I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5477 

To provide lawful permanent resident status for certain advanced STEM 

degree holders, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 

Mr. FOSTER (for himself, Mr. LAWLER, Mr. NICKEL, and Ms. GARCIA of 

Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide lawful permanent resident status for certain 

advanced STEM degree holders, 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 ‘‘Keep STEM Talent 

5 Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. VISA REQUIREMENTS. 

7 (a) GRADUATE DEGREE VISA REQUIREMENTS.—To 

8 be approved for or maintain nonimmigrant status under 

9 section 101(a)(15)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality 

10 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(F)), a student seeking to purVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Sep 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5477.IH H5477

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1 sue an advanced degree in a STEM field (as defined in 

2 section 201(b)(1)(F)(ii) of the Immigration and Nation3 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(1)(F)(ii))) (as amended by 

4 section 3(a)) for a degree at the master’s level or higher 

5 at a United States institution of higher education (as de6 fined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))) must apply for admission prior 

8 to beginning such advanced degree program. 

9 (b) STRENGTHENED VETTING PROCESS.—The Sec10 retary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State 

11 shall establish procedures to ensure that aliens described 

12 in subsection (a) are admissible pursuant to section 

13 212(a)(3)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

14 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(A)). Such procedures shall ensure that 

15 such aliens seeking admission from within the United 

16 States undergo verification of academic credentials, com17 prehensive background checks, and interviews in a manner 

18 equivalent to that of an alien seeking admission from out19 side of the United States. To the greatest extent prac20 ticable, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Sec21 retary of State shall also take steps to ensure that such 

22 applications for admission are processed in a timely man23 ner to allow the pursuit of graduate education. 

24 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of 

25 Homeland Security and the Secretary of State shall subVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:17 Sep 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5477.IH H5477

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1 mit an annual report to the Committee on the Judiciary 

2 of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

3 House of Representatives detailing the implementation 

4 and effectiveness of the requirement for foreign graduate 

5 students pursuing advanced degrees in STEM fields to 

6 seek admission prior to pursuing a graduate degree pro7 gram. The report shall include data on visa application 

8 volumes, processing times, security outcomes, and eco9 nomic impacts. 

10 SEC. 3. LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS FOR CER11 TAIN ADVANCED STEM DEGREE HOLDERS. 

12 (a) ALIENS NOT SUBJECT TO DIRECT NUMERICAL

13 LIMITATIONS.—Section 201(b)(1) of the Immigration and 

14 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(1)) is amended by add15 ing at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(F)(i) Aliens who— 

17 ‘‘(I) have earned a degree in a STEM 

18 field at the master’s level or higher while 

19 physically present in the United States 

20 from a United States institution of higher 

21 education (as defined in section 101(a) of 

22 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

23 U.S.C. 1001(a))) accredited by an accred24 iting entity recognized by the Department 

25 of Education; 


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1 ‘‘(II) have an offer of employment 

2 from, or are employed by, a United States 

3 employer to perform work that is directly 

4 related to such degree at a rate of pay that 

5 is higher than the median wage level for 

6 the occupational classification in the area 

7 of employment, as determined by the Sec8 retary of Labor; and 

9 ‘‘(III) have an approved labor certifi10 cation under section 212(a)(5)(A)(i); or 

11 ‘‘(IV) are the spouses and children of 

12 aliens described in subclauses (I) through 

13 (III) who are accompanying or following to 

14 join such aliens. 

15 ‘‘(ii) In this subparagraph, the term 

16 ‘STEM field’ means a field of science, 

17 technology, engineering, or mathematics 

18 described in the most recent version of the 

19 Classification of Instructional Programs of 

20 the Department of Education taxonomy 

21 under the summary group of— 

22 ‘‘(I) computer and information 

23 sciences and support services; 

24 ‘‘(II) engineering; 

25 ‘‘(III) mathematics and statistics; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) biological and biomedical 

2 sciences; 

3 ‘‘(V) physical sciences; 

4 ‘‘(VI) agriculture sciences; or 

5 ‘‘(VII) natural resources and con6 servation sciences.’’. 

7 (b) PROCEDURE FOR GRANTING IMMIGRATION STA8 TUS.—Section 204(a)(1)(F) of the Immigration and Na9 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(F)) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘203(b)(2)’’ and all that follows 

11 through ‘‘Attorney General’’; and 

12 (2) by inserting ‘‘203(b)(2), 203(b)(3), or 

13 201(b)(1)(F) may file a petition with the Secretary 

14 of Homeland Security’’. 

15 (c) LABOR CERTIFICATION.—Section 212(a)(5)(D) 

16 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

17 1182(a)(5)(D)) is amended by inserting ‘‘section 

18 201(b)(1)(F) or under’’ after ‘‘adjustment of status 

19 under’’. 

20 (d) DUAL INTENT FOR F NONIMMIGRANTS SEEKING

21 ADVANCED STEM DEGREES AT UNITED STATES INSTI22 TUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—Notwithstanding sec23 tions 101(a)(15)(F)(i) and 214(b) of the Immigration and 

24 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(F)(i) and1184(b)), 

25 an alien who is a bona fide student admitted to a program 


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1 in a STEM field (as defined in subparagraph (F)(ii) of 

2 section 201(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

3 (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(1))) for a degree at the master’s level 

4 or higher at a United States institution of higher edu5 cation (as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu6 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))) accredited by an 

7 accrediting entity recognized by the Department of Edu8 cation may obtain a student visa, be admitted to the 

9 United States as a nonimmigrant student, or extend or 

10 change nonimmigrant status to pursue such degree even 

11 if such alien seeks lawful permanent resident status in the 

12 United States. Nothing in this subsection may be con13 strued to modify or amend section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) or 

14 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

15 1101(a)(15)(F)(i) or 1184(b)), or any regulation inter16 preting these authorities for an alien who is not described 

17 in this subsection. 

Æ 


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