I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10375 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Mutual Education 

and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 to strengthen the critical minerals 

workforce in the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 11, 2024 

Mr. TORRES of New York (for himself, Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mr. 

KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. GIMENEZ, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, and Ms. STEVENS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act and the 

Mutual Education and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 

to strengthen the critical minerals workforce in the 

United States. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Critical Minerals 

5 Workforce Enhancement Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ENGINEERS WORKING IN MINING, REFINING, PROC2 ESSING, AND RECYCLING OF CRITICAL MIN3 ERALS. 

4 Section 203(b)(2)(B) of the Immigration and Nation5 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(2)(B)) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary of Homeland Se8 curity may grant a national interest waiver 

9 pursuant to clause (i) on behalf of any 

10 alien engineer with respect to whom a peti11 tion for preference classification has been 

12 filed under subparagraph (A) if the alien 

13 engineer agrees to work full-time for a 

14 business or Federal or State agency to ad15 vance the production (including extrac16 tion), processing (including refining), or 

17 recycling (including reuse) of critical min18 erals (as such term is defined in section 

19 7002(a) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 

20 U.S.C. 1606(a))).’’. 

21 SEC. 3. MULTINATIONAL EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGES. 

22 Section 102 of the Mutual Educational and Cultural 

23 Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2452) is amended by 

24 striking subsection (b) and inserting the following: 

25 ‘‘(b) EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGES RELATING TO CRIT26 ICAL MINERALS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may support 

2 and promote educational exchanges to advance the 

3 study of the production, processing, and recycling of 

4 critical minerals, and the professional development 

5 of individuals in mining or clean energy sectors re6 lating to the production, processing, reclamation, or 

7 recycling of critical minerals, including by— 

8 ‘‘(A) providing opportunities for United 

9 States citizens to study in and obtain degrees 

10 and certifications from schools and institutions 

11 of learning located outside the United States 

12 that offer specialized instruction in the produc13 tion, processing, reclamation, or recycling of 

14 critical minerals; 

15 ‘‘(B) facilitating the enrollment of citizens 

16 of foreign countries in schools and institutions 

17 of learning located in the United States to pur18 sue degrees and certifications in a field related 

19 to the production, processing, reclamation, or 

20 recycling of critical minerals; 

21 ‘‘(C) supporting the development of edu22 cational partnerships and exchange programs 

23 focused on critical minerals between United 

24 States institutions and foreign institutions, in25 cluding research collaborations, joint degree 


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1 programs, and training initiatives to address 

2 global challenges relating to the production, 

3 processing, reclamation, or recycling of critical 

4 minerals; and 

5 ‘‘(D) encouraging and providing funding 

6 for scholarships, fellowships, and grants for stu7 dents and professionals engaged in international 

8 studies or training related to the production, 

9 processing, reclamation, or recycling of critical 

10 minerals. 

11 ‘‘(2) CRITICAL MINERALS DEFINED.—In this 

12 subsection, the term ‘critical minerals’ has the 

13 meaning given such term in section 7002(a) of the 

14 Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)).’’. 

Æ 


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