,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fije ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #ae1 #bjbj,ms4 ,jackson ,lee introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary1 and in addition to the ,committees on ,ways and ,means1 and ,energy and ,commerce1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security to establish a program for granting lawful permanent resident status to alien health care professionals providing medical services during the ,,covid-#ai emergency1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,federal ,implementation of ,recruiting1 ,staffing1 and ,triage for ,,covid-#ai ,care ,delivery ,act of #bjbj or the ,,first ,,covid-#ai ,care ,delivery ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,,covid-#ai virus1 declared a pandemic by the ,world ,health ,organization on ,january #cj1 #bjbj1 has stretched the medical resources and challenged the capacity of the health care delivery system in all regions of the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,the admission of alien health care professionals to strengthen the response and mitigation efforts of the ,united ,states during the ,,covid-#ai emergency is in the national security and public health interests of the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,attracting and rewarding such qualified alien health care professionals to respond successfully to the ,,covid-#ai emergency by granting them legal permanent residence and eligibility for full citizenship furthers the national interest4 #c4 ,lawful permanent resident status through medical service during ,,covid-#ai emergency 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall adjust the status of a covered alien health care professional1 and the noncitizen spouse and any noncitizen minor child of such alien1 to that of a lawful permanent resident if such individual1 and such spouse or child1 is not otherwise ineligible for such status under the immigration laws4 7b7 ,waiver of certain eligibility requirements ,for purposes of this section1 in determining whether an alien is eligible for status as a lawful permanent resident1 the ,secretary-- 7#a7 shall waive section #bde7;c77#h7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #abee7;c77#h772 7#b7 shall waive any applicable foreign residency requirement under the immigration laws1 including the #b-year foreign residency requirement under section #bab7;e7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahb7;e772 7#c7 may not consider any period of unlawful presence-- 7,a7 after ,december #a1 #bjai1 in the case of an alien who was lawfully present as a nonimmigrant under section #aja7;a77#ae77;,j7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja7;a77#ae77;,j77 on ,december #a1 #bjai1 whose period of authorized stay expired2 7,b7 prior to a grant of temporary protected status under section #bdd of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #abed;a71 in the case of an alien who had such status on ,december #a1 #bjai2 and 7,c7 prior to a grant of deferred action1 in the case of an alien who was1 on ,december #a1 #bjai1 a recipient of deferred action under the ,deferred ,action for ,childhood ,arrivals ,program of the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 established pursuant to the memorandum from the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security entitled 8,exercising ,prosecutorial ,discretion with ,respect to ,individuals ,who ,came to the ,united ,states as ,children01 dated ,june #ae1 #bjab2 and 7#d7 may not consider any unlawful entry in the case of an alien who is described under section #e7a77;,a77ii7 or 7iii74 7c7 ,numerical limitations ,no numerical limitation under the immigration laws1 or any other law1 shall apply to the number of aliens who may receive a benefit under this section in a fiscal year1 and no such alien shall be counted toward any such numerical limitation4 #d4 ,authorizing admission of additional alien health care professionals during an emergency period 7a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 an alien seeking admission to the ,united ,states to perform services as a physician or nurse1 including as a lawful permanent resident or under section #aja7;a77#ae77;,h7 or 7,j7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja7;a77#ae771 during an emergency period shall not be subject to or counted toward any otherwise applicable numerical limitation4 7b7 ,return of certain health care professionals ,an alien who had previously been admitted to the ,united ,states under section #aja7;a77#ae77;,j7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja7;a77#ae77 who is described in section #bab7;e77iii7 of such ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahb7;e77iii77 may be readmitted to the ,united ,states to perform health care services during an emergency period1 notwithstanding the two-year foreign residency requirement under such section #bab7;e77iii74 7c7 ,waiver of ,state licensing requirements ,a ,state may waive any applicable licensing requirements for an alien admitted under such section #aja7;a77#ae77;,h7 or 7,j7 to serve as a nurse or physician during an emergency period4 ,the head of a ,federal agency may not impose any otherwise applicable penalty on a ,state waiving a requirement described in this subsection4 #e4 ,no cap on enrollment in ,,cms medical intern programs ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 the ,administrator of the ,centers for ,medicare ,medicaid ,services may not impose any otherwise applicable numerical limitation on the number of medical interns 7as determined under section #ahhf7;h77#d7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acieww7h77#d777 who may be enrolled in programs receiving funding from the ,centers for ,medicare ,medicaid ,services during an emergency period1 and any intern enrolled in such a program during an emergency period in excess of such a numerical limitation shall be exempt from such numerical limitation after the end of such emergency period4 #f4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,except as otherwise provided1 the terms in this ,act have the meanings given those terms in the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja et seq474 7#b7 ,the term covered alien health care professional means an alien who1 on ,december #a1 #bjai-- 7,a7 7i7 was lawfully present as a nonimmigrant under section #aja7;a77#ae77;,h7 or 7,j7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja7;a77#ae77;,j772 7ii7 was a recipient of temporary protected status under section #bdd of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #abed;a72 or 7iii7 a recipient of deferred action under the ,deferred ,action for ,childhood ,arrivals ,program of the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 established pursuant to the memorandum from the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security entitled 8,exercising ,prosecutorial ,discretion with ,respect to ,individuals ,who ,came to the ,united ,states as ,children01 dated ,june #ae1 #bjab2 and 7,b7 served as a physician or a nurse during an emergency period resulting from the ,,covid-#ai pandemic for a period of not less than one year1 except that if the duration of such period is less than one year1 the requirement under this paragraph may be fulfilled by serving the remainder of the one-year period beginning on the date that the alien began providing service during such emergency period1 by serving in an area or areas designated by the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services as having a shortage of health care professionals4 7#c7 ,the term emergency period means-- 7,a7 an emergency period as such term is defined in section #aace7;g77#a7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;b-#e7;g77#a772 and 7,b7 the period during which a declaration of public health emergency made by a ,state is in effect4