Bill Summary
The "Partner with Korea Act" is a bill that aims to provide high-skilled visas for nationals of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). This act would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to include a new visa category for Korean nationals who are employed in a specialty occupation in the United States. The bill also sets a numerical limitation of 15,000 visas per fiscal year for these individuals. The bill defines a specialty occupation as one that requires specialized knowledge and skills, and it also requires the employer to file an attestation with the Department of Labor. This bill is designed to strengthen the partnership between the United States and South Korea by promoting the exchange of high-skilled workers.
Possible Impacts
1. This legislation could affect high-skilled workers from the Republic of Korea by providing them with more opportunities to work in the United States. They may be able to secure better job positions and higher salaries.
2. The numerical limitation of 15,000 initial applications for aliens from South Korea could affect their chances of obtaining a visa to work in the United States. This could limit the number of job opportunities available to them and potentially restrict their career growth.
3. The Act could also impact the families of high-skilled workers from South Korea, as the numerical limitation only applies to the principal alien and not their spouses or children. This could potentially separate families and hinder their ability to live and work together in the United States.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1762 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1762
To provide high-skilled visas for nationals of the Republic of Korea,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 14, 2019
Mr. Connolly (for himself, Mr. Yoho, Mr. Bera, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Bishop of
Georgia, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mr. Cartwright, Mr. Case, Mr. Cohen, Mr.
Cooper, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Kind, Mr. King of New York, Mr.
Long, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Rice of South Carolina, Mr. Shimkus,
Ms. Speier, Mr. Takano, Mr. Woodall, and Mr. Womack) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide high-skilled visas for nationals of the Republic of Korea,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Partner with Korea Act''.
SEC. 2. RECIPROCAL VISAS FOR NATIONALS OF SOUTH KOREA.
(a) In General.--Section 101(a)(15)(E) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E)) is amended--
(1) in clause (ii), by striking ``or'' after ``capital;'';
and
(2) by adding at the end ``or (iv) solely to perform
services in a specialty occupation in the United States if the
alien is a national of the Republic of Korea and with respect
to whom the Secretary of Labor determines and certifies to the
Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State that
the intending employer has filed with the Secretary of Labor an
attestation under section 212(t)(1);''.
(b) Numerical Limitation.--Section 214(g) of such Act (8 U.S.C.
1184(g)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(12)(A) The Secretary of State may not approve a number of
initial applications submitted for aliens described in section
101(a)(15)(E)(iv) that is more than the applicable numerical
limitations set out in this paragraph.
``(B) The applicable numerical limitation referred to in
subparagraph (A) is 15,000 for each fiscal year.
``(C) The applicable numerical limitation referred to in
subparagraph (A) shall only apply to principal aliens and not the
spouses or children of such aliens.''.
(c) Specialty Occupation Defined.--Section 214(i)(1) of such Act (8
U.S.C. 1184(i)(1)) is amended by striking ``section
101(a)(15)(E)(iii),'' and inserting ``clauses (iii) and (iv) of section
101(a)(15)(E),''.
(d) Attestation.--Section 212(t) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(t)), as
added by section 402(b)(2) of the United States-Chile Free Trade
Agreement Implementation Act (Public Law 108-77; 117 Stat. 941), is
amended--
(1) by striking ``or section 101(a)(15)(E)(iii)'' each
place it appears and inserting ``or clause (iii) or (iv) of
section 101(a)(15)(E)''; and
(2) in paragraphs (3)(C)(i)(II), (3)(C)(ii)(II), and
(3)(C)(iii)(II), by striking ``or 101(a)(15)(E)(iii)'' each
place it appears.
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