S. 1040: State Sponsored Visa Pilot Program Act of 2017

115th Congress · introduced 2017-05-04 · Immigration · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2017-05-04 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Johnson, Ron [R-WI] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

State Sponsored Visa Pilot Program Act of 2017

Plain summary

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. 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.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

State Sponsored Visa Pilot Program Act of 2017

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Johnson, Ron [R-WI] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Johnson, Ron [R-WI] reported raising $1.2 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (6)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Legislature: The elected body that makes laws. In Texas it has a House of Representatives (150 members) and a Senate (31 members). In Florida it has a House of Representatives (120 members) and a Senate (40 members).
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.
Sponsor and cosponsor: The sponsor is the member who introduces a bill and leads it. Cosponsors are other members who sign on to show support.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115s1040.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/s>

Record fed-us-cong115-s1040 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115