I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8046 

To direct the Secretary of Labor, in coordination with other agencies, to 

conduct a study on the factors affecting the employment opportunities 

in the United States of immigrants and refugees who have professional 

credentials obtained in foreign countries, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 14, 2020 

Mr. KATKO (for himself and Mr. MCADAMS) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Labor, in coordination with other 

agencies, to conduct a study on the factors affecting 

the employment opportunities in the United States of 

immigrants and refugees who have professional credentials obtained in foreign countries, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Improving Opportuni5 ties for New Americans Act of 2020’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 8046 IH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The United States has a long history of wel4 coming individuals of diverse national backgrounds 

5 who legally travel to the United States seeking op6 portunity and prosperity. 

7 (2) Immigrants and refugees in the United 

8 States bring a diverse range of professional back9 grounds that strengthens the workforce of the 

10 United States and benefits American businesses. 

11 (3) The underutilization of the skills and expe12 rience of immigrants and refugees, often referred to 

13 as brain waste, comes at a significant cost to the 

14 economy of the United States and to immigrant 

15 families. 

16 (4) In 2016, researchers at the Migration Pol17 icy Institute found that nearly 2 million immigrants 

18 and refugees with college degrees in the United 

19 States were relegated to low-skilled jobs or were un20 able to find work. 

21 (5) On an annual basis, this underutilization is 

22 estimated to result in more than $10 billion in unre23 alized tax receipts from Federal, State, and local 

24 governments, and over $39 billion in unrealized 

25 wages for college-educated immigrants and refugees. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 8046 IH

1 (6) Many factors contribute to brain waste, in2 cluding language barriers, limits on the recognition 

3 of international degrees and credentials, the accessi4 bility of relicensing processes, and the availability of 

5 professional networks and assistance in finding suit6 able employment. 

7 (7) In the interest of strengthening the econ8 omy of the United States and ensuring consistent 

9 opportunities for the realization of the full potential 

10 of immigrant and refugee families, substantive ef11 forts must be made to analyze and address the scope 

12 of brain waste in the United States. 

13 SEC. 3. STUDY ON FACTORS AFFECTING EMPLOYMENT OP14 PORTUNITIES FOR IMMIGRANTS AND REFU15 GEES WITH PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS 

16 OBTAINED IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

17 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

19 conduct a study on the factors affecting employment 

20 opportunities in the United States for applicable im21 migrants and refugees with professional credentials 

22 obtained in countries other than the United States. 

23 (2) COORDINATION.—The Department of Labor 

24 shall conduct this study in coordination with the 

25 Secretary of State, the Secretary of Education, the 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 8046 IH

1 Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Sec2 retary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Se3 curity, the Administrator of the Internal Revenue 

4 Service, and the Commissioner of the Social Security 

5 Administration. 

6 (3) WORK WITH OTHER ENTITIES.—The Sec7 retary of Labor shall seek to work with relevant non8 profit organizations and State agencies to use the 

9 existing data and resources of such entities to con10 duct the study in paragraph (1). 

11 (b) INCLUSIONS.—The study under subsection (a)(1) 

12 shall include the following: 

13 (1) An analysis of the employment history of 

14 applicable immigrants and refugees admitted to the 

15 United States in the last 5 years. This analysis shall 

16 include, to the extent practicable, a comparison of 

17 the employment applicable immigrants and refugees 

18 held prior to immigrating to the United States with 

19 the employment obtained in the United States, if 

20 any, since the arrival of such applicable immigrants 

21 and refugees. This analysis shall also note the occu22 pational and professional credentials and academic 

23 degrees held by applicable immigrants and refugees 

24 prior to immigrating to the United States. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 8046 IH

1 (2) As assessment of any barriers that prevent 

2 applicable immigrants and refugees from using occu3 pational experience obtained outside the United 

4 States to obtain employment opportunities in the 

5 United States. 

6 (3) An analysis of existing public and private 

7 resources assisting applicable immigrants and refu8 gees who have professional experience and qualifica9 tions obtained outside the United States with using 

10 such professional experience and qualifications to ob11 tain skill-appropriate employment opportunities in 

12 the United States. 

13 (4) Policy recommendations for better enabling 

14 applicable immigrants and refugees who have profes15 sional experience and qualifications obtained outside 

16 the United States to use such professional experi17 ence and qualifications to obtain skill-appropriate 

18 employment opportunities in the United States. 

19 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall 

21 submit to Congress and make publically available on the 

22 website of the Department of Labor a report that de23 scribes the results of the study conducted under subsection 

24 (a)(1). 

25 (d) DEFINITIONS.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 8046 IH

1 (1) APPLICABLE IMMIGRANTS AND REFU2 GEES.—For the purposes of this section, the term 

3 ‘‘applicable immigrants and refugees’’ means individ4 uals who are— 

5 (A) aliens that are lawfully present and 

6 authorized to be employed; or 

7 (B) naturalized citizens born outside of the 

8 United States and its outlying possessions. 

9 (2) OTHER TERMS.—Except as otherwise de10 fined in this subsection, terms used in this section 

11 have the definitions given such terms under section 

12 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

13 U.S.C. 1101(a)). 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS