Utah Sen. John Curtis announced a bill on Monday that would create a voluntary state-sponsored visa program, allowing state legislatures to expand their temporary migrant workforce. This legislation was introduced with Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly. It is similar to a 15-year-old proposal passed in Utah as part of the 2011 Compact on Immigration, but never received federal approval.
According to media reports, this bill would be a major reform to federal immigration law at a time when immigration has become a point of much discussion and controversy. It would let states manage their own state-level guest-worker initiatives based on local labor demands.
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“I’ve heard time and again from small business owners, farmers, and ranchers across Utah how difficult it has become to hire enough workers to meet growing market demands,” Curtis said in a statement.
The bipartisan plan would launch a pilot program for uniquely tailored visas accompanied by “rigorous federal vetting”. This would include a process to investigate complaints of U.S. workers being displaced.
“I’ve heard time and again from small business owners, farmers, and ranchers across Utah how difficult it has become to hire enough workers to meet growing market demands,” Curtis said. “Our legislation would help fill the gap by creating a pilot program allowing states to sponsor visas tailored to their unique economies, without sacrificing rigorous federal vetting or accountability.”
Under the proposal, states would be able to petition the federal government on behalf of applicants, but visa holders would still need to pass federal background and security checks and meet existing admissibility requirements. The federal government would retain authority over vetting, visa issuance and immigration enforcement.
Visa holders would generally be required to live and work in the state that sponsored them, although states could form interstate compacts that would allow participants to move among participating states. Workers would also be able to change employers within a sponsoring state under rules established by that state.
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This comes as Utah is facing a severe worker shortage, according to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report from December 2025. The state has 96 available workers for every 100 open jobs. This is an improvement from August 2025, when Utah had 72 available workers for every 100 jobs.
“States understand their own economic needs best, but federal rules currently determine who can live and work here,” Kelly said in a statement. “Our bipartisan bill would let Arizona and other states choose the visas they need to fill labor gaps and strengthen their local economies.”