Bill Summary
The "Partner with Korea Act" is a bill that would provide visas for high-skilled workers from South Korea to come and work in the United States. This would be done by amending the Immigration and Nationality Act to include a new provision for nationals of South Korea to obtain visas in order to perform services in specialty occupations. The bill also sets a limit of 15,000 initial applications per year for these visas and specifies that the limit does not apply to spouses or children of the principal workers. Additionally, the bill expands the definition of specialty occupations to include both clause (iii) and (iv) of section 101(a)(15)(E). Finally, the bill amends the section on attestation to include references to clause (iii) and (iv) of section 101(a)(15)(E).
Possible Impacts
1. If this legislation is passed, it could potentially limit the number of high-skilled visas available for nationals of South Korea, making it more difficult for them to work in the United States.
2. It could also potentially create a longer and more complicated application process for those seeking to work in a specialty occupation in the US, as the employer would need to file an attestation with the Secretary of Labor.
3. The numerical limitation could also lead to a decrease in the number of Korean nationals able to work in the US, potentially affecting the economy and job market for both countries.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2827 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2827
To provide high-skilled visas for nationals of the Republic of Korea,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 25, 2023
Mr. Connolly (for himself and Mrs. Kim of California) 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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