News coverage of the Trump administration’s immigration plan has focused on the introduction of a point system to the U.S. legal immigration system. However, a closer look and new details from the White House reveal major immigration policy changes many have overlooked. Most important is a set of policies that will not change at all, despite the plan’s focus on “high-skilled” immigrants.

On May 16, 2019, Donald Trump discussed his proposal for a new legal immigration system in a White House speech. The plan, which has yet to be turned into legislation, would replace all current family and employment-based immigration preference categories with a system that awards points based primarily on age and education.

Under current law, a U.S. citizen may sponsor for immigration a spouse, parent, minor or adult child or a sibling. Lawful permanent residents (green card holders) can sponsor a spouse, minor child or unmarried adult child. Employers can sponsor individual employees for immigration, often after undergoing labor certification (i.e., showing no U.S. workers were available for the position). Certain individuals may qualify to self-petition in the employment-based preferences without an employer sponsor. Most employer-sponsored immigrants are already working in the United States in H-1B temporary status.