II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3157 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 3, 2021 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. COONS, and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 New Americans Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) APPLICABLE IMMIGRANTS AND REFU2 GEES.—The term ‘‘applicable immigrants and refu3 gees’’— 

4 (A) means individuals who— 

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

6 the United States; and 

7 (II) are lawfully present in the United 

8 States and authorized to be employed in 

9 the United States; or 

10 (ii) are naturalized citizens of the 

11 United States who were born outside of the 

12 United States and its outlying possessions; 

13 and 

14 (B) includes individuals described in sec15 tion 602(b)(2) of the Afghan Allies Protection 

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

17 Law 111–8; 8 U.S.C. 1101 note). 

18 (2) OTHER TERMS.—Except as otherwise de19 fined in this section, terms used in this Act have the 

20 definitions given such terms under section 101(a) of 

21 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

22 1101(a)). 


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1 SEC. 3. STUDY ON FACTORS AFFECTING EMPLOYMENT OP2 PORTUNITIES FOR IMMIGRANTS AND REFU3 GEES WITH PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS 

4 OBTAINED IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

5 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.— 

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

7 coordination with the Secretary of State, the Sec8 retary of Education, the Secretary of Health and 

9 Human Services, the Secretary of Commerce, the 

10 Secretary of Homeland Security, the Administrator 

11 of the Internal Revenue Service, and the Commis12 sioner of the Social Security Administration, shall 

13 conduct a study of the factors affecting employment 

14 opportunities in the United States for applicable im15 migrants and refugees who have professional creden16 tials that were obtained in a country other than the 

17 United States. 

18 (2) WORK WITH OTHER ENTITIES.—The Sec19 retary of Labor shall seek to work with relevant non20 profit organizations and State agencies to use the 

21 existing data and resources of such entities to con22 duct the study required under paragraph (1). 

23 (3) LIMITATIONS ON DISCLOSURE.—Any infor24 mation provided to the Secretary of Labor in con25 nection with the study required under paragraph 

26 (1)— 


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

2 and to the extent necessary to ensure the effi3 cient operation of, such study; and 

4 (B) may not be disclosed to any other per5 son or entity except as provided under this sub6 section. 

7 (b) INCLUSIONS.—The study required under sub8 section (a)(1) shall include— 

9 (1) an analysis of the employment history of 

10 applicable immigrants and refugees admitted to the 

11 United States during the 5-year period immediately 

12 preceding the date of the enactment of this Act, 

13 which shall include, to the extent practicable— 

14 (A) a comparison of the employment appli15 cable immigrants and refugees held before im16 migrating to the United States with the employ17 ment they obtained in the United States, if any, 

18 since their arrival; and 

19 (B) the occupational and professional cre20 dentials and academic degrees held by applica21 ble immigrants and refugees before immigrating 

22 to the United States; 

23 (2) an assessment of any barriers that prevent 

24 applicable immigrants and refugees from using occuVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Nov 05, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3157.IS S3157

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1 pational experience obtained outside the United 

2 States to obtain employment in the United States; 

3 (3) an analysis of available public and private 

4 resources assisting applicable immigrants and refu5 gees who have professional experience and qualifica6 tions obtained outside of the United States to obtain 

7 skill-appropriate employment in the United States; 

8 and 

9 (4) policy recommendations for better enabling 

10 applicable immigrants and refugees who have profes11 sional experience and qualifications obtained outside 

12 of the United States to obtain skill-appropriate em13 ployment in the United States. 

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

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

16 shall— 

17 (1) submit a report to Congress that describes 

18 the results of the study conducted pursuant to sub19 section (a); and 

20 (2) make such report publicly available on the 

21 website of the Department of Labor. 

Æ 


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