I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8046 
To direct the Secretary of Labor, in coordination with other agencies, to 
conduct a study on the factors affecting the employment opportunities 
in the United States of immigrants and refugees who have professional 
credentials obtained in foreign countries, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 14, 2020 
Mr. KATKO (for himself and Mr. MCADAMS) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Labor, in coordination with other 
agencies, to conduct a study on the factors affecting 
the employment opportunities in the United States of 
immigrants and refugees who have professional creden-
tials obtained in foreign countries, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Opportuni-
ties for New Americans Act of 2020’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The United States has a long history of wel-
coming individuals of diverse national backgrounds 
who legally travel to the United States seeking op-
portunity and prosperity. 
(2) Immigrants and refugees in the United 
States bring a diverse range of professional back-
grounds that strengthens the workforce of the 
United States and benefits American businesses. 
(3) The underutilization of the skills and expe-
rience of immigrants and refugees, often referred to 
as brain waste, comes at a significant cost to the 
economy of the United States and to immigrant 
families. 
(4) In 2016, researchers at the Migration Pol-
icy Institute found that nearly 2 million immigrants 
and refugees with college degrees in the United 
States were relegated to low-skilled jobs or were un-
able to find work. 
(5) On an annual basis, this underutilization is 
estimated to result in more than $10 billion in unre-
alized tax receipts from Federal, State, and local 
governments, and over $39 billion in unrealized 
wages for college-educated immigrants and refugees. 
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(6) Many factors contribute to brain waste, in-
cluding language barriers, limits on the recognition 
of international degrees and credentials, the accessi-
bility of relicensing processes, and the availability of 
professional networks and assistance in finding suit-
able employment. 
(7) In the interest of strengthening the econ-
omy of the United States and ensuring consistent 
opportunities for the realization of the full potential 
of immigrant and refugee families, substantive ef-
forts must be made to analyze and address the scope 
of brain waste in the United States. 
SEC. 3. STUDY ON FACTORS AFFECTING EMPLOYMENT OP-
PORTUNITIES FOR IMMIGRANTS AND REFU-
GEES WITH PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS 
OBTAINED IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 
conduct a study on the factors affecting employment 
opportunities in the United States for applicable im-
migrants and refugees with professional credentials 
obtained in countries other than the United States. 
(2) COORDINATION.—The Department of Labor 
shall conduct this study in coordination with the 
Secretary of State, the Secretary of Education, the 
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Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Sec-
retary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity, the Administrator of the Internal Revenue 
Service, and the Commissioner of the Social Security 
Administration. 
(3) WORK WITH OTHER ENTITIES.—The Sec-
retary of Labor shall seek to work with relevant non- 
profit organizations and State agencies to use the 
existing data and resources of such entities to con-
duct the study in paragraph (1). 
(b) INCLUSIONS.—The study under subsection (a)(1) 
shall include the following: 
(1) An analysis of the employment history of 
applicable immigrants and refugees admitted to the 
United States in the last 5 years. This analysis shall 
include, to the extent practicable, a comparison of 
the employment applicable immigrants and refugees 
held prior to immigrating to the United States with 
the employment obtained in the United States, if 
any, since the arrival of such applicable immigrants 
and refugees. This analysis shall also note the occu-
pational and professional credentials and academic 
degrees held by applicable immigrants and refugees 
prior to immigrating to the United States. 
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(2) As assessment of any barriers that prevent 
applicable immigrants and refugees from using occu-
pational experience obtained outside the United 
States to obtain employment opportunities in the 
United States. 
(3) An analysis of existing public and private 
resources assisting applicable immigrants and refu-
gees who have professional experience and qualifica-
tions obtained outside the United States with using 
such professional experience and qualifications to ob-
tain skill-appropriate employment opportunities in 
the United States. 
(4) Policy recommendations for better enabling 
applicable immigrants and refugees who have profes-
sional experience and qualifications obtained outside 
the United States to use such professional experi-
ence and qualifications to obtain skill-appropriate 
employment opportunities in the United States. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall 
submit to Congress and make publically available on the 
website of the Department of Labor a report that de-
scribes the results of the study conducted under subsection 
(a)(1). 
(d) DEFINITIONS.— 
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(1) APPLICABLE
IMMIGRANTS
AND
REFU-
GEES.—For the purposes of this section, the term 
‘‘applicable immigrants and refugees’’ means individ-
uals who are— 
(A) aliens that are lawfully present and 
authorized to be employed; or 
(B) naturalized citizens born outside of the 
United States and its outlying possessions. 
(2) OTHER TERMS.—Except as otherwise de-
fined in this subsection, terms used in this section 
have the definitions given such terms under section 
101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1101(a)). 
Æ 
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