Congress·In Committee·H.R. 8971

Veterans Visa and Protection Act of 2026

Veterans: New Visa Program for Deported Service Members

May 21·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is one vehicle in a longer effort. See the full story across every version.View effort →

Next up: A house committee

The Veterans Visa and Protection Act of 2026 is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was sent to the House Judiciary, Armed Services, and Veterans' Affairs committees on May 20, 2026, and it has not moved since that date. The bill is now waiting for these committees to review it, though most bills do not receive a vote at this stage.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Very unlikely to pass

This bill is supported only by members of one political party and addresses the highly controversial topic of immigration, making it unlikely to pass without broad bipartisan support.

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from S. 3280 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
S. 3280 (118th) →

Key Points

This bill creates a new visa program for veterans who were born in other countries but served in the U.S. military. It allows those who were previously deported to apply to come back to the United States as legal permanent residents.
The plan protects people currently serving in the military and veterans living in the U.S. from being deported. Under these rules, the government could only remove them from the country if they are convicted of a serious violent crime.
Veterans who return through this program would regain access to their military and veteran benefits. They would also have a path to becoming full U.S. citizens based on their past military service.
The Department of Homeland Security would be required to identify any service members or veterans who are at risk of being deported. Officials would need special permission before they could start a deportation case against a veteran.
To qualify for the program, a veteran cannot have a conviction for a violent crime or a crime that threatens national security. However, the government can waive some of these rules for family unity or other public interests.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

May 21, 2026House

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, and Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

May 21, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes or news coverage recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Veterans Visa and Protection Act of 2026

Bill NumberHR 8971

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, and Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.