[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5720-S5721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 6197. Mr. DURBIN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) 
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize 
appropriations for

[[Page S5721]]

fiscal year 2023 for military activities of the Department of Defense, 
for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department 
of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal 
year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as 
follows:

        At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 1077. RECAPTURING UNUSED IMMIGRANT VISAS FOR 
                   PROFESSIONAL NURSES AND PHYSICIANS.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
     ``Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act''.
       (b) In General.--Section 106(d) of the American 
     Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 
     (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 in 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 were filed before the date that is 
     90 days after the termination of the President's declaration 
     of a national emergency under sections 201 and 301 of the 
     National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) pertaining 
     to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States (referred to in 
     this subsection as the `COVID-19 emergency declaration').
       ``(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.
       ``(3) Number available.--
       ``(A) Unused visas.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the 
     number calculated in this paragraph is the difference 
     between--
       ``(i) the total number of employment-based visas that were 
     made available in fiscal years 1992 through 2020; 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 first fiscal year in which the COVID-19 
     emergency declaration is in effect, 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, that the hiring of the alien has not displaced and 
     will not displace a United States worker.''.
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