S. 1887 · 118th Congress
GRATEFUL Act
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 118th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
Van HollenSponsor3 cosponsors · 1 D, 2 R
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
Granting Recognition to Accomplished Talented Employees For Unwavering Loyalty Act or the GRATEFUL Act
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Jun 8, 2023
Granting Recognition to Accomplished Talented Employees For Unwavering Loyalty Act or the GRATEFUL Act
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.
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.
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.
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.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: GRATEFUL Act
Also known as: Granting Recognition to Accomplished Talented Employees For Unwavering Loyalty Act
Latest action (Jun 8, 2023): Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Policy area: Immigration · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Jun 8, 2023
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.