[4] Congress also created the temporary protected status (TPS visa), which the Attorney General may provide to immigrants who are temporarily unable to safely return to their home country because of ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary condition.

In 1988, the House voted against a proposal that would limit the number of immigrants' family members who could enter the United States.

In 1988, the House voted against a proposal that would limit the number of immigrants' family members who could enter the United States.

Compared to the bill's initial introduction in the Senate, the final draft's ultimate objective differs little from what was intended.

For example, in the final version's antecedent, provisions contained numerous specific immigration caps for different categories, instead of the simple 675,000 per year found in the law.

"Starting in 1991, every year the Attorney General, decides from information gathered over the most recent five year period the regions or country that are considered High Admission or Low Admission States"[13] from that analysis, citizens of certain nations are deemed eligible or ineligible to apply for a diversity visa.

"A High Admission region or country is one that has had 50,000 immigrants or more acquire a permanent residency visa.

Changes have been made to the diversity visa requirements almost every other year (if not more often) since 1990 to assess which countries qualify.

In 1990 the qualifying countries were Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (including Guadeloupe and New Caledonia), Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland and Tunisia and the United Kingdom (including Bermuda and Gibraltar).

"Today I am pleased to sign S. 358, the 'Immigration Act of 1990'—the most comprehensive reform of our immigration laws in 66 years."

Now, as we open the 'front door' to increased legal immigration, I am pleased that this Act also provides needed enforcement authority."

The power to grant temporary protected status would be, except as specifically provided, the 'exclusive authority' by which the Attorney General could allow otherwise deportable aliens to remain here temporarily because of their nationality or their region of origin.

I do not interpret this provision as detracting from any authority of the executive branch to exercise prosecutorial discretion in suitable immigration cases.

"[14] The bill also introduced a cap of 65,000 per year to H-1B and excluded nurses, entertainers, athletes, and artists from qualifying.

The Commission released four reports covering every aspect of U.S. Immigration policy and evaluated its quality and effectiveness, making recommendations based on their findings.

A well-regulated system sets priorities for admission; facilitates nuclear family reunification; gives employers access to a global labor market while protecting U.S. workers; helps to generate jobs and economic growth; and fulfills our commitment to resettle refugees as one of several elements of humanitarian protection of the persecuted.