Last progress September 10, 2025 (2 months ago)
Introduced on September 10, 2025 by Richard Joseph Durbin
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text: CR S6539: 2)
This bill aims to quickly bring more nurses and doctors to the U.S. by using employment-based visas that went unused in past years. It makes up to 40,000 visas available over a 3-year window—25,000 for nurses and 15,000 for physicians—and lets their family members come too from a separate pool. These visas are not limited by country caps and are given out by the date the original petition was filed. They can only be used if a visa isn’t already available under the normal system. Agencies must speed up review and consular processing, and there’s no extra premium fee. Employers must confirm that hiring a nurse under this program won’t replace a U.S. worker.
| Key point | What it means |
|---|---|
| Who is affected | Foreign nurses and physicians, plus their families; U.S. patients and hospitals benefit from more staff. |
| What changes | Up to 40,000 recaptured visas over 3 years (25k nurses, 15k physicians), not limited by country caps; faster processing with no premium fee; family visas don’t count against the 25k/15k; employers must attest no U.S. nurse is displaced. |
| When | Petitions must be filed within 3 years after the law starts; visas are issued by priority date. |