Overview
- Senators John Curtis (R‑Utah) and Mark Kelly (D‑Arizona) formally filed S. 5197 to create a three‑year nonimmigrant status that states can sponsor for workers and their immediate families.
- The bill would require each state program to win DHS approval and include mandatory background checks, limits on federal benefits, occupational licensing access, and bonds to guarantee departure.
- The proposal sets numerical limits that amount to roughly 500,000 visas overall, structured as 5,000 slots per state plus each state’s share of a 245,000‑visa pool.
- The law would penalize noncompliance by cutting a state’s quota by 50% and imposing a $4,000 bond if more than 3% of sponsored workers overstay, and it would let some people present in the U.S. on Dec. 31, 2016 regularize after a background check and a $1,000 penalty.
- Monday’s introduction revives prior federalist efforts dating to a 2011 Utah compact and a 2017 Johnson‑McCain proposal, and the bill now faces congressional debate and DHS rulemaking before any program could start.