This bill would recapture unused employment-based immigrant visas from fiscal years 1992 through 2024 and make them available again. Up to 40,000 visas (and their accompanying family members) could be issued if petitioned within three years after the act is enacted. Of those visas, 25,000 are reserved for professional nurses and 15,000 are reserved for physicians. The recaptured visas would not be subject to the normal per-country limits and would be issued by priority date. Family members accompanying or joining a principal beneficiary would receive unreserved visas from the recaptured pool and would not count against the nurse and physician reservations. The bill requires expedited handling: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services must provide premium processing procedures without charging a premium fee and must speed shipment of petitions needing consular processing; the Department of State must expedite visa processing. For visas reserved for nurses, the petitioner must attest in the job offer letter that hiring the foreign worker has not displaced and will not displace a United States worker.
No publicly available information on the bill's overall cost or budgetary effects. The text says USCIS may not charge a premium fee for the expedited procedures, but it does not state any estimated savings or costs to administrative agencies.
The bill is presented as a way to enhance the nurse and physician workforce by using unused employment-based visas and speeding processing for these workers and their families. Supporters note the specific reservations for nurses and physicians, the exemption from per-country limits, and the expedited processing provisions.
No publicly available information on opponents' views in the bill text or provided metadata.