1. Family-Based Immigration:
- Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, such as spouses, minor children, and parents, received expedited processing and increased visa availability.
2. Employment-Based Immigration:
- It created more employment-based visas in different preference categories and implemented a system of employer sanctions to discourage the hiring of unauthorized workers.
3. Diversity Visa Program:
- The act introduced the Diversity Visa Program, also known as the "Green Card Lottery," which allocated a certain number of visas to nationals of countries with low historical rates of immigration to the United States.
4. Legalization Programs:
- The act included provisions for legalizing certain undocumented immigrants who met specific criteria, offering a path to lawful permanent residency through the Special Agricultural Workers (SAW) program and the General Amnesty program.
These provisions aimed to improve family reunification, attract skilled workers to the U.S. economy, enhance border security, and provide an opportunity for undocumented individuals to regularize their status.