S. 2759: Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act (119th Congress) Bill Summary

This bill, known as the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, aims to address the shortage of healthcare workers in the United States, specifically nurses and physicians, by allowing the recapture of unused immigrant visas. Here’s a breakdown of what the bill entails:

Recapturing Unused Visas

The bill proposes to recapture employment-based immigrant visas that went unused between 1992 and 2024. The recaptured visas would be specifically allocated for healthcare professionals, as follows:

Up to 40,000 employment-based immigrant visas can be issued to qualified individuals and their family members.
Of these, 25,000 visas would be reserved for professional nurses.
15,000 visas would be reserved for physicians.

Exemption from Country Caps

Visas provided under this bill would not be subject to the limits placed on immigration from individual countries. They would instead be processed based on the date when the application for the visa was submitted.

Family Members

The bill allows for family members of the primary visa holders (beneficiaries) to accompany them. These family visas would come from the recaptured unused immigrant visa pool and would not count against the reserved visas for nurses and physicians.

Processing Procedures

The bill mandates that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State implement expedited processing procedures for the review of applications under this act. Additionally:

No premium fees will be charged for this expedited processing.
Petitions requiring consular processing will be expedited immediately after they are resolved.

Labor Attestation Requirement

Before the issuance of immigrant visas for nurses, employers must attest that hiring the immigrant will not displace any U.S. workers. This requirement is aimed at protecting American jobs while encouraging the hiring of foreign healthcare professionals.

Duration of the Provisions

The provisions of this bill will be in effect for three years following its enactment, with the goal of promptly addressing the current healthcare workforce shortages.