High-skilled Immigration Reform for Employment Act
Sponsored By: Representative Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8]
Introduced
Summary
Doubles the annual H-1B visa cap. This bill would raise the H-1B cap from 65,000 to 130,000, change how employers are classified as H-1B dependent, and create a Department of Education grant program to boost K–12 and higher education STEM capacity and teacher retention.
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- Workers and employers: Makes twice as many H-1B visas available each year and removes a prior linkage to a 20,000-exemption threshold, potentially easing access to visas for skilled foreign workers.
- Employers affected by dependency rules: Raises multiple size and share thresholds used to label employers H-1B dependent, for example shifting small-employer cutoffs like 25 to 50 and larger cutoffs like 51 to 101, which will change which firms face extra hiring restrictions.
- States, K–12 and higher education: Creates the Promoting American Ingenuity Grant Program to fund competitive state grants for K–12 STEM, teacher retention, and higher education STEM training, and authorizes $25.0 million per year for fiscal years 2026–2030 to carry it out.
*Would authorize $25.0 million per year from 2026 through 2030 for the grant program, increasing federal spending by that amount in those years if funds are appropriated.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
New STEM grants for states
This bill would create a competitive "Promoting American Ingenuity" grant program at the Department of Education. The grants would help K–12 STEM teaching, keep STEM teachers in classrooms, and help colleges train STEM students. State governors would apply to the Secretary of Education in the form and at the times the Secretary requires. The bill would authorize $25,000,000 for each fiscal year 2026 through 2030, subject to appropriation.
More H-1B visas; employer rules loosen
This bill would double the regular annual H‑1B cap from 65,000 to 130,000. It would strike a rule that limited certain cap exemptions after 20,000 exemptions in a year. It would also raise several numeric tests that decide if an employer is "H‑1B‑dependent" (for example, 25 becomes 50; 7 becomes 12; a size range becomes 51–100; 12 becomes 24; 51 becomes 101). These changes would take effect upon enactment and would make fewer employers count as H‑1B‑dependent, while some H‑1B workers could lose extra legal protections tied to that status.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
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.
View on Congress.gov