High-skilled Immigration Reform for Employment Act
Sponsored By: Representative Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8]
Introduced
Summary
Doubles the annual H‑1B visa cap and loosens who counts as an H‑1B‑dependent employer. This bill would raise the base H‑1B cap from 65,000 to 130,000 and change employer thresholds that trigger dependency. It would also create a competitive grant program to strengthen STEM teaching and college pathways.
Show full summary
- High-skilled workers: Would double the base H‑1B cap from 65,000 to 130,000, letting more foreign professionals seek U.S. work visas each year.
- Employers: Raises thresholds that define H‑1B‑dependent employers so fewer firms meet that designation. For example, one trigger would move from 25 to 50.
- Schools and students: Creates the Promoting American Ingenuity grant program to strengthen K‑12 STEM teaching, retain teachers, and support colleges training STEM students, with $25 million authorized per year for FY2026–2030.
*Would increase federal spending by up to $125 million across fiscal years 2026–2030 if the authorized grants are appropriated.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
New STEM grants for schools and colleges
If enacted, this bill would create a competitive Promoting American Ingenuity Grant Program run by the Secretary of Education. States would apply through their chief executive for grants to strengthen K–12 STEM, retain STEM teachers, and help colleges teach STEM students. The bill would authorize $25,000,000 to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030. Key terms are defined by reference to existing education laws.
Changes to H-1B visas and employer rules
If enacted, this bill would raise the annual H-1B cap from 65,000 to 130,000, adding 65,000 slots per year. It would remove a sentence that limited a particular H-1B exemption to 20,000 people in a year. It would also raise the numeric tests that make an employer "H-1B-dependent," for example changing 25→50, 7→12, the middle bracket to 51–100 and 12→24, and 51→101. As a result, employers would be less likely to meet the H-1B-dependent test and some H-1B workers would lose dependency-based protections.
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Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8]
IL • D
Cosponsors
Rep. McIver, LaMonica [D-NJ-10]
NJ • D
Sponsored 11/25/2025
Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13]
MI • D
Sponsored 11/25/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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