In what could be considered a positive step for at least some immigration reform this year, the House Judiciary Subcommittee held a mark-up session today and approved three pieces of immigration-related legislation.

H.R. 6020, sponsored by Representative Lofgren (D-CA), would amend the INA to allow soldiers who have served in support of contingency operations to be eligible for naturalization and for other purposes.

H.R. 5882, sponsored by Representative Lofgren (D-CA), would recapture employment-based and family-sponsored immigrant visas lost to bureaucratic delays and to prevent losses of these visas in the future.

H.R. 5924, sponsored by Representative Wexler (D-FL) would provide 20,000 employment-based visas per year for three years specifically for nurses.

All three bills will now go to the full House Judiciary Committee for review. A review date has not been set. We will watch these important bills closely and will provide an update as new information becomes available.