Keep STEM Talent Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4623 To provide lawful permanent resident status for certain advanced STEM degree holders, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 8, 2019 Mr. FOSTER (for himself and Ms. JOHNSON of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was 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 23:06 Oct 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4623.IH H4623 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4623 IH 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 23:06 Oct 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4623.IH H4623 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4623 IH 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 by 17 striking ‘‘203(b)(2)’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Attor- 18 ney General’’ and inserting ‘‘203(b)(2), 203(b)(3), or 19 201(b)(1)(F) may file a petition with the Secretary of 20 Homeland Security’’. 21 (c) DUAL INTENT FOR F NONIMMIGRANTS SEEKING 22 ADVANCED STEM DEGREES AT UNITED STATES INSTI- 23 TUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—Notwithstanding sec- 24 tions 101(a)(15)(F)(i) and 214(b) of the Immigration and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Oct 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4623.IH H4623 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4623 IH Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(F)(i), 1184(b)), an 1 alien who is a bona fide student admitted to a program 2 in a STEM field (as defined in section 201(b)(1)(F)(ii) 3 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(1)(F)(ii))) for a degree at 4 the master’s level or higher at a United States institution 5 of higher education (as defined in section 101(a) of the 6 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))) ac- 7 credited by an accrediting entity recognized by the Depart- 8 ment of Education may obtain a student visa or extend 9 or change nonimmigrant status to pursue such degree 10 even if such alien intends to seek lawful permanent resi- 11 dent status in the United States. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Oct 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4623.IH H4623 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS