|
<distribution-code display="yes">II</distribution-code><congress>117th CONGRESS</congress><session>1st Session</session><legis-num>S. 1024</legis-num><current-chamber>IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES</current-chamber><action><action-date date="20210325">March 25, 2021</action-date><action-desc><sponsor name-id="S253">Mr. Durbin</sponsor> (for himself, <cosponsor name-id="S287">Mr. Cornyn</cosponsor>, <cosponsor name-id="S057">Mr. Leahy</cosponsor>, <cosponsor name-id="S391">Mr. Young</cosponsor>, <cosponsor name-id="S337">Mr. Coons</cosponsor>, and <cosponsor name-id="S252">Ms. Collins</cosponsor>) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the <committee-name committee-id="SSJU00">Committee on the Judiciary</committee-name></action-desc></action><legis-type>A BILL</legis-type><official-title>To enhance our Nation’s nurse and physician workforce during the COVID–19 crisis by recapturing unused immigrant visas.</official-title></form><legis-body display-enacting-clause="yes-display-enacting-clause"><section section-type="section-one" id="id0E33228F778B4745AF246C6660A04CFE"><enum>1.</enum><header>Short title</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">This Act may be cited as the <quote><short-title>Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act</short-title></quote>.</text></section><section section-type="subsequent-section" id="id59181DA86A804DB7BD9CE2EB477AD705"><enum>2.</enum><header>Recapturing unused immigrant visas for professional nurses and physicians</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">Section 106(d) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 (<external-xref legal-doc="public-law" parsable-cite="pl/106/313">Public Law 106–313</external-xref>; <external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/8/1153">8 U.S.C. 1153</external-xref> note) is amended to read as follows:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id18a928bf03524afba3f7b300d21f0f45"><subsection id="idb9a99f390e2d4feea230db7c2d799994"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Recapture of unused employment-Based immigrant visas</header><paragraph id="id1d3506fe39fb43f38cebdd476072fa7a"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text>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 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/8/1153">8 U.S.C. 1153(b)</external-xref>) shall be increased by the number calculated in paragraph (3).</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id6BB988CD409D4B69A45C1268575A76D8"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Limitations</header><subparagraph id="idDD7D0B0EC88046CAB8383A3D1AA388D9"><enum>(A)</enum><header>In general</header><text>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 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/8/1153">8 U.S.C. 1153(d)</external-xref>)) 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 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/50/1601">50 U.S.C. 1601</external-xref> et seq.) pertaining to the COVID–19 outbreak in the United States (referred to in this subsection as the <quote>COVID–19 emergency declaration</quote>). </text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id6F145F97C444429082F1F508F24AF3B5"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Reservations</header><text>Of the visas authorized under subparagraph (A)—</text><clause id="id6C9CD3D1BA644EC08FCB6C72BB51CD44"><enum>(i)</enum><text>25,000 shall be reserved for professional nurses; and</text></clause><clause id="id2CF84C45E4A848A4B410CEBAA2562B05"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>15,000 shall be reserved for physicians.</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id96F15F5391E848989FF0356724926E80"><enum>(C)</enum><header>Exemption from country caps</header><text>Visas made available under this subsection—</text><clause id="idED08521F2EFF41CC87B0F1905C82D3A4"><enum>(i)</enum><text>shall not be subject to the per country numerical limitation set forth in section 202(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/8/1152">8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(2)</external-xref>); and </text></clause><clause id="idBC230C1B5A124F85A6B22CDA73C654D9"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>shall be issued in order of the priority date assigned at the time the visa petition was filed.</text></clause></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="idc8216d1b8f6b4046b70cb25dafda07de"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Number available</header><subparagraph id="id987a292f7c2c4f238969286f385160f2"><enum>(A)</enum><header>Unused visas</header><text>Subject to subparagraph (B), the number calculated in this paragraph is the difference between—</text><clause id="id7E54FA0CE81A47509342F27D1318B4B8"><enum>(i)</enum><text>the total number of employment-based visas that were made available in fiscal years 1992 through 2020; and </text></clause><clause id="id94920CFC881F4A0BB083F4FDAADCE734"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>the total number of such visas that were used in such fiscal years.</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="ide7aaed3cd80049459db8577fab251edf"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Reduction and limitation</header><text>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). </text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id4E239EEC09114874B567032C3A7C2B5F"><enum>(C)</enum><header>Family members</header><clause id="id07CC912DD4B040FA926B5CD0E3F0C97F"><enum>(i)</enum><header>In general</header><text>Family members described in section 203(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/8/1153">8 U.S.C. 1153(d)</external-xref>) 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.</text></clause><clause id="id5633067832F74835B616C908AA8045D5"><enum>(ii)</enum><header>Exempt from skill-based numerical limitation</header><text>Visas described in clause (i)—</text><subclause id="idA9B6822A489944E59B32D52B198EB43D"><enum>(I)</enum><text>shall be made available from the pool of recaptured unused immigrant visas calculated under subparagraph (A); and</text></subclause><subclause id="id6169F2A2E6B44FE68B467504C7D92D3A"><enum>(II)</enum><text>shall not be counted against the total number of immigrant visas reserved for professional nurses and physicians under paragraph (2).</text></subclause></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id2bbd738c368d40a8a527e3803e46f717"><enum>(D)</enum><header>Rule of construction</header><text>Nothing in this paragraph may be construed as affecting the application of section 201(c)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/8/1151">8 U.S.C. 1151(c)(3)(C)</external-xref>).</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="iddd1f19491fb146929f4576179f634577"><enum>(4)</enum><header>Premium processing; expedited processing</header><subparagraph id="id5B8CED908A194DB3BE51B3C5C4AB3153"><enum>(A)</enum><header>Premium processing</header><text>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 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/8/1356">8 U.S.C. 1356(u)</external-xref>), 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.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id76f8bb2061e04256832f5125952b2499"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Shipping petitions</header><text>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—</text><clause id="idAA19D3C9B14F4D6E9D990FE94A662926"><enum>(i)</enum><text>the completed petition has been resolved; and</text></clause><clause id="id9760A2E4A0654A17A1380A8EBDFA4AA0"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>the petitioner has replied to any request from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for additional evidence.</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idA3FD530C0C8748969BC00F9E68C769E3"><enum>(C)</enum><header>Expedited processing</header><text>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.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id0C6A77A9C2434682AD371C59A0603F78"><enum>(5)</enum><header>Labor attestation</header><text>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.</text></paragraph></subsection><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></section></legis-body></bill> |
