PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 4, 2017
State Sponsored Visa Pilot Program Act of 2017
This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a three-year renewable nonimmigrant W-visa for state-sponsored aliens (and their spouses and children) coming temporarily to the United States to reside in a state to perform services, provide capital investment, direct an enterprise, or otherwise contribute to the state's economic development.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall approve an application for a state sponsored program that: (1) is approved by the state legislature, (2) regulates the employment and residence of state-sponsored nonimmigrants, (3) implements procedures to inform DHS of an individual's failure to comply with the program when the state is made aware of such failure, (4) allows individuals to change employers within a sponsoring state, and (5) implements procedures to annually inform DHS of the address and employment of all such individuals residing in the state.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
DHS shall terminate the period of authorized status if: (1) the individual resides or works outside the sponsoring state or states, (2) the individual fails to follow state rules, or (3) the state requests such termination, unless another state sponsors the individual.
The bill: (1) provides employment authorization for such individuals, (2) allows states to enter into multi-state compacts for joint program implementation or administration, (3) allows states to enforce program rules and regulations against employers, and (4) sets forth compliance and penalty provisions.
DHS and the Department of Justice shall jointly develop a visa application fraud prevention program.
People & committees
Sen. Johnson, Ron [R-WI] · R–WI
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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