This bill, titled the "Nuclear Family Priority Act," proposes significant changes to family-sponsored immigration, primarily by narrowing eligible relationships and reducing visa availability. It redefines "immediate relatives" by removing parents of U.S. citizens from this category, thereby eliminating their priority path to permanent residency. The legislation also drastically reduces the worldwide level for family-sponsored immigrants to 88,000 annually, eliminating most existing family-sponsored preference categories, such as those for adult children and siblings of U.S. citizens, and unmarried adult children of lawful permanent residents. In place of immediate relative status, the bill establishes a new nonimmigrant visa category (W visa) specifically for parents of U.S. citizens who are at least 21 years old. This temporary visa allows for an initial stay of five years, but explicitly prohibits the nonimmigrant parent from working or receiving any federal, state, or local public benefits. The U.S. citizen child is made financially responsible for their parent's support and must arrange for their health insurance coverage during their stay in the U.S. The Act includes numerous conforming amendments to align the Immigration and Nationality Act with these revised categories and numerical limitations. It will take effect on the first day of the second fiscal year following its enactment, and importantly, any petitions filed after the bill's introduction seeking classification under family-sponsored immigrant categories eliminated by this Act will be considered invalid.
This bill, titled the "Nuclear Family Priority Act," proposes significant changes to family-sponsored immigration, primarily by narrowing eligible relationships and reducing visa availability. It redefines "immediate relatives" by removing parents of U.S. citizens from this category, thereby eliminating their priority path to permanent residency. The legislation also drastically reduces the worldwide level for family-sponsored immigrants to 88,000 annually, eliminating most existing family-sponsored preference categories, such as those for adult children and siblings of U.S. citizens, and unmarried adult children of lawful permanent residents. In place of immediate relative status, the bill establishes a new nonimmigrant visa category (W visa) specifically for parents of U.S. citizens who are at least 21 years old. This temporary visa allows for an initial stay of five years, but explicitly prohibits the nonimmigrant parent from working or receiving any federal, state, or local public benefits. The U.S. citizen child is made financially responsible for their parent's support and must arrange for their health insurance coverage during their stay in the U.S. The Act includes numerous conforming amendments to align the Immigration and Nationality Act with these revised categories and numerical limitations. It will take effect on the first day of the second fiscal year following its enactment, and importantly, any petitions filed after the bill's introduction seeking classification under family-sponsored immigrant categories eliminated by this Act will be considered invalid.