Keep STEM Talent Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1744 To provide lawful permanent resident status for certain advanced STEM degree holders, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 5, 2019 Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. HARRIS, and Ms. KLO- BUCHAR) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide lawful permanent resident status for certain advanced STEM degree holders, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Keep STEM Talent 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS FOR CER- 6 TAIN ADVANCED STEM DEGREE HOLDERS. 7 (a) ALIENS NOT SUBJECT TO DIRECT NUMERICAL 8 LIMITATIONS.—Section 201(b)(1) of the Immigration and 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:30 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1744 IS Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(1)) is amended by add- 1 ing at the end the following: 2 ‘‘(F)(i) Aliens who— 3 ‘‘(I) have earned a degree in a STEM 4 field at the master’s level or higher while 5 physically present in the United States 6 from a United States institution of higher 7 education (as defined in section 101(a) of 8 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 9 U.S.C. 1001(a))) accredited by an accred- 10 iting entity recognized by the Department 11 of Education; 12 ‘‘(II) have an offer of employment 13 from, or are employed by, a United States 14 employer in a field related to such degree 15 at a rate of pay that is higher than the 16 median wage level for the occupational 17 classification in the area of employment, as 18 determined by the Secretary of Labor; and 19 ‘‘(III) are admissible pursuant to an 20 approved labor certification under section 21 212(a)(5)(A)(i). 22 ‘‘(ii) In this subparagraph, the term 23 ‘STEM field’ means a field of science, tech- 24 nology, engineering, or mathematics described 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:34 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1744 IS in the most recent version of the Classification 1 of Instructional Programs of the Department of 2 Education taxonomy under the summary group 3 of— 4 ‘‘(I) computer and information 5 sciences and support services; 6 ‘‘(II) engineering; 7 ‘‘(III) mathematics and statistics; 8 ‘‘(IV) biological and biomedical 9 sciences; 10 ‘‘(V) physical sciences; 11 ‘‘(VI) agriculture sciences; or 12 ‘‘(VII) natural resources and con- 13 servation sciences.’’. 14 (b) PROCEDURE FOR GRANTING IMMIGRATION STA- 15 TUS.—Section 204(a)(1)(F) of the Immigration and Na- 16 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(F)) is amended— 17 (1) by striking ‘‘203(b)(2)’’ and all that follows 18 through ‘‘Attorney General’’; and 19 (2) by inserting ‘‘203(b)(2), 203(b)(3), or 20 201(b)(1)(F) may file a petition with the Secretary 21 of Homeland Security’’. 22 (c) DUAL INTENT FOR F NONIMMIGRANTS SEEKING 23 ADVANCED STEM DEGREES AT UNITED STATES INSTI- 24 TUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—Notwithstanding sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:34 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1744 IS tions 101(a)(15)(F)(i) and 214(b) of the Immigration and 1 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(F)(i), 1184(b)), an 2 alien who is a bona fide student admitted to a program 3 in a STEM field (as defined in section 201(b)(1)(F)(ii)) 4 for a degree at the master’s level or higher at a United 5 States institution of higher education (as defined in sec- 6 tion 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 7 U.S.C. 1001(a))) accredited by an accrediting entity rec- 8 ognized by the Department of Education may obtain a 9 student visa or extend or change nonimmigrant status to 10 pursue such degree even if such alien intends to seek law- 11 ful permanent resident status in the United States. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:34 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS