S. 1233 · 119th Congress

Keep STEM Talent Act of 2025

Introduced on Apr 1, 2025 by Richard J. Durbin (D-IL). 2 cosponsors, 1 of them from another party. Latest action (Apr 1, 2025): Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text: CR S2095-2096)

Stage
Introduced
Introduced
Apr 1, 2025
Cosponsors
2
1 from the other party
Policy area
Immigration
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Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. 2Reported by committee
  3. 3Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

A bill to provide lawful permanent resident status for certain advanced STEM degree holders, and for other purposes.

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Introduced in Senate, Apr 1, 2025). Public domain.

Keep STEM Talent Act of 2025

This bill addresses issues relating to non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) with advanced degrees in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) field, including exempting certain such individuals from direct limitations on the number of immigrant visas granted per year.

To be exempt from the annual numerical limitations on immigrant visas, the individual must (1) have earned a master's level or higher degree in certain STEM fields while in the United States attending an accredited higher education institution, (2) be employed (or have an offer) to perform work directly related to the degree and earn higher than the median wage for that occupation, and (3) meet certain labor certification requirements.

The bill also allows an individual seeking a nonimmigrant F-1 (student) visa for an advanced STEM degree to obtain the nonimmigrant visa even if the individual seeks lawful permanent resident status. (Generally, an individual may be denied a nonimmigrant visa if the individual actually intends to seek immigrant status, unless dual intent is allowed for that visa.)

Under this bill, to be approved for an F-1 visa for an advanced STEM degree, the applicant must apply for the visa before beginning the advanced degree program.

The bill also requires an individual who is inside the United States and applying for an F-1 visa for an advanced STEM degree to undergo the same vetting (e.g., verifying academic credentials and undergoing background checks) as an individual applying from outside the United States.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Richard J. DurbinD-ILSponsor

Independents · 1

Republicans · 1

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Apr 1, 2025Introduced in Senate
  2. Apr 1, 2025 · SenateRead twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text: CR S2095-2096)

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. Cornell University6 reports
    $1.6M reported (all issues)Federal contractor: CORNELL UNIVERSITY$4.4M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  2. International Society of Optics and Photonics5 reports
    $250K reported (all issues)
  3. RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY5 reports
    $500K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY$15.3M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  4. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers4 reports
    $220K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC$3.1M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  5. Vanteo fka BDV SOLUTIONS LLC4 reports
    $585K reported (all issues)
  6. AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION2 reports
    $30K reported (all issues)
  7. American Council on Education2 reports
    $123.5K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION$5M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%
  8. Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers2 reports
    $40K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: SOCIETY OF HISPANIC PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERSAI match · 100%
  9. Association of American Universities1 report
    $158.7K reported (all issues)
  10. BDV SOLUTIONS LLC1 report
    $70K reported (all issues)
  11. HARVARD UNIVERSITY--PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE1 report
    $270K reported (all issues)

Reports filed in 2025, 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 10, 2026 · loaded Oct 10, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 10, 2026 · loaded Oct 10, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.