The Honor Our Commitment Act of 2026 prevents the government from detaining or deporting specific Vietnamese nationals who entered the United States on or before July 12, 1995, and have lived there continuously. This protection applies to individuals with existing deportation orders, though it does not cover those who pose a security threat or face extradition. The Department of Homeland Security must grant these individuals work authorization and notify them of their rights within 60 days of the law taking effect. Finally, the bill allows people harmed by violations of these rules to seek legal relief in federal court.
This bill exempts public school employees from a $100,000 fee required for H-1B work visas under a 2025 presidential proclamation. It directly affects foreign workers seeking to work in specialty occupations at public schools or school districts in the United States. The legislation removes the financial barrier for these specific workers while leaving other visa fee requirements unchanged. This change ensures that public school employees can apply for H-1B visas without paying the additional non-processing related fee imposed by the proclamation.
This bill, known as the Keep Innovators in America Act, modifies immigration rules for international students in the United States. It allows students on F-1 visas to work in their field of study after completing their degree requirements, provided the Department of Homeland Security approves the terms. The legislation also permits these students to maintain their student status while their family petitions for permanent residency are pending or approved. These changes aim to extend work opportunities for international graduates without altering their primary student visa classification.
The Partner with Korea Act creates a new visa category for South Korean nationals to work in specialty occupations in the U.S., with an annual cap of 15,000 visas. Employers must file an attestation with the Department of Labor, which the Secretary of Labor must certify before the visa is approved. The visa limit applies only to the principal worker and excludes spouses or children. This bill directly affects South Korean workers seeking specialty jobs and U.S. employers hiring them under this new category.
HR 5098, the Strengthening Our Workforce Act of 2025, creates a pathway to conditional lawful permanent residency for certain undocumented workers. It directly affects immigrants who have been continuously present in the U.S. since January 1, 2024, without lawful status, or with deferred action (like DACA), and who have worked at least 100 days in one of 24 designated essential professions (e.g., healthcare, agriculture, construction, domestic care, or disaster recovery work). To qualify, applicants must pay a fee, meet employment requirements (100 days annually for two years), and avoid specific criminal inadmissibility grounds (with limited waivers). After two years of conditional status, the residency automatically converts to permanent without visa caps, provided they pay a fee and pass a background check. The bill targets workers in critical sectors to address labor shortages while establishing a defined adjustment process.
This bill would protect unaccompanied children by repealing fee requirements and other provisions in the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" that have created barriers to their access to humanitarian protections. It specifically exempts unaccompanied children from paying fees for asylum applications, employment authorization, and immigration court proceedings, and requires the government to refund fees already paid under the repealed provisions. The bill also repeals provisions allowing for summary removal of children without due process, intrusive body examinations without safeguards, and sharing of sponsor information with immigration enforcement that has led to family separations. These changes would directly affect unaccompanied children seeking asylum or other protections in the United States, ensuring they can access legal processes without financial barriers or heightened risks of exploitation. The bill aims to uphold protections for unaccompanied children established under the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA).
HR 4367, the Bracero Program 2.0 Act, reforms the H-2A agricultural visa program to improve employer processes and worker mobility. It requires an online portal for employers to file petitions and post jobs (replacing current ad requirements), raises the H-2A wage rate to the state minimum wage plus $2.00 per hour, and creates a 6-year pilot program allowing H-2A workers to move between registered agricultural employers within the same state without restarting visa paperwork. The pilot limits portable H-2A status to 10,000 workers at a time and mandates employers to provide workers' compensation if state coverage doesn’t apply. This directly affects agricultural employers seeking seasonal workers and H-2A workers who may switch employers more easily under the pilot.
This bill creates a pathway to permanent residency for certain college graduates who entered the U.S. as children under specific nonimmigrant visa categories (excluding H-1B, L-1, etc.). To qualify, applicants must have been lawfully present for 10 years total (including 8 years as a dependent child), graduated from a U.S. college, and not be inadmissible. It also changes how "child status" is determined for immigration purposes - using specific dates instead of age to prevent "age-outs" for dependents of long-term visa holders - and preserves priority dates for family members. These changes apply to individuals who entered the U.S. before age 21 and maintained lawful status under qualifying visas.
HR 2672, the Religious Workforce Protection Act, extends temporary nonimmigrant status for religious workers whose applications for permanent residency (green cards) are delayed due to visa backlogs. It directly affects religious workers (such as pastors or missionaries) who are principal or derivative beneficiaries of pending immigrant petitions under specific visa categories, allowing them to maintain their work status beyond the usual 5-year limit while their green card applications are processed. Key provisions include granting extensions until a final decision is made on their adjustment of status application, modifying rules to allow limited job flexibility for these workers, and exempting them from a 1-year foreign residence requirement if they left the U.S. due to the prior 5-year cap. The bill aims to prevent religious workers from losing their legal status during lengthy immigration processing.
This bill, S 2526 (Fight for the American Dream Act), allows young immigrants protected by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to enlist in the U.S. military by amending eligibility rules to include those with valid employment authorization under DACA. It also updates naturalization rules for service members, clarifying that military service in the Selected Reserve or active duty qualifies for citizenship and adjusting geographic references to include American Samoa and certain Pacific territories. The bill directly affects DACA-eligible individuals seeking military service and service members pursuing citizenship, removing a key barrier to enlistment and streamlining the naturalization process. These changes are specific legal updates to Title 10 (military) and the Immigration and Nationality Act, without altering DACA status or broader immigration policy.
