Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act
This bill makes previously unused immigrant visas available to nurses and physicians who petition for such a visa before the date that is 90 days after the end of the declared national emergency relating to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak.
The number of visas available shall be the total number of unused employment-based immigrant visas from FY1992-FY2020, up to 40,000. Of such visas, 25,000 shall be reserved for nurses and 15,000 for physicians. Certain family members may accompany the principal beneficiary of a visa provided under this bill, and visas for such family members shall (1) be made available from the unused visas from FY1992-FY2020, and (2) not be counted against the 40,000 cap.
Visas provided under this bill shall be exempt from per-country limitations.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1024 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1024
To enhance our Nation's nurse and physician workforce during the COVID-
19 crisis by recapturing unused immigrant visas.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 25, 2021
Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Young, Mr. Coons,
and Ms. Collins) introduced the following bill; which was read twice
and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enhance our Nation's nurse and physician workforce during the COVID-
19 crisis by recapturing unused immigrant visas.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Healthcare Workforce Resilience
Act''.
SEC. 2. RECAPTURING UNUSED IMMIGRANT VISAS FOR PROFESSIONAL NURSES AND
PHYSICIANS.
Section 106(d) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first
Century Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-313; 8 U.S.C. 1153 note) is amended
to read as follows:
``(d) Recapture of Unused Employment-Based Immigrant Visas.--
``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), and
notwithstanding any other provision of law, the number of
employment-based visas made available under section 203(b) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) shall be
increased by the number calculated in paragraph (3).
``(2) Limitations.--
``(A) In general.--Visas may only be made available
under this subsection for up to 40,000 employment-based
immigrants (and their family members accompanying or
following to join under section 203(d) of such Act (8
U.S.C. 1153(d))) whose immigrant worker petitions were
filed before the date that is 90 days after the
termination of the President's declaration of a
national emergency under sections 201 and 301 of the
National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)
pertaining to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United
States (referred to in this subsection as the `COVID-19
emergency declaration').
``(B) Reservations.--Of the visas authorized under
subparagraph (A)--
``(i) 25,000 shall be reserved for
professional nurses; and
``(ii) 15,000 shall be reserved for
physicians.
``(C) Exemption from country caps.--Visas made
available under this subsection--
``(i) shall not be subject to the per
country numerical limitation set forth in
section 202(a)(2) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(2)); and
``(ii) shall be issued in order of the
priority date assigned at the time the visa
petition was filed.
``(3) Number available.--
``(A) Unused visas.--Subject to subparagraph (B),
the number calculated in this paragraph is the
difference between--
``(i) the total number of employment-based
visas that were made available in fiscal years
1992 through 2020; and
``(ii) the total number of such visas that
were used in such fiscal years.
``(B) Reduction and limitation.--The number
described in subparagraph (A) shall be reduced, for
each fiscal year following the first fiscal year in
which the COVID-19 emergency declaration is in effect,
by the cumulative number of immigrant visas used
pursuant to paragraph (1).
``(C) Family members.--
``(i) In general.--Family members described
in section 203(d) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(d)) who are
accompanying or following to join a principal
beneficiary seeking admission under this
subsection shall be entitled to an unreserved
visa in the same status and in the same order
of consideration as such principal beneficiary.
``(ii) Exempt from skill-based numerical
limitation.--Visas described in clause (i)--
``(I) shall be made available from
the pool of recaptured unused immigrant
visas calculated under subparagraph
(A); and
``(II) shall not be counted against
the total number of immigrant visas
reserved for professional nurses and
physicians under paragraph (2).
``(D) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this
paragraph may be construed as affecting the application
of section 201(c)(3)(C) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(c)(3)(C)).
``(4) Premium processing; expedited processing.--
``(A) Premium processing.--The Secretary of
Homeland Security, in conjunction with the Secretary of
State, shall provide premium processing procedures, as
provided for under section 286(u) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(u)), for reviewing
and acting upon petitions and applications for
immigrants described in paragraph (2). Notwithstanding
such section, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
may not charge a premium fee for such services.
``(B) Shipping petitions.--The Director of U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services shall expedite the
shipping of each petition described in subparagraph (A)
requiring consular processing to the Department of
State immediately after--
``(i) the completed petition has been
resolved; and
``(ii) the petitioner has replied to any
request from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services for additional evidence.
``(C) Expedited processing.--The Secretary of State
shall expedite the processing of applications for
immigrants described in paragraph (2) after receiving a
petition on behalf of such immigrants from U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services.
``(5) Labor attestation.--Before an immigrant visa reserved
under paragraph (2)(B)(i) is issued to an alien, the petitioner
shall attest, in the job offer letter presented by the alien to
a consular officer during the consular interview, that the
hiring of the alien has not displaced and will not displace a
United States worker.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line