Sponsors (2)
The bill substantially expands and modernizes family‑ and employment‑based immigration pathways and fixes pandemic/ban‑related harms, speeding reunification and reducing some backlogs, but it raises near‑term demands on local services and federal immigration agencies, increases fiscal and vetting burdens, and creates trade‑offs around fairness and enforcement.
Millions of family‑based beneficiaries (spouses, children, parents, surviving relatives, and long‑waiting petitioners) would face substantially shorter waits and gain new eligibility pathways because family visa availability is raised (480,000 baseline plus recapture), long‑waiting priority dates (>10 years) are exempted from numerical limits, filing windows for survivors are extended, and refugee
Skilled employment‑based applicants would see reduced backlogs because the employment‑based annual baseline is increased (140,000 plus recapture), which should speed permanent admission for many workers and their families.
Diversity Visa program selectees (including displaced FY2017–FY2022 winners) regain fair treatment and more diversity immigrants overall will be admitted because the bill preserves visa availability for displaced DV selectees and raises the annual DV cap from 55,000 to 80,000.
Higher overall immigration levels (more family visas, bigger DV cap, expanded refugee reunification) will increase short‑term demand for local services—housing, schools, health care, and other public supports—and could strain community resources in receiving areas.
USCIS, State Department, DHS, and consular operations will face substantial new workload (more visas to adjudicate, preserved past DV cases, timebound deadlines and expanded referral duties), risking slower processing or diverted resources away from other immigration and enforcement priorities unless staffing and funding are increased.
Net federal costs for adjudication and refugee resettlement are likely to rise, which could lead to higher fees or greater taxpayer expenditures absent offsetting appropriations.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Raises family and employment immigrant visa baselines with recapture, creates a "permanent partner" family category, increases Diversity Visas to 80,000, and strengthens refugee family reunification rules.
Introduced December 10, 2025 by Mazie Hirono · Last progress December 10, 2025
Increases family‑ and employment‑based immigrant visa availability by establishing higher annual baselines (480,000 family; 140,000 employment) and requiring automatic addition of unused visa numbers from the prior year and unused numbers dating back to FY1992–FY2025. Expands who counts as family by recognizing "permanent partners" and broadening the definition of "child," raises the Diversity Visa allotment from 55,000 to 80,000, preserves DV access for applicants blocked by certain travel bans or COVID‑19, and directs new refugee‑reunification priorities and procedural protections to speed family reunions and allow simultaneous pursuit of refugee and non‑refugee options. The bill makes many technical and cross‑reference edits across the Immigration and Nationality Act, creates new filing categories and eligibility rules for refugee family reunification (Priority 3), and requires the Departments of State and Homeland Security to issue regulations, training, and operational plans to implement the refugee and consular provisions. Some INA amendments take effect 60 days after enactment; other timing is left to regulatory implementation or not specified.