S.Amdt. 2021

SA 2021. Mr. MORAN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill H.R. 2579, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
to allow the premium tax credit with respect to unsubsidized COBRA
continuation coverage; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS FOR IMMIGRANTS
WITH AN ADVANCED DEGREE IN A STEM FIELD.

(a) In General.--Chapter 2 of title II of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1181 et seq.) is amended by
inserting after section 216A the following:

``SEC. 216B. CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS FOR ALIENS
WITH AN ADVANCED DEGREE IN A STEM FIELD.

``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security may adjust the
status of not more than 50,000 aliens who have earned a
master's degree or a doctorate degree at an institution of
higher education in a STEM field to that of an alien
conditionally admitted for permanent residence and authorize
each alien granted such adjustment of status to remain in the
United States--
``(1) for up to 1 year after the expiration of the alien's
student visa under section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) if the alien is
diligently searching for an opportunity to become actively
engaged in a STEM field; and
``(2) indefinitely if the alien remains actively engaged in
a STEM field.
``(b) Application for Conditional Permanent Resident
Status.--Every alien applying for a conditional permanent
resident status under this section shall submit an
application to the Secretary of Homeland Security before the
expiration of the alien's student visa in such form and
manner as the Secretary shall prescribe by regulation.
``(c) Ineligibility for Federal Government Assistance.--An
alien granted conditional permanent resident status under
this section shall not be eligible, while in such status,
for--
``(1) any unemployment compensation (as defined in section
85(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986); or
``(2) any Federal means-tested public benefit (as that term
is used in section 403 of the Personal Responsibility and
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1613)).
``(d) Effect on Naturalization Residency Requirement.--An
alien granted conditional permanent resident status under
this section shall be deemed to have been lawfully admitted
for permanent residence for purposes of meeting the 5-year
residency requirement under section 316(a)(1).
``(e) Removal of Condition.--The Secretary of Homeland
Security shall remove the conditional basis of an alien's
conditional permanent resident status under this section on
the date that is 5 years after the date such status was
granted if the alien maintained his or her eligibility for
such status during the entire 5-year period.
``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Actively engaged in a stem field.--The term `actively
engaged in a STEM field'--
``(A) means--
``(i) gainfully employed in a for-profit business or
nonprofit organization in the United States in a STEM field;

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``(ii) teaching 1 or more STEM field courses at an
institution of higher education; or
``(iii) employed by a Federal, State, or local government
entity; and
``(B) includes any period of up to 6 months during which
the alien does not meet the requirement under subparagraph
(A) if such period was immediately preceded by a 1-year
period during which the alien met the requirement under
subparagraph (A).
``(2) Institution of higher education.--The term
`institution of higher education' has the meaning given the
term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
``(3) STEM field.--The term `STEM field' means any field of
study or occupation included on the most recent STEM-
Designated Degree Program List published in the Federal
Register by the Department of Homeland Security (as described
in section 214.2(f)(11)(i)(C)(2) of title 8, Code of Federal
Regulations).''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 216A
the following:

``Sec. 216B. Conditional permanent resident status for aliens with an
advanced degree in a STEM field.''.
(c) Government Accountability Office Study.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit a report to Congress regarding the
alien college graduates granted immigrant status under
section 216B of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added
by subsection (a).
(2) Contents.--The report required under paragraph (1)
shall include, with respect to the aliens described in such
paragraph--
(A) the number who have earned a master's degree, broken
down by the number of such degrees in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics;
(B) the number who have earned a doctorate degree, broken
down by the number of such degrees in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics;
(C) the number who have founded a business in the United
States in a STEM field;
(D) the number who are employed in the United States in a
STEM field, broken down by employment sector (for profit,
nonprofit, or government); and
(E) the number who are employed by an institution of higher
education.
(3) Definitions.--The terms ``institution of higher
education'' and ``STEM field'' have the meaning given such
terms in section 216B(f) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act, as added by subsection (a).
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