Congress freezes all immigration pending sweeping law rewrites

What it does

This bill imposes a near-total freeze on new visa issuance and immigration status grants until Congress rewrites immigration law to meet six conditions: (1) allow states to deny public school access to undocumented immigrants; (2) ban status adjustment for nonimmigrants; (3) require at least one parent to be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident for birthright citizenship; (4) restrict family immigration to spouses and minor children only; (5) bar entry to anyone deemed an "Islamist," observer of Sharia law, or affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party or any terrorist organization; and (6) deny aliens access to Medicare, Medicaid emergency care, SSI, SNAP, tax credits, WIC, student loans, and housing assistance. It also eliminates the Optional Practical Training program for foreign students, repeals the Diversity Visa lottery, and imposes a $100,000 fee on H-1B visa petitions. The bill takes effect immediately and retroactively revokes pending applications filed before enactment, refunding fees.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a freeze on all visa issuance and status grants pending legislative rewrites that would substantially restrict family immigration, eliminate diversity visas, and bar entry based on religion and political affiliation. It is not a procedural or technical amendment but a sweeping policy reversal.

• Section 3 imposes a $100,000 fee on H-1B visa petitions, unrelated to the visa moratorium mechanism.
• Section 4 eliminates employment authorization for foreign students, a separate program from the visa freeze.

What the text implies

• The bill's religious and ideological screening criteria ("Islamist," "observer of Sharia law," CCP membership) lack statutory definition and may be applied arbitrarily, creating due-process and equal-protection risks.
• Retroactive revocation of pending applications filed before enactment may violate vested-rights doctrine and could expose the government to litigation over takings and due process.
• The $100,000 H-1B fee will likely reduce employer demand for skilled foreign workers, potentially raising labor costs for tech, healthcare, and other sectors reliant on visa sponsorship.
• Elimination of Optional Practical Training removes a key pathway for foreign STEM graduates to gain U.S. work experience, potentially driving talent to competitor nations.
• The ban on birthright citizenship for children of one non-citizen parent conflicts with the 14th Amendment's citizenship clause and will likely face constitutional challenge.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill restricts citizens' ability to sponsor family members for immigration, eliminates pathways for foreign students to work in the U.S., and bars entry based on religious belief and political affiliation—raising constitutional concerns around religious discrimination and due process. Ordinary Americans with family abroad, employers seeking skilled workers, and universities relying on international students face significant constraints. The retroactive revocation of pending applications and

Who stands to gain

• domestic workers in tech, healthcare, and skilled trades (reduced visa competition)
• employers not reliant on H-1B sponsorship

Named in the bill

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Small Business Administration, Immigration and Nationality Act, Social Security Act, Internal Revenue Code, Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 — and 4 more

Where it stands

14 cosponsors: 14 Republicans.

• Nov 20, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Nov 20, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $10,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 8 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Chip Roy, the sponsor, reported $68,100 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Act for America — $10,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jun 26, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.