I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1358 

To create a new nonimmigrant visa category for registered nurses, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 6, 2007 

Mr. SHADEGG (for himself, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. FLAKE, and Mr. RENZI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To create a new nonimmigrant visa category for registered 

nurses, 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 ‘‘Nursing Relief Act 

5 of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) There are more vacant nursing positions in 

9 the United States than there are qualified registered 


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1 nurses and nursing school candidates to fill those 

2 positions. 

3 (2) According to the Department of Labor, the 

4 current national nursing shortage exceeds 126,000. 

5 (3) States in the West and Southwest have a 

6 disproportionate number of nursing vacancies be7 cause of rapid population growth, which exacerbates 

8 a widening gap in the number of facilities and staff 

9 compared to patients that need care. 

10 (4) Foreign countries such as the Philippines, 

11 India, and China have an oversupply of nurses. 

12 (5) Major hospital systems in the United States 

13 spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year re14 cruiting foreign nurses under our current immigra15 tion system. 

16 (6) Current law, with certain limited exceptions, 

17 requires health care providers to sponsor desired 

18 nurses for permanent resident status while the 

19 nurses remain outside of the United States, which 

20 can take as much as 3 years. 

21 (7) This cost is passed on to consumers and 

22 adds to the rising cost of health care. 

23 (8) Health care providers cannot efficiently and 

24 effectively recruit qualified foreign nurses through 

25 the existing immigration process. 


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1 (9) Our health care system requires an imme2 diate modification of Federal laws relating to re3 cruitment of qualified foreign nurses in order to op4 erate at an efficient and effective level. 

5 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to create 

6 a new nonimmigrant visa category for registered nurses 

7 and establish admission requirements for such non8 immigrants. 

9 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION OF NON10 IMMIGRANT NURSES. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW NONIMMIGRANT

12 CATEGORY.—Section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and 

13 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph 

15 (U), 

16 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub17 paragraph (V) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(W) an alien who is coming temporarily to the 

20 United States to perform services as a professional 

21 nurse, as described in section 212(v)(1)(A), who 

22 meets the qualifications described in section 

23 212(v)(1)(B), and with respect to whom the Sec24 retary of Labor determines and certifies to the Sec25 retary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of 


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1 State that the intending employer has filed with the 

2 Secretary of Labor an attestation under section 

3 212(v)(2), and the alien spouse and children of any 

4 such principal alien, if accompanying or following to 

5 join the principal alien.’’. 

6 (b) REQUIRING PETITION OF IMPORTING EM7 PLOYER.—Section 214(c) of the Immigration and Nation8 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)) is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following:. 

10 ‘‘(15)(A) The question of importing any alien as a 

11 nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(W) in any specific 

12 case or specific cases shall be determined by the consular 

13 officer, after consultation with appropriate agencies of the 

14 Government, upon petition of the importing employer. 

15 Such petition shall be made and approved before the visa 

16 is granted. The petition shall be in such form and contain 

17 such information as the Secretary of Homeland Security 

18 shall prescribe by regulation. The approval of such a peti19 tion shall not, of itself, be construed as establishing that 

20 the alien is a nonimmigrant. 

21 ‘‘(B) The following petitions shall be determined by 

22 the Secretary of Homeland Security, after consultation 

23 with appropriate agencies of the Government: 

24 ‘‘(i) A petition for an alien lawfully present in 

25 the United States to be initially granted nonVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:33 Mar 08, 2007 Jkt 059196 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1358.IH H1358

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1 immigrant status described in section 

2 101(a)(15)(W). 

3 ‘‘(ii) A petition for an alien having such status 

4 to obtain an extension of stay. 

5 ‘‘(iii) A petition to obtain authorization for an 

6 alien having such status to change employers.’’. 

7 (c) SHIFTING BURDEN OF PROOF FOR NON8 IMMIGRANT STATUS.—Section 214(b) of the Immigration 

9 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(b)) is amended by 

10 striking ‘‘(L) or (V)’’ and inserting ‘‘(L), (V), or (W)’’. 

11 (d) ALLOWING PETITION FOR PERMANENT RESI12 DENCE WHILE IN NONIMMIGRANT STATUS.—Section 

13 214(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

14 1184(h)) is amended by striking ‘‘(L), or (V)’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘(L), (V), or (W)’’. 

16 (e) OTHER ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

17 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

18 1182) is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating the second subsection (t) 

20 (added by section 1(b)(2)(B) of Public Law 108–449 

21 (118 Stat. 3470)) as subsection (u); and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(v)(1)(A) For purposes of section 101(a)(15)(W) 

24 and this subsection— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the term ‘professional nurse’ means a 

2 person who applies the art and science of pro3 fessional nursing in a manner that reflects com4 prehension of principles derived from the phys5 ical, biological, and behavioral sciences; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘professional nursing’ in7 cludes— 

8 ‘‘(I) making clinical judgments involv9 ing the observation, care, and counsel of 

10 persons requiring nursing care; 

11 ‘‘(II) administering of medicines and 

12 treatments prescribed by the physician or 

13 dentist; and 

14 ‘‘(III) participation in the activities 

15 for the promotion of health and prevention 

16 of illness in others. 

17 ‘‘(B) The qualifications referred to in section 

18 101(a)(15)(W) are that the alien is qualified, under the 

19 laws (including such temporary or interim licensing provi20 sions or nurse licensure compact provisions which author21 ize the nurse to be employed) governing the place of in22 tended employment, to engage in the practice of profes23 sional nursing as a registered nurse immediately upon ad24 mission to the United States and is authorized under such 

25 laws to be employed, except that if the alien has completed 


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1 all licensing requirements except for submission of a social 

2 security account number, the alien may provide a letter 

3 from the State Board of Nursing of the State of intended 

4 employment which confirms that the alien is eligible for 

5 license issuance upon presentation of such number. 

6 ‘‘(2)(A) The attestation referred to in section 

7 101(a)(15)(W) is an attestation by the employer to the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(i) The employer is offering and will offer dur10 ing the period of authorized employment to aliens 

11 admitted or provided status under section 

12 101(a)(15)(W) wages that are at least— 

13 ‘‘(I) the actual wage level paid by the em14 ployer to all other individuals with similar expe15 rience and qualifications for the specific em16 ployment in question; or 

17 ‘‘(II) the prevailing wage level for the occu18 pational classification in the area of employ19 ment; 

20 whichever is greater, based on the best information 

21 available as of the time of the attestation. 

22 ‘‘(ii) The employment of the alien will not ad23 versely affect the wages and working conditions of 

24 registered nurses similarly employed at the worksite. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) The alien will be paid the wage rate for 

2 registered nurses similarly employed at the worksite. 

3 ‘‘(iv) There is not a strike or lockout in the 

4 course of a labor dispute in the registered nurse 

5 classification at the worksite. 

6 ‘‘(v) The employer has provided notice of the 

7 filing of the attestation to the bargaining representa8 tive of the registered nurses at the worksite or, if 

9 there is no such bargaining representative, notice of 

10 the filing has been provided to the registered nurses 

11 employed at the worksite through physical posting in 

12 a conspicuous location at the worksites. 

13 ‘‘(vi) The number of workers sought, the work 

14 locations, and the wage rate and conditions under 

15 which they will be employed. 

16 ‘‘(B) The employer shall make a copy of the attesta17 tion available for public examination, within 10 working 

18 days after the date on which the attestation is filed, at 

19 the employer’s principal place of business or worksite 

20 (along with such accompanying documents as are nec21 essary). 

22 ‘‘(C) The Secretary of Labor shall review the attesta23 tion only for completeness and obvious inaccuracies. Un24 less such Secretary finds that the attestation is incomplete 

25 or obviously inaccurate, the Secretary shall provide the 


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1 certification described in section 101(a)(15)(W) within 7 

2 days of the date of the filing of the attestation. 

3 ‘‘(D) An attestation under subparagraph (A)— 

4 ‘‘(i) shall expire on the date that is the later 

5 of— 

6 ‘‘(I) the end of the 3-year period beginning 

7 on the date on which it is filed; or 

8 ‘‘(II) the end of the period of admission 

9 under section 101(a)(15)(W) of the last alien 

10 with respect to whose admission it applied (in 

11 accordance with clause (ii)); and 

12 ‘‘(ii) shall apply to petitions described in section 

13 214(c)(15) filed during the 3-year period beginning 

14 on the date on which it is filed if the employer states 

15 in each such petition that it continues to comply 

16 with the conditions in the attestation. 

17 ‘‘(E) An employer may meet the requirements of this 

18 paragraph with respect to more than one professional 

19 nurse in a single attestation. 

20 ‘‘(F) An employer may meet the requirements of this 

21 paragraph with respect to more than one work location 

22 in a single attestation. 

23 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary of Labor shall compile, and 

24 make available for public examination in a timely manner, 

25 a list identifying employers that have filed attestations 


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1 under paragraph (2)(A). Such list shall include, with re2 spect to each attestation, the wage rate, number of aliens 

3 sought, and period of intended employment. 

4 ‘‘(B) The Secretary of Labor shall establish a process 

5 for the receipt, investigation, and disposition of complaints 

6 respecting an employer’s failure to meet a condition speci7 fied in an attestation submitted under paragraph (2)(A) 

8 or a misrepresentation of a material fact in an attestation. 

9 Complaints may be filed by any aggrieved person or orga10 nization (including bargaining representatives). The Sec11 retary shall conduct an investigation under this subpara12 graph if there is reasonable cause to believe that an em13 ployer willfully failed to meet a condition or willfully mis14 represented a material fact. No investigation or hearing 

15 shall be conducted on a complaint concerning such a fail16 ure or misrepresentation unless the complaint was filed 

17 not later than 12 months after the date of the failure or 

18 misrepresentation, respectively. 

19 ‘‘(C) Under such process, the Secretary of Labor 

20 shall provide, within 30 days after the date such a com21 plaint is filed, for a determination as to whether or not 

22 a basis exists to make a finding described in subparagraph 

23 (B). If the Secretary determines that such a basis exists, 

24 the Secretary shall provide for notice of such determina25 tion to the interested parties and an opportunity for a 


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1 hearing on the complaint within 60 days of the date of 

2 the determination. If such a hearing is requested, the Sec3 retary of Labor shall make a finding concerning the mat4 ter by not later than 60 days after the date of the hearing. 

5 In case of similar complaints respecting the same appli6 cant, the Secretary of Labor may consolidate the hearings 

7 under this clause on such complaints. 

8 ‘‘(D) If the Secretary of Labor finds, after notice and 

9 opportunity for a hearing, that an employer has willfully 

10 failed to meet a condition specified in an attestation or 

11 that there was a willful misrepresentation of material fact 

12 in the attestation, the Secretary shall notify the Secretary 

13 of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security of such 

14 finding and may, in addition, impose such other adminis15 trative remedies (including civil monetary penalties in an 

16 amount not to exceed $1,000 per nurse per violation, with 

17 the total penalty not to exceed $10,000 per violation) as 

18 the Secretary determines to be appropriate. Upon receipt 

19 of such notice, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

20 not approve petitions described in section 214(c)(15) by 

21 the employer during a period of at least 1 year for nurses 

22 to be employed by the employer. 

23 ‘‘(4)(A) A nonimmigrant alien described in subpara24 graph (B) who was previously issued a visa or otherwise 

25 provided nonimmigrant status under section 


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1 101(a)(15)(W) is authorized to accept new employment 

2 upon the filing by the prospective employer of a petition 

3 described in section 214(c)(15)(B)(iii) on behalf of such 

4 nonimmigrant. Employment authorization shall continue 

5 for such alien until such petition is adjudicated. If such 

6 petition is denied, such authorization shall cease. 

7 ‘‘(B) A nonimmigrant alien described in this subpara8 graph is a nonimmigrant alien— 

9 ‘‘(i) who has been lawfully admitted into the 

10 United States; 

11 ‘‘(ii) on whose behalf an employer has filed a 

12 nonfrivolous petition for new employment before the 

13 date of expiration of the period of stay authorized by 

14 the Secretary of Homeland Security; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) who, subsequent to such lawful admission, 

16 has not been employed without authorization in the 

17 United States before the filing of such petition. 

18 ‘‘(5)(A) The initial period of authorized admission for 

19 a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(W) may not ex20 ceed 3 years, and may be extended, except that the total 

21 period of authorized admission as such a nonimmigrant 

22 may not exceed 6 years. 

23 ‘‘(B)(i) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any non24 immigrant on whose behalf a petition under section 204(b) 

25 to accord the alien immigrant status under section 203(b), 


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1 or an application for adjustment of status under section 

2 245 to accord the alien status under section 203(b), has 

3 been filed, if 365 days or more have elapsed since the fil4 ing of such petition or application. 

5 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall ex6 tend the stay of an alien who qualifies for an exemption 

7 under clause (i) in 1-year increments until such time as 

8 a final decision is made on the alien’s lawful permanent 

9 residence. 

10 ‘‘(iii) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) and clause 

11 (ii), any alien who is the beneficiary of an approved peti12 tion filed under section 204(b) for a status under para13 graph (1), (2), or (3) of section 203(b), and who is eligible 

14 to be granted that status but for application of the per15 country limitations on immigrants under such paragraph, 

16 may apply for, and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

17 may grant, one or more extensions of nonimmigrant status 

18 under section 101(a)(15)(W) until such time as an immi19 grant visa is immediately available to the alien and a deci20 sion on the alien’s application for adjustment of status is 

21 made. 

22 ‘‘(6) In the case of an alien spouse, who is accom23 panying or following to join a principal alien admitted 

24 under section 101(a)(15)(W), the Secretary of Homeland 

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1 ployment in the United States and shall provide the 

2 spouse with an ‘employment authorized’ endorsement or 

3 other appropriate work permit. 

4 ‘‘(7)(A)(i) The total number of aliens who may be 

5 issued visas or otherwise provided nonimmigrant status 

6 under section 101(a)(15)(W) during any fiscal year is 

7 50,000. 

8 ‘‘(ii) If the numerical limitation in clause (i)— 

9 ‘‘(I) is reached during a fiscal year, the numer10 ical limitation applicable to the subsequent fiscal 

11 year shall be 120 percent of the preceding numerical 

12 limitation; or 

13 ‘‘(II) is not reached during a fiscal year, the 

14 numerical limitation shall remain the same during 

15 the subsequent fiscal year. 

16 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), aliens may 

17 be issued visas or otherwise provided nonimmigrant status 

18 under such section without regard to numerical limitation 

19 if they are only working in the geographic area or areas 

20 which are designated by the Secretary of Health and 

21 Human Services as having a shortage of health care pro22 fessionals. 

23 ‘‘(C) The numerical limitations in subparagraph (A) 

24 shall only apply to principal aliens and not to the spouse 

25 or children of such aliens.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. REGULATIONS; EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 (a) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, the following shall pro4 mulgate regulations to carry out the amendments made 

5 by section 3: 

6 (1) The Secretary of Labor, in consultation 

7 with the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

8 and the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

9 (2) The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

10 consultation with the Secretary of State. 

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Notwithstanding subsection 

12 (a), the amendments made by section 3 shall take effect 

13 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, re14 gardless of whether the regulations promulgated under 

15 subsection (a) are in effect on such date. 

16 SEC. 5. SPECIFICATION OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY 

17 FOR ENACTMENT OF LAW. 

18 This Act is enacted pursuant to the power granted 

19 to Congress under article I, section 8, clause 4, to estab20 lish an uniform rule naturalization, and under article I, 

21 section 8, clause 18, of the United States Constitution. 

Æ 


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