Skip to main content
S 1986 112th Congress Senate Immigration Administrative law and regulatory procedures Administrative remedies Business investment and capital Department of Homeland Security Department of Labor Economic development Education of the disadvantaged Education programs funding Elementary and secondary education Employee hiring Employment and training programs Employment discrimination and employee rights Foreign labor Government studies and investigations Higher education Immigration status and procedures Minority education Science and engineering education Student aid and college costs

STEM Visa Act of 2011

Introduced: December 13, 2011 Introduced by: Bennet, Michael F. Democratic · Colorado See on congress.gov
Sign in to write a letter Sign in to watch
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Dec 13, 2011
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Dec 13, 2011
Introduced in Senate
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Visa Act of 2011 or STEM Visa Act of 2011 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a priority worker immigrant visa for an alien who has a qualifying: (1) master's or higher degree in a field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM degree) from a U.S. institution of higher education; and (2) employment offer from a U.S. employer.

Eliminates the foreign residency requirement for certain foreign students.

Allows extensions of stay based upon a lengthy labor certification or priority adjudication for: (1) foreign students, (2) speciality occupation aliens, and (3) intracompany transfers.

Provides for the recapture of unused employment-based and family-based immigrant visas.

Exempts spouses and minor children from counting against numerical limits.

Revises per country (and dependent) area limits to: (1) eliminate employment-based limits, and (2) increase family-based limits.

Establishes in the Treasury the STEM Education and Training Account. Requires that 60% of Account funds be used for a STEM scholarship program for low-income U.S. students enrolled in degree programs in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.

Authorizes certain undocumented higher education students who first entered the United States when they were 15 years old or younger to adjust to nonimmigrant student status.

Revises labor certification provisions, including: (1) requiring the Department of Labor to adjudicate an application within 120 days, (2) creating an Established U.S. Recruiter designation for recruiters who regularly recruit U.S. workers, and (3) authorizing a premium application processing fee.

Revises the prevailing wage level computation formula.

Revises H-1B visa (specialty occupation) provisions regarding: (1) wages, (2) U.S. worker displacement and protections, (3) recruitment requirements, (4) portability, (5) creation of a P-visa for fashion models in lieu of H-1B visa inclusion, (6) elimination of extensions for certain short-term workers, and (7) retention of petition priority date.

Revises L-visa (intracompany transferee) provisions regarding: (1) wage requirements for certain L-1B visa (specialized knowledge) employees, (2) investigations of complaints against employers, and (3) the blanket petition process for employers who hire large numbers of intracompany transferees.

Revises EB-5 employment creation investor provisions to: (1) require a visa set-aside for an employment creation regional center program, (2) provide a preapproval procedure for new commercial enterprises, (3) revise targeted employment area provisions, and (4) provide a limited extension for employers to meet program requirements.

Establishes in the Treasury the Immigrant Entrepreneur Account.

What's happening now December 13, 2011

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1