Reuniting Families Act
Senate Bill Would Fast-Track Family Visas and Protect Partners of Green Card Holders
Stalled
No legislative action in over 90 days.
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- Tries to cut long waits for family and work visas by using unused visas from past years and year-to-year leftovers.
- Would treat spouses, long-term partners, and minor children of green-card holders as “immediate relatives,” which can move them ahead in line.
- Raises the per-country share of visas, which could reduce extreme wait times for people from high-demand countries.
- Expands protections during immigration cases, including letting some people apply for relief more easily and stopping removal while certain applications are pending.
- Adds immigration recognition for “permanent partners” (not married), increases the diversity visa total to 80,000, and prioritizes refugee family reunification.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
How this policy affects specific groups of people
Milestones
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
2 articles
US immigration reform: Senators propose raising family visa cap to 15%
The Reuniting Families Act would raise the per-country cap for family-based immigration from 7% to 15%. Key provisions include recapturing unused visas from previous years and exempting spouses and children of permanent residents from annual visa caps to speed up reunification.
US senators introduce bill to reunite immigrant families, reduce visa backlogs
The legislation would 'recapture' unused visas from previous years and exempt close relatives of legal permanent residents from visa caps. It also includes the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act to speed up visas for children of Filipino World War II veterans.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Reuniting Families Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.