The U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law approved legislation that would raise the cap on employment-based visas for qualified, foreign educated registered nurses and physical therapists by 20,000.
The legislation, H.R. 5924, was introduced by Representatives Robert Wexler (D-FL) and James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) in response to the nation’s persistent nursing shortage.
Specifically, The Emergency Nurse Supply Relief Act addresses the unavailability of employment-based visas (EB-3 visas) for nurses by providing a three-year exemption from the current employment-based visa cap. It loosens that cap, replacing it with a separate annual cap of 20,000 registered nurses (RNs) and physician assistants (PTs), allowing for 60,000 RNs and PTs to come to the United States over the next three years.
The legislation would also authorize a grant program for nursing schools aimed at increasing the number of domestically trained nurses and for current nurses who wish to pursue a graduate degree in nursing. The full committee is expected to take up the HANYS-supported legislation in September. (source)
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