Remove the hard limit on countries so that over-subscribed countries like India and China are allowed to use visa numbers that ARE NOT USED by other countries with low number of applicants. The hard limit was introduced by McCain Kennedy version of the bill. Today, the soft cap is in place and this provision continues the soft cap on countries in EB categories. This soft cap protects visa numbers from being wasted by their downward flow.
STEM applicants would be allowed to be exempt from cap even if they have not been working in exactly the same discipline as their STEM master’s degree. This will be a huge relief for many in EB3 and majority of EB2 applicants as they would become exempt from cap.