American Notes IMMIGRATION

The tired, poor, huddled masses seeking to get into the U.S. will now have a better chance if they also possess sought-after job skills. In a landmark revision of the nation's immigration laws, the second in five years, congressional conferees decided to raise the number of foreigners admitted annually to 700,000 starting in 1992, and to 675,000 after 1995 -- a significant increase over the current 490,000. The quota for newcomers with needed professional skills, such as scientists and engineers, would rise sharply, from 54,000 to 140,000.

The new bill would continue to give an overwhelming preference to those with close relatives in the U.S. To the delight of human-rights activists, the proposed measure would also lift the McCarthy-era blanket bans on Communists and homosexuals. And in another break with current practice, the Department of Health and Human Services has been empowered, at its discretion, to end the ban on AIDS-infected foreigners seeking to enter the U.S.