HR8013Referred to Committee

Keep Innovators in America Act

Share:
Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-03-19
Introduced
2
Cosponsors
HR
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Sam T. Liccardo
Sam T. Liccardo
Democrat · CA · Representative
Votes with party: 98.2% (545 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/L000607

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (2)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

2026-03-19

Source: Congress.gov

Plain-English Summary

This bill would make it easier for foreign-born entrepreneurs and innovators to stay and work in the United States by adjusting immigration rules for people starting businesses or working in high-skilled fields. The changes would likely affect startup founders, tech workers, and researchers who currently face visa limitations that might force them to leave the country or take their innovations elsewhere. The goal is to keep talented people in America rather than having them move to other countries to pursue their ideas.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Immigration

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8013 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8013 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to codify the Optional Practical Training program. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 19, 2026 Mr. Liccardo (for himself, Mr. Obernolte, and Mr. Krishnamoorthi) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to codify the Optional Practical Training program. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Keep Innovators in America Act''. SEC. 2. IN GENERAL. Section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(F)(i)) is amended by inserting after ``course of study'' the second time it appears the following: ``, except that such a course of study may include practical training and employment authorization under terms and conditions set by the Secretary of Homeland Security as long as such employment is related to the field of study, including after completion of degree requirements, and that such an alien may maintain student status under this section if the alien is the beneficiary of a pending or approved petition filed pursuant to section 204(a)(1) except that as an enrolled student the alien's course of study must be consistent with section 214(m)''. <all>
Open clean-text viewRead on Congress.gov →

Related legislation

Bills by the same sponsor or covering overlapping subjects.