GRATEFUL Act

Bill: 118-s-1887
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD]
Introduced: 2023-06-08
Policy area: Immigration
Latest action: action_date: 2023-06-08
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-06-08
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>Granting Recognition to Accomplished Talented Employees For Unwavering Loyalty Act or the GRATEFUL Act</strong></p> <p>This bill makes additional visas available under a program that provides special immigrant visas to eligible foreign nationals who were employed by the U.S. government abroad. The bill also modifies a provision that reduces the number of diversity immigrant visas available each fiscal year.</p> <p>Generally, under this program, a foreign national (and their spouse and children) may receive a special immigrant visa if (1) the foreign national has been employed by the U.S. government abroad for at least 15 years, and (2) the Department of State has found that it is in the national interest to award the visa. There are a limited number of such visas available each fiscal year. </p> <p>Specifically, this bill makes additional special immigrant visas available if no visas are immediately available. Up to 3,500 additional visas shall be made available for FY2024, and up to 3,000 shall be made available in each subsequent fiscal year. </p> <p>The bill also modifies a provision related to the annual cap on diversity immigrant visas (i.e., visas awarded to nationals of countries with low rates of immigration to the United States). Current law reduces the number of such visas available each fiscal year based in part on the number of visas awarded under another program. Under this bill, the reduction in the number of diversity immigrant visas shall also take into consideration the number of special immigrant visas awarded under this bill. </p>

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1887 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 8, 2023 Mr. Van Hollen (for himself and Mr. Tillis ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide visa availability for the Government Employee Immigrant Visa program, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Granting Recognition to Accomplished Talented Employees For Unwavering Loyalty Act or GRATEFUL Act . 2. Findings; sense of Congress (a) Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) In 1952, with the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq. ), Congress established an immigrant visa program to reward foreign nationals who are United States Government employees for their service to the United States (referred to in this Act as the Government Employee Immigrant Visa program ). (2) For 71 years, the Government Employee Immigrant Visa program has allowed foreign nationals with at least 15 years of exceptional service to the United States to immigrate to the United States with their families. (3) Such foreign national employees of the United States Government are the bulwark of United States foreign policy, risking their lives year after year through civil unrest, terrorism, natural disasters, and war. (4) The work of such foreign nationals— (A) ensures the safety and well-being of United States citizens; (B) provides security and logistics for visiting delegations; and (C) supports United States Government operations abroad. (5) Such foreign nationals include employees of the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Agriculture. (b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the United States should preserve the immigrant visa program for foreign nationals who are employees of the United States Government abroad or of the American Institute in Taiwan, and who have provided exceptional service over a long term to the United States, by providing a dedicated allocation of visas for such employees and their immediate family members when visas are not immediately available in the corresponding visa category. 3. Visa availability for Government Employee Immigrant Visa program (a) In general Beginning in fiscal year 2024, subject to subsection (b), visas shall be made available to a special immigrant described in section 101(a)(27)(D) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(D) ) if a visa is not immediately available for issuance to the special immigrant under section 203(b)(4) of that Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(4) ). (b) Numerical limitations (1) Fiscal year 2024 For fiscal year 2024, not more than 3,500 visas shall be made available under subsection (a). (2) Subsequent fiscal years For fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter, not more than 3,000 visas shall be made available under subsection (a). (c) Temporary reduction in diversity visas Section 203(d)(2) of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central America Relief Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1151 note; Public Law 105–100 ) is amended— (1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows: (2) In no case shall the reduction under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year exceed the amount by which— (A) the sum of— (i) one-half of the total number of individuals described in subclauses (I), (II), (III), and (IV) of section 309(c)(5)(C)(i) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 ( 8 U.S.C. 1101 note; Public Law 104–208 ) who have adjusted their status to that of aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence under section 202 of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act ( Public Law 105–100 ; 8 U.S.C. 1255 note) as of the end of the previous fiscal year; and (ii) the total number of individuals described in section 101(a)(27)(D) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(D) ) for whom visas shall be made available for the applicable fiscal year under section 3(b) of the Granting Recognition to Accomplished Talented Employees For Unwavering Loyalty Act ; exceeds (B) the total of the reductions in available visas under this subsection for all previous fiscal years. ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (3) (A) Paragraph (1) shall not apply in a fiscal year following a fiscal year for which the total number of aliens described in subparagraph (B) is zero. (B) For a fiscal year, the total number of aliens described in this subparagraph is the total number of individuals described in section 101(a)(27)(D) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(D) ) who have been issued visas during the previous fiscal year under the Granting Recognition to Accomplished Talented Employees For Unwavering Loyalty Act . (C) Nothing in this paragraph may be construed— (i) to repeal, modify, or render permanently inapplicable paragraph (1); or (ii) to prevent the offsetting of the number of visas described in that paragraph for the purpose of providing visa availability for aliens described in subparagraph (B). (4) In the event that the number of visas available for a fiscal year under section 201(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1151(e) ) is reduced to a number fewer than 50,000, not fewer than 3,000 visas shall be made available for individuals described in section 3(a) of the Granting Recognition to Accomplished Talented Employees For Unwavering Loyalty Act . . (d) Rule of construction Nothing in this section or the amendments made by this section may be construed to modify the number of visas available under section 203(b)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(4) ) to special immigrants described in section 101(a)(27)(D) of that Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(D) ).