What This Bill Does
This bill aims to make more employment-based immigrant visas available in fiscal year 2024. The bill calculates how many family-sponsored visas (visas for relatives of U.S. residents) went unused between 1992 and 2021 and converts those unused visas into employment-based visas (visas for workers). The bill allows these additional employment-based visas to be distributed during fiscal year 2024 and beyond.
Who It Affects
The Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security manage the visa allocation. Foreign nationals who have filed employment-based visa applications are directly impacted. Employers seeking foreign workers are affected by increased visa availability.
Key Provisions
- For fiscal year 2024, the total number of employment-based immigrant visas increases by a specific calculation involving unused family-sponsored visas from 1992-2021 (Sec. 2(a) and 2(b))
- The Secretary of State, working with the Secretary of Homeland Security, distributes the new visas proportionally based on employment categories (Sec. 2(c))
- Visas awarded under this bill go to applicants in the order their employment-based visa applications were filed, ignoring per-country limits (limits on how many people from one nation can get visas) (Sec. 2(e))
- Each visa remains available for use in fiscal year 2024 and any following year until it is issued and someone uses it to enter the United States (Sec. 2(d))
What Changes
Employment-based visa availability increases in fiscal year 2024 by recalculating unused family-sponsored visas from previous years. The visa allocation process no longer applies per-country limitations to these recalculated visas.
Important Definitions
None defined in the bill text.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1535
To preserve expiring employment-based visas, and make them available for
issuance during fiscal year 2024.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 10, 2023
Mr. BUCSHON (for himself and Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To preserve expiring employment-based visas, and make them
available for issuance during fiscal year 2024.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Eliminating Backlogs
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Act of 2023’’.
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SEC. 2. PRESERVATION OF EXPIRING EMPLOYMENT-BASED
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VISAS.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
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sion of law, for fiscal year 2024, the worldwide level of
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employment-based immigrants authorized under section
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•HR 1535 IH
201(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
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1151(d)) shall be increased by the number computed
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under subsection (b) with respect to such worldwide levels.
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(b) COMPUTATION.—The number computed under
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this subsection is the difference (if any) between—
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(1) the number of visas that were originally
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made available to family sponsored immigrants
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under section 201(c)(1) of the Immigration and Na-
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tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(c)(1)) for fiscal years
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1992 through 2021, reduced by any unused visas
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made available to such immigrants in such fiscal
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years under section 201(c)(3) of such Act (8 U.S.C.
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1151(c)(3)); and
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(2) the sum of the number of aliens who were
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issued employment-based immigrant visas or who
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otherwise acquired the status of aliens lawfully ad-
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mitted to the United States for permanent residence
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under section 203(b) of the Immigration and Na-
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tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) during the fiscal
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years referred to in paragraph (1).
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(c) ALLOCATION.—The Secretary of State, in con-
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sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall
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allocate the visas made available as a result of the increase
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authorized under subsection (a) on a proportional basis,
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in accordance with subsections (b) and (e)(1) of section
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203 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
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1153), and with subsection (e) of this section.
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(d) AVAILABILITY.—Each visa made available under
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this section shall remain available for use in fiscal year
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2024 or in any subsequent fiscal year, until the Secretary
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of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland
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Security, determines that such visa has been issued and
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used as the basis for an application for admission into the
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United States.
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(e) INAPPLICABILITY
OF
PER-COUNTRY
LIMITA-
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TION.—Each visa made available under this section shall
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be awarded in the order in which employment-based visa
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applications were filed and shall not be subject to the nu-
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merical limitations under section 202 of the Immigration
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and Nationality Act to particular foreign states.
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Æ
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