It can take years for foreign nationals who have worked for the U.S. government overseas to qualify and obtain special immigrant visas to move to the United States with their family. 

But a bill signed into law late last year is hoping to make a dent in that backlog.

What You Need To Know

  • For decades, foreign nationals who spent at least 15 years working for the U.S. government abroad were able to obtain visas to come to the U.S., though the number was limited

  • Due to the limitations, a backlog of thousands of employees in foreign countries have been left waiting years for a visa

  • Freshman Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove's GRATEFUL Act, signed into law last year, is helping workers obtain a visa through the utilization of an underutilized visa program already in place

  • As of March 1, the State Department says nearly 700 visas were issued under the GRATEFUL Act's provisions

“Can you see by my big smile how excited I am that this bill got passed and signed into law as a freshman member, first term in the minority? Yes. Hallelujah!” declared Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., a freshman lawmaker who represents Los Angeles.

Her bill, the Granting Recognition to Accomplished Talented Employees for Unwavering Loyalty Act — or GRATEFUL Act — co-sponsored by Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., was folded into the National Defense Authorization Act that President Joe Biden signed into law back in December. It’s Kamlager-Dove’s first bill to become law.

“You don't think about embassy workers who go through a lot and the people who are from those countries who work in our embassies, they're oftentimes working under duress,” explained Kamlager-Dove. “Their neighbors are not happy, or people don't like the United States, or they're in an area of conflict. And they were promised this opportunity that then they've been denied.”

In 1952, Congress created a visa category for foreign nationals who spent at least 15 years working for the U.S. government abroad. But in the 1990s, the government placed U.S. government employees abroad into the Employment Based Fourth Preference, or EB4, immigrant visa category, which limited the number of visas available, creating today’s backlog of thousands of employees in foreign countries waiting for years to obtain a visa.

The GRATEFUL Act will make up to 3,500 visas available in 2024, then up to 3,000 visas each year after to qualifying employees. The visas aren't in addition to existing allocations, but a redirection of visas that were originally allocated for the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act in 1999, of which only an average of 150 are used a year. A State Department official told Spectrum News that there are approximately 50,000 locally employed staff working at U.S. embassies and consulates overseas.

Kamlager-Dove has been building up her foreign policy portfolio in her first term in Congress as a member of the House Foreign Affairs committee, making this bill even more special to her.

“I was in Brazil not long ago and I stopped at the embassy and had lunch with the workers, and they shared stories about translators in Afghanistan that are finally going to be able to come home. Or people who are in Haiti who have worked and were waiting to get a visa and it wasn't available to them,” said Kamlager-Dove, who became emotional speaking about the visit. “But now because of the GRATEFUL Act, they're able to and my heart just soared listening to these folks who have talked about people who've given their lives to help the United States.”

As of March 1, the State Department says nearly 700 visas were issued under the GRATEFUL Act's provisions.

“Now the visas are churning out — it warms my heart, because that’s part of diplomacy," said Kamlager-Dove.