nurses and nursing school candidates to fill those 
positions. 
(2) According to the Department of Labor, the 
current national nursing shortage exceeds 126,000. 
(3) States in the West and Southwest have a 
disproportionate number of nursing vacancies be-
cause of rapid population growth, which exacerbates 
a widening gap in the number of facilities and staff 
compared to patients that need care. 
(4) Foreign countries such as the Philippines, 
India, and China have an oversupply of nurses. 
(5) Major hospital systems in the United States 
spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year re-
cruiting foreign nurses under our current immigra-
tion system. 
(6) Current law, with certain limited exceptions, 
requires health care providers to sponsor desired 
nurses for permanent resident status while the 
nurses remain outside of the United States, which 
can take as much as 3 years. 
(7) This cost is passed on to consumers and 
adds to the rising cost of health care. 
(8) Health care providers cannot efficiently and 
effectively recruit qualified foreign nurses through 
the existing immigration process. 
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(9) Our health care system requires an imme-
diate modification of Federal laws relating to re-
cruitment of qualified foreign nurses in order to op-
erate at an efficient and effective level. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to create 
a new nonimmigrant visa category for registered nurses 
and establish admission requirements for such non-
immigrants. 
SEC. 
3. 
REQUIREMENTS 
FOR 
ADMISSION 
OF 
NON-
IMMIGRANT NURSES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT
OF
A NEW NONIMMIGRANT 
CATEGORY.—Section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph 
(U), 
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (V) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(W) an alien who is coming temporarily to the 
United States to perform services as a professional 
nurse, as described in section 212(v)(1)(A), who 
meets 
the 
qualifications 
described 
in 
section 
212(v)(1)(B), and with respect to whom the Sec-
retary of Labor determines and certifies to the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of 
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State that the intending employer has filed with the 
Secretary of Labor an attestation under section 
212(v)(2), and the alien spouse and children of any 
such principal alien, if accompanying or following to 
join the principal alien.’’. 
(b) REQUIRING
PETITION
OF
IMPORTING
EM-
PLOYER.—Section 214(c) of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:. 
‘‘(15)(A) The question of importing any alien as a 
nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(W) in any specific 
case or specific cases shall be determined by the consular 
officer, after consultation with appropriate agencies of the 
Government, upon petition of the importing employer. 
Such petition shall be made and approved before the visa 
is granted. The petition shall be in such form and contain 
such information as the Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall prescribe by regulation. The approval of such a peti-
tion shall not, of itself, be construed as establishing that 
the alien is a nonimmigrant. 
‘‘(B) The following petitions shall be determined by 
the Secretary of Homeland Security, after consultation 
with appropriate agencies of the Government: 
‘‘(i) A petition for an alien lawfully present in 
the United States to be initially granted non-
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immigrant 
status 
described 
in 
section 
101(a)(15)(W). 
‘‘(ii) A petition for an alien having such status 
to obtain an extension of stay. 
‘‘(iii) A petition to obtain authorization for an 
alien having such status to change employers.’’. 
(c) SHIFTING
BURDEN
OF
PROOF
FOR
NON-
IMMIGRANT STATUS.—Section 214(b) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(b)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘(L) or (V)’’ and inserting ‘‘(L), (V), or (W)’’. 
(d) ALLOWING PETITION FOR PERMANENT RESI-
DENCE
WHILE
IN
NONIMMIGRANT
STATUS.—Section 
214(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1184(h)) is amended by striking ‘‘(L), or (V)’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘(L), (V), or (W)’’. 
(e) OTHER ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 
212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1182) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating the second subsection (t) 
(added by section 1(b)(2)(B) of Public Law 108–449 
(118 Stat. 3470)) as subsection (u); and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(v)(1)(A) For purposes of section 101(a)(15)(W) 
and this subsection— 
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