Overview
- Senators John Curtis (R‑Utah) and Mark Kelly (D‑Arizona) introduced the State Sponsored Visa Pilot Program Act of 2026 on Monday, seeking a federal pilot that lets states sponsor foreign workers to fill local labor gaps.
- The proposal would cap state-sponsored admissions at 5,000 workers per state per year and give each state a proportional share of a separate 245,000-visa national pool based on population.
- Visas under the pilot would be limited to three years, and the bill offers a path to legal residency for people who have lived in the United States since Dec. 31, 2016 if they pass background checks and pay a $1,000 penalty.
- Business groups and farm employers back the plan as a fix for chronic H-2A program problems and labor shortages, while conservative commentators and think tanks call it a de facto amnesty and point to Curtis’s campaign contributions from labor PACs.
- The bill is at introduction and faces committee review and likely political fights in Congress, with key questions about federal oversight, state enforcement roles, effects on wages and hiring, and whether the measure will advance this session.