HR 8013 Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.
Keep Innovators in America Act
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to codify the Optional Practical Training program.
Summary
The Keep Innovators in America Act amends immigration law to formally establish the Optional Practical Training program, which allows international students to work and gain practical experience in the United States related to their field of study after completing their degrees. The bill clarifies that students may maintain their student visa status while participating in practical training employment authorized by the Department of Homeland Security. The legislation also allows students with pending or approved petitions for other visa categories to keep their student status while completing their studies, as long as their coursework aligns with immigration regulations. These changes aim to codify existing practice and provide clearer legal authority for the practical training program.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
2 cosponsors
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Sam T. Liccardo’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- STANFORD UNIVERSITY $63,375
- GOOGLE $61,175
- COTCHETT, PITRE & MCCARTHY, LLP $41,675
- BROADCOM INC. $40,000
- META $37,900
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Sam T. Liccardo → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Mar 19, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. · house
- Mar 19, 2026 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
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>
Comments