117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3157 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of Labor to conduct a study of 

the factors affecting employment opportunities for immigrants and refugees with professional credentials obtained in foreign countries. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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†S 3157 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bridging the Gap for 

3 New Americans Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) APPLICABLE IMMIGRANTS AND REFU7 GEES.—The term ‘‘applicable immigrants and refu8 gees’’— 

9 (A) means individuals who— 

10 (i)(I) are not citizens or nationals of 

11 the United States; and 

12 (II) are lawfully present in the United 

13 States and authorized to be employed in 

14 the United States; or 

15 (ii) are naturalized citizens of the 

16 United States who were born outside of the 

17 United States and its outlying possessions; 

18 and 

19 (B) includes individuals described in sec20 tion 602(b)(2) of the Afghan Allies Protection 

21 Act of 2009 (title VI of division F of Public 

22 Law 111–8; 8 U.S.C. 1101 note). 

23 (2) OTHER TERMS.—Except as otherwise de24 fined in this section, terms used in this Act have the 

25 definitions given such terms under section 101(a) of 
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1 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

2 1101(a)). 

3 SEC. 3. STUDY ON FACTORS AFFECTING EMPLOYMENT OP4 PORTUNITIES FOR IMMIGRANTS AND REFU5 GEES WITH PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS 

6 OBTAINED IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

7 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor, in 

9 coordination with the Secretary of State, the Sec10 retary of Education, the Secretary of Health and 

11 Human Services, the Secretary of Commerce, the 

12 Secretary of Homeland Security, the Administrator 

13 of the Internal Revenue Service, and the Commis14 sioner of the Social Security Administration, shall 

15 conduct a study of the factors affecting employment 

16 opportunities in the United States for applicable im17 migrants and refugees who have professional creden18 tials that were obtained in a country other than the 

19 United States. 

20 (2) WORK WITH OTHER ENTITIES.—The Sec21 retary of Labor shall seek to work with relevant non22 profit organizations and State agencies to use the 

23 existing data and resources of such entities to con24 duct the study required under paragraph (1). 
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1 (3) LIMITATIONS ON DISCLOSURE.—Any infor2 mation provided to the Secretary of Labor in con3 nection with the study required under paragraph 

4 (1)— 

5 (A) may only be used for the purposes of, 

6 and to the extent necessary to ensure the effi7 cient operation of, such study; and 

8 (B) may not be disclosed to any other per9 son or entity except as provided under this sub10 section. 

11 (b) INCLUSIONS.—The study required under sub12 section (a)(1) shall include— 

13 (1) an analysis of the employment history of 

14 applicable immigrants and refugees admitted to the 

15 United States during the 5-year period immediately 

16 preceding the date of the enactment of this Act, 

17 which shall include, to the extent practicable— 

18 (A) a comparison of the employment appli19 cable immigrants and refugees held before im20 migrating to the United States with the employ21 ment they obtained in the United States, if any, 

22 since their arrival; and 

23 (B) the occupational and professional cre24 dentials and academic degrees held by applica-
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1 ble immigrants and refugees before immigrating 

2 to the United States; 

3 (2) an assessment of any barriers that prevent 

4 applicable immigrants and refugees from using occu5 pational experience obtained outside the United 

6 States to obtain employment in the United States; 

7 (3) an analysis of available public and private 

8 resources assisting applicable immigrants and refu9 gees who have professional experience and qualifica10 tions obtained outside of the United States to obtain 

11 skill-appropriate employment in the United States; 

12 and 

13 (4) policy recommendations for better enabling 

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

16 of the United States to obtain skill-appropriate em17 ployment in the United States. 

18 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor 

20 shall— 

21 (1) submit a report to Congress that describes 

22 the results of the study conducted pursuant to sub23 section (a); and 
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1 (2) make such report publicly available on the 

2 website of the Department of Labor. 

Passed the Senate June 23, 2022. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3157 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of Labor to conduct a 

sional credentials obtained in foreign countries. tunities for immigrants and refugees with professtudy of the factors affecting employment oppor-