Overview
- Senators John Curtis and Mark Kelly publicly introduced the State Sponsored Visa Pilot Program Act in Congress on Monday to let individual states sponsor temporary foreign workers to meet local labor needs.
- The bill would allocate up to 5,000 state-sponsored visas per state per fiscal year, plus a population-based share of a separate 245,000-visa pool, with visas limited to three-year terms that can include spouses and minor children.
- Under the proposal DHS would retain final approval of each state’s program and the bill would allow interstate compacts so workers could move among participating states.
- The text includes a path to legal residency for people who entered illegally before Dec. 31, 2016, contingent on background checks and a $1,000 penalty, a provision that critics call an amnesty and supporters argue is a practical fix.
- Business groups and several Hispanic advocacy organizations quickly endorsed the bill as workforce relief while conservative leaders and campus groups condemned it, leaving uncertain legislative prospects and highlighting a sharp GOP split over immigration policy.