D9 · Pillar D · Human Flourishing & Societal Infrastructure
Points-plus-employer immigration modernization
Convert a portion of the employment-based visa system to a Canadian-style Comprehensive Ranking System — age, education, language, work experience, adaptability — with employer job offers as a point multiplier rather than a prerequisite. Clear the existing employment-based backlog on a defined timetable through per-country cap reform. Preserve and modernize family reunification as a non-competing track. A federal credential-recognition office to reduce foreign-professional underemployment. Operationalizes C5; C5 aggregate scoring is unchanged.
- 10-year fiscal
- +$160B revenueRevenue
- Implementation
- Years 1–3
- Middle class
- Neutral to positive
- Planetary
- Neutral
$120B–$200B; administrative buildout ~$8B · Medium confidence
Higher-earning complementary inflows. No household levy and no change in aggregate admission levels required for the score.
No material climate effect.
Global precedent
Canada Express Entry (operational since 2015; about six-month processing); Australia’s SkillSelect.
Lead mechanism
DHS (USCIS); Department of State; Senate and House Judiciary.
Bipartisan framing
Conservative case
Skills-based legal pathways, backlog clearance, and competitiveness — the RAISE Act is a recent analogue.
Progressive case
Family reunification preserved as a separate track; credential recognition reduces underemployment of arrivals already here.
Figures in this framework are illustrative directional estimates derived from publicly available data and conventional Congressional Budget Office budget-window logic. They are not official CBO scores. Any provision adopted from this framework would require formal CBO scoring before legislative consideration. This document is a policy white paper, not an introduced bill.