U.S. Senators John Curtis and Mark Kelly introduce state-sponsored visa pilot program

Senators John Curtis (R‑UT) and Mark Kelly (D‑AZ) have unveiled the State Sponsored Visa Pilot Program Act of 2026, a bipartisan proposal that would let individual states create temporary visa programs tailored to local labor shortages. Participating states could sponsor migrant workers—potentially more than 5,000—while the Department of Homeland Security retains authority over security screening, visa issuance and enforcement. The bill requires states to assess workforce needs, set prevailing wages, monitor compliance and report to the federal government, with provisions to suspend allocations if standards are not met. Proponents cite Utah’s severe worker shortage—96 available workers for every 100 jobs—as a model for how state‑level guest‑worker initiatives could fill gaps in agriculture, construction and hospitality without displacing U.S. workers.

If enacted, the legislation would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act, creating a new non‑immigrant visa category that could also offer a pathway to legal status for migrants residing in the United States for more than a decade.