AILA Public Statements, Press Releases

AILA Supports House Introduction of the “Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act”

5/8/20 AILA Doc. No. 20050835. Physicians & Healthcare
CONTACTS:
George Tzamaras
202-507-7649
gtzamaras@aila.org 		Belle Woods
202-507-7675
bwoods@aila.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday May 8, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) commends the leadership of Representatives Brad Schneider (D-IL), Tom Cole (R-OK), Abby Finkenauer (D-IA), and Don Bacon (R-NE) who today introduced companion legislation to a Senate Bill intended to help address the critical healthcare shortage in the United States, a weakness that has been evident during the COVID-19 national emergency.

The “Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act,” if enacted, would temporarily allow international physicians and nurses who are willing and able to fill health care staffing shortages access to unused immigrant visas and would cut their wait to permanently work in the United States down years, if not decades.

The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would be an important first step toward ensuring that our nation’s health care needs are met by qualified physicians and nurses in a timely manner, benefiting all of us.

The bill would recapture unused immigrant visas under Section 106(d) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 (Public Law 106– 4 313; 8 U.S.C. 1153 note) and would:

  • Authorize the recapture of 25,000 immigrant visas for professional nurses and 15,000 immigrant visas for physicians;
  • Allow these visas to be issued in order of the priority date, regardless of per-country limitations;
  • Issue recaptured visas for the spouse and children of these individuals, without limit;
  • Require the Departments of Homeland Security and State to more quickly process these applications/petitions;
  • Mandate that a petitioner attest that in hiring the professional nurse a U.S. worker has not or will not be displaced.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association is the national association of immigration lawyers established to promote justice, advocate for fair and reasonable immigration law and policy, advance the quality of immigration and nationality law and practice, and enhance the professional development of its members.

Related Resources