119-s2759

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2759 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2759

 To enhance our Nation's nurse and physician workforce by recapturing 
 unused immigrant visas.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 September 10, 2025

Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Welch, Ms. Collins, Mr. Coons, 
 Mr. Marshall, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Young, Mr. Padilla, and Mr. Rounds) 
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 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 (title I of 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 under 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 are 
 filed not later than 3 years after the date of the 
 enactment of the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act.
 ``
        (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.
 ``
            (D) Additional limitation.--Visas may only be 
 made available under this subsection to a beneficiary 
 and such beneficiary's dependents if visas are not 
 otherwise immediately available to such individuals 
 pursuant to the worldwide and per country allocations 
 set forth in sections 202

    (a)

    (2) and 203

    (b) of the 
 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152

    (a)

    (2) and 1153

    (b) ).
 ``

    (3) Number available.--
 ``
        (A) Unused visas.--Subject to subparagraph
        (B) , 
 the number calculated under this paragraph is the 
 difference between--
 ``
            (i) the total number of employment-based 
 visas that were made available for fiscal years 
 1992 through 2024; 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 fiscal year during which 
 the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act is enacted, 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 or to the 
 Department of Homeland Security as an application for an 
 adjustment of status, that the hiring of the alien has not 
 displaced and will not displace a United States worker.''.
 <all>