant differences in final-action dates across employment categories and countries, including India and China.

None of those transition provisions apply today because the legislation has not been enacted.

Could the Bill Affect F-1 Students, CPT, OPT or H-1B Workers?

The proposal does not itself replace CPT, OPT or the H-1B classification. Searches of the House legislative text show no provisions specifically labeled H-1B or practical training. Its central employment provisions concern permanent immigration rather than the temporary work authorization students use through CPT or OPT.

The longer-term connection is the path from temporary status to permanent residence. An international student might currently move from F-1 status to OPT, then to H-1B or another work status, and eventually pursue an EB-2 or EB-3 green card. The proposal would substantially change that final employment-based immigration stage.

There is also a separate higher-education provision in the House legislation. It would require a person who is not a lawful permanent resident to pay at least the tuition, fees and other costs charged to a comparable nonresident student at a postsecondary institution. If enacted in that form, the provision could affect some non-permanent-resident students who otherwise qualify for state or institutional resident-tuition benefits.

What International Students Should Watch Next

The key point is that the Americans First Immigration Act is currently legislation under consideration, not an effective immigration rule.

S. 5485 has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The House version, H.R. 8586, was introduced on April 29 and referred to the House Judiciary Committee and the House Education and Workforce Committee.

Until legislation passes Congress and becomes law, international students and workers should continue following the existing rules for F-1 status, CPT, OPT, H-1B and employment-based permanent residence.

The proposal is nevertheless worth following because, if Congress eventually enacted this framework, it would represent a fundamental shift from category-based employment green cards toward a system that places greater weight on salary, education, English proficiency and other point-scoring factors.

Sources:

• U.S. Government Publishing Office — H.R. 8586, Americans First Immigration Act full legislative text
• Sen. Tommy Tuberville — Americans First Immigration Act announcement
• U.S. Department of State — September 2026 Visa Bulletin
• U.S. Department of State — Employment-Based Immigrant Visas
• Times of India — Republican senator proposes changes to employment-based green cards