I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4179 
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 
JUNE 25, 2021 
Mr. KATKO (for himself, Mr. CROW, Mrs. KIM of California, and Mr. 
GOTTHEIMER) 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 2021’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:06 Jul 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4179.IH
H4179
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS
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. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:06 Jul 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4179.IH
H4179
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS
(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 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:06 Jul 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4179.IH
H4179
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS
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). 
(4) LIMITATIONS ON DISCLOSURE.—Any infor-
mation provided to the Secretary of Labor under 
this subsection shall be used only for the purposes 
of, and to the extent necessary to ensure the effi-
cient operation of, the study described in paragraph 
(1). No such information shall be disclosed to any 
other person or entity except as provided in this sub-
section. 
(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 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:06 Jul 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4179.IH
H4179
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS
(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.— 
(1) APPLICABLE
IMMIGRANTS
AND
REFU-
GEES.—For the purposes of this section, the term 
‘‘applicable immigrants and refugees’’ means individ-
uals who are— 
(A) not citizens or nationals of the United 
States but who are lawfully present and author-
ized 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 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
17:06 Jul 12, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H4179.IH
H4179
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS