,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #fghh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,may #h1 #bjbj,mr4   
,schneider 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,cole1    
,ms4 ,finkenauer1 and ,mr4 ,bacon7      
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on the      
,judiciary  ,a ,,bill  ,to enhance our  
,nation's nurse and physician workforce 
during the ,,covid-#ai crisis by        
recapturing unused immigrant visas4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,healthcare ,workforce ,resilience 
,act4  #b4 ,recapturing unused immigrant
 visas for professional nurses and      
physicians ,section #ajf7;d7 of the     
,american ,competitiveness in the       
,twenty-first ,century ,act of #bjjj    
7,public ,law #ajf-cac2 #h ,u4,s4,c4    
#aaec note7 is amended to read as       
follows3  7d7 ,recapture of unused      
employment-,based immigrant visas  7#a7 
,in general ,subject to paragraph 7#b71 
and notwithstanding any other provision 
of law1 the number of employment-based  

visas made available under section      
#bjc7;b7 of the ,immigration and        
,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4         
#aaec7;b77 shall be increased by the    
number calculated in paragraph 7#c74    
7#b7 ,limitations  7,a7 ,in general     
,visas may only be made available under 
this subsection for up to #dj1jjj       
employment-based immigrants 7and their  
family members accompanying or following
 to join under section #bjc7;d7 of such 
,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaec7;d777 whose    
immigrant worker petitions were filed   
before the date that is #ij days after  
the termination of the ,president's     
declaration of a national emergency     
under sections #bja and #cja of the     
,national ,emergencies ,act 7#ej        
,u4,s4,c4 #afja et seq47 pertaining to  
the ,,covid-#ai outbreak in the ,united 
,states 7referred to in this subsection 
as the ,,covid-#ai emergency            
declaration74  7,b7 ,reservations ,of   
the visas authorized under subparagraph 
7,a7-- 7i7 #be1jjj shall be reserved for

 professional nurses2 and  7ii7 #ae1jjj 
shall be reserved for physicians4  7,c7 
,exemption from country caps ,visas made
 available under this subsection-- 7i7  
shall not be subject to the per country 
numerical limitation set forth in       
section #bjb7;a77#b7 of the ,immigration
 and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4    
#aaeb7;a77#b772 and  7ii7 shall be      
issued in order of the priority date    
assigned at the time the visa petition  
was filed4  7#c7 ,number available  7,a7
 ,unused visas ,subject to subparagraph 
7,b71 the number calculated in this     
paragraph is the difference between--   
7i7 the total number of employment-based
 visas that were made available in      
fiscal years #aiib through #bjbj2 and   
7ii7 the total number of such visas that
 were used in such fiscal years4  7,b7  
,reduction and limitation ,the number   
described in subparagraph 7,a7 shall be 
reduced1 for each fiscal year following 
the first fiscal year in which the      
,,covid-#ai emergency declaration is in 

effect1 by the cumulative number of     
immigrant visas used pursuant to        
paragraph 7#a74  7,c7 ,family members   
7i7 ,in general ,family members         
described in section #bjc7;d7 of the    
,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h  
,u4,s4,c4 #aaec7;d77 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 beneficiary4  7ii7    
,exempt from skill-based numerical      
limitation ,visas described in clause   
7i7-- 7,i7 shall be made available from 
the pool of recaptured unused immigrant 
visas calculated under subparagraph     
7,a72 and  7,,ii7 shall not be counted  
against the total number of immigrant   
visas reserved for professional nurses  
and physicians under paragraph 7#b74    
7,d7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in  
this paragraph may be construed as      
affecting the application of section    

#bja7;c77#c77;,c7 of the ,immigration   
and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4     
#aaea7;c77#c77;,c774  7#d7 ,premium     
processing2 expedited processing  7,a7  
,premium processing ,the ,secretary of  
,homeland ,security1 in conjunction with
 the ,secretary of ,state1 shall provide
 premium processing procedures1 as      
provided for under section #bhf7u7 of   
the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act  
7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #acef7u771 for reviewing  
and acting upon petitions and           
applications for immigrants described in
 paragraph 7#b74 ,notwithstanding such  
section1 ,u4,s4 ,citizenship and        
,immigration ,services may not charge a 
premium fee for such services4  7,b7    
,shipping petitions ,the ,director of   
,u4,s4 ,citizenship and ,immigration    
,services shall expedite the shipping of
 each petition described in subparagraph
 7,a7 requiring consular processing to  
the ,department of ,state immediately   
after-- 7i7 the completed petition has  
been resolved2 and  7ii7 the petitioner 

has replied to any request from ,u4,s4  
,citizenship and ,immigration ,services 
for additional evidence4  7,c7          
,expedited processing ,the ,secretary of
 ,state shall expedite the processing of
 applications for immigrants described  
in paragraph 7#b7 after receiving a     
petition on behalf of such immigrants   
from ,u4,s4 ,citizenship and            
,immigration ,services4  7#e7 ,labor    
attestation ,before an immigrant visa   
reserved under paragraph 7#b77;,b77i7 is
 issued to an alien1 the petitioner     
shall attest1 in the job offer letter   
presented by the alien to a consular    
officer during the consular interview1  
that the hiring of the alien has not    
displaced and will not displace a       
,united ,states worker4  4