Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act

This bill aims to quickly add more nurses and doctors to the U.S. by using employment-based immigrant visas that went unused in past years. It allows up to 40,000 visas for workers, with 25,000 set aside for professional nurses and 15,000 for physicians. Family members can come too and won’t count against those nurse/doctor set‑asides. These visas won’t be limited by the usual country caps and will be given out by the date people first applied. The government must fast‑track these cases without charging extra “premium” fees, and move paperwork quickly between agencies. For nurse hires, employers must attest they are not replacing a U.S. worker.

Key points:

• Who is affected: Professional nurses, physicians, and their families; U.S. hospitals and clinics seeking staff.
• What changes: Recaptures unused employment‑based visas from 1992–2024; makes up to 40,000 available (25k nurses, 15k physicians); exempts them from country caps; speeds up processing with no extra premium fee; requires a no‑displacement attestation for nurse hires.
• When: Petitions must be filed within three years after the law takes effect; the pool of recaptured visas shrinks each year by how many are used.