IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5038 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 12, 2019 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide 

for terms and conditions for nonimmigrant workers performing agricultural labor or services, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—SECURING THE DOMESTIC AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE 

Subtitle A—Temporary Status for Certified Agricultural Workers 

Sec. 101. Certified agricultural worker status. 

Sec. 102. Terms and conditions of certified status. 

Sec. 103. Extensions of certified status. 

Sec. 104. Determination of continuous presence. 

Sec. 105. Employer obligations. 

Sec. 106. Administrative and judicial review. 

Subtitle B—Optional Earned Residence for Long-term Workers 

Sec. 111. Optional adjustment of status for long-term agricultural workers. 

Sec. 112. Payment of taxes. 

Sec. 113. Adjudication and decision; review. 

Subtitle C—General Provisions 

Sec. 121. Definitions. 

Sec. 122. Rulemaking; Fees. 

Sec. 123. Background checks. 

Sec. 124. Protection for children. 

Sec. 125. Limitation on removal. 

Sec. 126. Documentation of agricultural work history. 

Sec. 127. Employer protections. 

Sec. 128. Correction of social security records. 

Sec. 129. Disclosures and privacy. 

Sec. 130. Penalties for false statements in applications. 

Sec. 131. Dissemination of information. 

Sec. 132. Exemption from numerical limitations. 

Sec. 133. Reports to Congress. 

Sec. 134. Grant program to assist eligible applicants. 

Sec. 135. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE II—ENSURING AN AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE FOR THE 

FUTURE 

Subtitle A—Reforming the H–2A Temporary Worker Program 

Sec. 201. Comprehensive and streamlined electronic H–2A platform. 

Sec. 202. H–2A program requirements. 

Sec. 203. Agency roles and responsibilities. 

Sec. 204. Worker protection and compliance. 

Sec. 205. Report on wage protections. 


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Sec. 206. Portable H–2A visa pilot program. 

Sec. 207. Improving access to permanent residence. 

Subtitle B—Preservation and Construction of Farmworker Housing 

Sec. 220. Short title. 

Sec. 221. Permanent establishment of housing preservation and revitalization 

program. 

Sec. 222. Eligibility for rural housing vouchers. 

Sec. 223. Amount of voucher assistance. 

Sec. 224. Rental assistance contract authority. 

Sec. 225. Funding for multifamily technical improvements. 

Sec. 226. Plan for preserving affordability of rental projects. 

Sec. 227. Covered housing programs. 

Sec. 228. New farmworker housing. 

Sec. 229. Loan and grant limitations. 

Sec. 230. Operating assistance subsidies. 

Sec. 231. Eligibility of certified workers. 

Subtitle C—Foreign Labor Recruiter Accountability 

Sec. 251. Registration of foreign labor recruiters. 

Sec. 252. Enforcement. 

Sec. 253. Appropriations. 

Sec. 254. Definitions. 

TITLE III—ELECTRONIC VERIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT 

ELIGIBILITY 

Sec. 301. Electronic employment eligibility verification system. 

Sec. 302. Mandatory electronic verification for the agricultural industry. 

Sec. 303. Coordination with E–Verify Program. 

Sec. 304. Fraud and misuse of documents. 

Sec. 305. Technical and conforming amendments. 

Sec. 306. Protection of Social Security Administration programs. 

Sec. 307. Report on the implementation of the electronic employment 

verification system. 

Sec. 308. Modernizing and streamlining the employment eligibility verification 

process. 

Sec. 309. Rulemaking and Paperwork Reduction Act. 


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1 TITLE I—SECURING THE DOMES2 TIC AGRICULTURAL WORK3 FORCE 

4 Subtitle A—Temporary Status for 

5 Certified Agricultural Workers 

6 SEC. 101. CERTIFIED AGRICULTURAL WORKER STATUS. 

7 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFIED AGRICULTURAL

8 WORKER STATUS.— 

9 (1) PRINCIPAL ALIENS.—The Secretary may 

10 grant certified agricultural worker status to an alien 

11 who submits a completed application, including the 

12 required processing fees, before the end of the period 

13 set forth in subsection (c) and who— 

14 (A) performed agricultural labor or serv15 ices in the United States for at least 1,035 

16 hours (or 180 work days) during the 2-year pe17 riod preceding the date of the introduction of 

18 this Act; 

19 (B) on the date of the introduction of this 

20 Act— 

21 (i) is inadmissible or deportable from 

22 the United States; or 

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1 tected status under section 244 of the Im2 migration and Nationality Act; 

3 (C) subject to section 104, has been con4 tinuously present in the United States since the 

5 date of the introduction of this Act and until 

6 the date on which the alien is granted certified 

7 agricultural worker status; and 

8 (D) is not otherwise ineligible for certified 

9 agricultural worker status as provided in sub10 section (b). 

11 (2) DEPENDENT SPOUSE AND CHILDREN.—The 

12 Secretary may grant certified agricultural dependent 

13 status to the spouse or child of an alien granted cer14 tified agricultural worker status under paragraph 

15 (1) if the spouse or child is not ineligible for cer16 tified agricultural dependent status as provided in 

17 subsection (b). 

18 (b) GROUNDS FOR INELIGIBILITY.— 

19 (1) GROUNDS OF INADMISSIBILITY.—Except as 

20 provided in paragraph (3), an alien is ineligible for 

21 certified agricultural worker or certified agricultural 

22 dependent status if the Secretary determines that 

23 the alien is inadmissible under section 212(a) of the 

24 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 


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1 1182(a)), except that in determining inadmis2 sibility— 

3 (A) paragraphs (4), (5), (7), and (9)(B) of 

4 such section shall not apply; 

5 (B) subparagraphs (A), (C), (D), (F), and 

6 (G) of such section 212(a)(6) and paragraphs 

7 (9)(C) and (10)(B) of such section 212(a) shall 

8 not apply unless based on the act of unlawfully 

9 entering the United States after the date of in10 troduction of this Act; and 

11 (C) paragraphs (6)(B) and (9)(A) of such 

12 section 212(a) shall not apply unless the rel13 evant conduct began on or after the date of fil14 ing of the application for certified agricultural 

15 worker status. 

16 (2) ADDITIONAL CRIMINAL BARS.—Except as 

17 provided in paragraph (3), an alien is ineligible for 

18 certified agricultural worker or certified agricultural 

19 dependent status if the Secretary determines that, 

20 excluding any offense under State law for which an 

21 essential element is the alien’s immigration status 

22 and any minor traffic offense, the alien has been 

23 convicted of— 

24 (A) any felony offense; 


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1 (B) an aggravated felony (as defined in 

2 section 101(a)(43) of the Immigration and Na3 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)) at the 

4 time of the conviction); 

5 (C) two misdemeanor offenses involving 

6 moral turpitude, as described in section 

7 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) of the Immigration and Na8 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(I)), 

9 unless an offense is waived by the Secretary 

10 under paragraph (3)(B); or 

11 (D) three or more misdemeanor offenses 

12 not occurring on the same date, and not arising 

13 out of the same act, omission, or scheme of 

14 misconduct. 

15 (3) WAIVERS FOR CERTAIN GROUNDS OF INAD16 MISSIBILITY.—For humanitarian purposes, family 

17 unity, or if otherwise in the public interest, the Sec18 retary may waive the grounds of inadmissibility 

19 under— 

20 (A) paragraph (1), (6)(E), or (10)(D) of 

21 section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nation22 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)); or 

23 (B) subparagraphs (A) and (D) of section 

24 212(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

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1 sibility is based on a conviction that would oth2 erwise render the alien ineligible under subpara3 graph (A), (B), or (D) of paragraph (2). 

4 (c) APPLICATION.— 

5 (1) APPLICATION PERIOD.—Except as provided 

6 in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall accept initial 

7 applications for certified agricultural worker status 

8 during the 18-month period beginning on the date 

9 on which the interim final rule is published in the 

10 Federal Register pursuant to section 122(a). 

11 (2) EXTENSION.—If the Secretary determines, 

12 during the initial period described in paragraph (1), 

13 that additional time is required to process initial ap14 plications for certified agricultural worker status or 

15 for other good cause, the Secretary may extend the 

16 period for accepting applications for up to an addi17 tional 12 months. 

18 (3) SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—An alien may file an 

20 application with the Secretary under this sec21 tion with the assistance of an attorney or a 

22 nonprofit religious, charitable, social service, or 

23 similar organization recognized by the Board of 

24 Immigration Appeals under section 292.2 of 

25 title 8, Code of Federal Regulations. The SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5038.RFS H5038

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1 retary shall also create a procedure for accept2 ing applications filed by qualified designated en3 tities with the consent of the applicant. 

4 (B) FARM SERVICE AGENCY OFFICES.— 

5 The Secretary, in consultation with the Sec6 retary of Agriculture, shall establish a process 

7 for the filing of applications under this section 

8 at Farm Service Agency offices throughout the 

9 United States. 

10 (4) EVIDENCE OF APPLICATION FILING.—As 

11 soon as practicable after receiving an application for 

12 certified agricultural worker status, the Secretary 

13 shall provide the applicant with a document acknowl14 edging the receipt of such application. Such docu15 ment shall serve as interim proof of the alien’s au16 thorization to accept employment in the United 

17 States and shall be accepted by an employer as evi18 dence of employment authorization under section 

19 274A(b)(1)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality 

20 Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)(C)), if the employer is 

21 employing the holder of such document to perform 

22 agricultural labor or services, pending a final admin23 istrative decision on the application. 

24 (5) EFFECT OF PENDING APPLICATION.—Dur25 ing the period beginning on the date on which an 


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1 alien applies for certified agricultural worker status 

2 under this subtitle, and ending on the date on which 

3 the Secretary makes a final administrative decision 

4 regarding such application, the alien and any de5 pendents included in the application— 

6 (A) may apply for advance parole, which 

7 shall be granted upon demonstrating a legiti8 mate need to travel outside the United States 

9 for a temporary purpose; 

10 (B) may not be detained by the Secretary 

11 or removed from the United States unless the 

12 Secretary makes a prima facie determination 

13 that such alien is, or has become, ineligible for 

14 certified agricultural worker status; 

15 (C) may not be considered unlawfully 

16 present under section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Im17 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

18 1182(a)(9)(B)); and 

19 (D) may not be considered an unauthor20 ized alien (as defined in section 274A(h)(3) of 

21 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

22 1324a(h)(3))). 

23 (6) WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATION.—The Sec24 retary shall, upon receipt of a request from the ap25 plicant to withdraw an application for certified agriVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5038.RFS H5038

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1 cultural worker status under this subtitle, cease 

2 processing of the application, and close the case. 

3 Withdrawal of the application shall not prejudice 

4 any future application filed by the applicant for any 

5 immigration benefit under this Act or under the Im6 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

7 seq.). 

8 (d) ADJUDICATION AND DECISION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 123, the 

10 Secretary shall render a decision on an application 

11 for certified agricultural worker status not later than 

12 180 days after the date the application is filed. 

13 (2) NOTICE.—Prior to denying an application 

14 for certified agricultural worker status, the Sec15 retary shall provide the alien with— 

16 (A) written notice that describes the basis 

17 for ineligibility or the deficiencies in the evi18 dence submitted; and 

19 (B) at least 90 days to contest ineligibility 

20 or submit additional evidence. 

21 (3) AMENDED APPLICATION.—An alien whose 

22 application for certified agricultural worker status is 

23 denied under this section may submit an amended 

24 application for such status to the Secretary if the 

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1 tion period described in subsection (c) and contains 

2 all the required information and fees that were miss3 ing from the initial application. 

4 (e) ALTERNATIVE H–2A STATUS.—An alien who has 

5 not met the required period of agricultural labor or serv6 ices under subsection (a)(1)(A), but is otherwise eligible 

7 for certified agricultural worker status under such sub8 section, shall be eligible for classification as a non9 immigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the 

10 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

11 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)) upon approval of a petition sub12 mitted by a sponsoring employer, if the alien has per13 formed at least 575 hours (or 100 work days) of agricul14 tural labor or services during the 3-year period preceding 

15 the date of the introduction of this Act. The Secretary 

16 shall create a procedure to provide for such classification 

17 without requiring the alien to depart the United States 

18 and obtain a visa abroad. 

19 SEC. 102. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF CERTIFIED STATUS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

21 (1) APPROVAL.—Upon approval of an applica22 tion for certified agricultural worker status, or an 

23 extension of such status pursuant to section 103, the 

24 Secretary shall issue— 


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1 (A) documentary evidence of such status to 

2 the applicant; and 

3 (B) documentary evidence of certified agri4 cultural dependent status to any qualified de5 pendent included on such application. 

6 (2) DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE.—In addition to 

7 any other features and information as the Secretary 

8 may prescribe, the documentary evidence described 

9 in paragraph (1)— 

10 (A) shall be machine-readable and tamper11 resistant; 

12 (B) shall contain a digitized photograph; 

13 (C) shall serve as a valid travel and entry 

14 document for purposes of applying for admis15 sion to the United States; and 

16 (D) shall be accepted during the period of 

17 its validity by an employer as evidence of em18 ployment authorization and identity under sec19 tion 274A(b)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Na20 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)(B)). 

21 (3) VALIDITY PERIOD.—Certified agricultural 

22 worker and certified agricultural dependent status 

23 shall be valid for 5 1/2 years beginning on the date 

24 of approval. 


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1 (4) TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION.—An alien with 

2 certified agricultural worker or certified agricultural 

3 dependent status may— 

4 (A) travel within and outside of the United 

5 States, including commuting to the United 

6 States from a residence in a foreign country; 

7 and 

8 (B) be admitted to the United States upon 

9 return from travel abroad without first obtain10 ing a visa if the alien is in possession of— 

11 (i) valid, unexpired documentary evi12 dence of certified agricultural worker or 

13 certified agricultural worker dependent sta14 tus as described in subsection (a); or 

15 (ii) a travel document that has been 

16 approved by the Secretary and was issued 

17 to the alien after the alien’s original docu18 mentary evidence was lost, stolen, or de19 stroyed. 

20 (b) ABILITY TO CHANGE STATUS.— 

21 (1) CHANGE TO CERTIFIED AGRICULTURAL

22 WORKER STATUS.—Notwithstanding section 101(a), 

23 an alien with valid certified agricultural dependent 

24 status may apply to change to certified agricultural 

25 worker status, at any time, if the alien— 


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1 (A) submits a completed application, in2 cluding the required processing fees; and 

3 (B) is not ineligible for certified agricul4 tural worker status under section 101(b). 

5 (2) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this title pro6 hibits an alien granted certified agricultural worker 

7 or certified agricultural dependent status from 

8 changing status to any other nonimmigrant classi9 fication for which the alien may be eligible. 

10 (c) PROHIBITION ON PUBLIC BENEFITS, TAX BENE11 FITS, AND HEALTH CARE SUBSIDIES.—Aliens granted 

12 certified agricultural worker or certified agricultural de13 pendent status shall be considered lawfully present in the 

14 United States for all purposes for the duration of their 

15 status, except that such aliens— 

16 (1) shall be ineligible for Federal means-tested 

17 public benefits to the same extent as other individ18 uals who are not qualified aliens under section 431 

19 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Oppor20 tunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641); 

21 (2) are not entitled to the premium assistance 

22 tax credit authorized under section 36B of the Inter23 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 36B), and 

24 shall be subject to the rules applicable to individuals 


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1 who are not lawfully present set forth in subsection 

2 (e) of such section; 

3 (3) shall be subject to the rules applicable to in4 dividuals who are not lawfully present set forth in 

5 section 1402(e) of the Patient Protection and Af6 fordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18071(e)); and 

7 (4) shall be subject to the rules applicable to in8 dividuals not lawfully present set forth in section 

9 5000A(d)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

10 (26 U.S.C. 5000A(d)(3)). 

11 (d) REVOCATION OF STATUS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may revoke 

13 certified agricultural worker or certified agricultural 

14 dependent status if, after providing notice to the 

15 alien and the opportunity to provide evidence to con16 test the proposed revocation, the Secretary deter17 mines that the alien no longer meets the eligibility 

18 requirements for such status under section 101(b). 

19 (2) INVALIDATION OF DOCUMENTATION.—Upon 

20 the Secretary’s final determination to revoke an 

21 alien’s certified agricultural worker or certified agri22 cultural dependent status, any documentation issued 

23 by the Secretary to such alien under subsection (a) 

24 shall automatically be rendered invalid for any pur25 pose except for departure from the United States. 


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1 SEC. 103. EXTENSIONS OF CERTIFIED STATUS. 

2 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR EXTENSIONS OF STATUS.— 

3 (1) PRINCIPAL ALIENS.—The Secretary may 

4 extend certified agricultural worker status for addi5 tional periods of 5 1/2 years to an alien who submits 

6 a completed application, including the required proc7 essing fees, within the 120-day period beginning 60 

8 days before the expiration of the fifth year of the 

9 immediately preceding grant of certified agricultural 

10 worker status, if the alien— 

11 (A) except as provided in section 126(c), 

12 has performed agricultural labor or services in 

13 the United States for at least 575 hours (or 

14 100 work days) for each of the prior 5 years in 

15 which the alien held certified agricultural work16 er status; and 

17 (B) has not become ineligible for certified 

18 agricultural worker status under section 101(b). 

19 (2) DEPENDENT SPOUSE AND CHILDREN.—The 

20 Secretary may grant or extend certified agricultural 

21 dependent status to the spouse or child of an alien 

22 granted an extension of certified agricultural worker 

23 status under paragraph (1) if the spouse or child is 

24 not ineligible for certified agricultural dependent sta25 tus under section 101(b). 


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1 (3) WAIVER FOR LATE FILINGS.—The Sec2 retary may waive an alien’s failure to timely file be3 fore the expiration of the 120-day period described 

4 in paragraph (1) if the alien demonstrates that the 

5 delay was due to extraordinary circumstances be6 yond the alien’s control or for other good cause. 

7 (b) STATUS FOR WORKERS WITH PENDING APPLICA8 TIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Certified agricultural worker 

10 status of an alien who timely files an application to 

11 extend such status under subsection (a) (and the 

12 status of the alien’s dependents) shall be automati13 cally extended through the date on which the Sec14 retary makes a final administrative decision regard15 ing such application. 

16 (2) DOCUMENTATION OF EMPLOYMENT AU17 THORIZATION.—As soon as practicable after receipt 

18 of an application to extend certified agricultural 

19 worker status under subsection (a), the Secretary 

20 shall issue a document to the alien acknowledging 

21 the receipt of such application. An employer of the 

22 worker may not refuse to accept such document as 

23 evidence of employment authorization under section 

24 274A(b)(1)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality 


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1 Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)(C)), pending a final ad2 ministrative decision on the application. 

3 (c) NOTICE.—Prior to denying an application to ex4 tend certified agricultural worker status, the Secretary 

5 shall provide the alien with— 

6 (1) written notice that describes the basis for 

7 ineligibility or the deficiencies of the evidence sub8 mitted; and 

9 (2) at least 90 days to contest ineligibility or 

10 submit additional evidence. 

11 SEC. 104. DETERMINATION OF CONTINUOUS PRESENCE. 

12 (a) EFFECT OF NOTICE TO APPEAR.—The contin13 uous presence in the United States of an applicant for cer14 tified agricultural worker status under section 101 shall 

15 not terminate when the alien is served a notice to appear 

16 under section 239(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 

17 Act (8 U.S.C. 1229(a)). 

18 (b) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN BREAKS IN PRES19 ENCE.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graphs (2) and (3), an alien shall be considered to 

22 have failed to maintain continuous presence in the 

23 United States under this subtitle if the alien de24 parted the United States for any period exceeding 


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1 90 days, or for any periods, in the aggregate, ex2 ceeding 180 days. 

3 (2) EXTENSIONS FOR EXTENUATING CIR4 CUMSTANCES.—The Secretary may extend the time 

5 periods described in paragraph (1) for an alien who 

6 demonstrates that the failure to timely return to the 

7 United States was due to extenuating circumstances 

8 beyond the alien’s control, including the serious ill9 ness of the alien, or death or serious illness of a 

10 spouse, parent, son or daughter, grandparent, or sib11 ling of the alien. 

12 (3) TRAVEL AUTHORIZED BY THE SEC13 RETARY.—Any period of travel outside of the United 

14 States by an alien that was authorized by the Sec15 retary shall not be counted toward any period of de16 parture from the United States under paragraph 

17 (1). 

18 SEC. 105. EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS. 

19 (a) RECORD OF EMPLOYMENT.—An employer of an 

20 alien in certified agricultural worker status shall provide 

21 such alien with a written record of employment each year 

22 during which the alien provides agricultural labor or serv23 ices to such employer as a certified agricultural worker. 

24 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines, 

2 after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, that 

3 an employer of an alien with certified agricultural 

4 worker status has knowingly failed to provide the 

5 record of employment required under subsection (a), 

6 or has provided a false statement of material fact in 

7 such a record, the employer shall be subject to a civil 

8 penalty in an amount not to exceed $500 per viola9 tion. 

10 (2) LIMITATION.—The penalty under paragraph 

11 (1) for failure to provide employment records shall 

12 not apply unless the alien has provided the employer 

13 with evidence of employment authorization described 

14 in section 102 or 103. 

15 (3) DEPOSIT OF CIVIL PENALTIES.—Civil pen16 alties collected under this paragraph shall be depos17 ited into the Immigration Examinations Fee Ac18 count under section 286(m) of the Immigration and 

19 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(m)). 

20 SEC. 106. ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

21 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 

22 establish a process by which an applicant may seek admin23 istrative review of a denial of an application for certified 

24 agricultural worker status under this subtitle, an applica25 tion to extend such status, or a revocation of such status. 


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1 (b) ADMISSIBILITY IN IMMIGRATION COURT.—Each 

2 record of an alien’s application for certified agricultural 

3 worker status under this subtitle, application to extend 

4 such status, revocation of such status, and each record 

5 created pursuant to the administrative review process 

6 under subsection (a) is admissible in immigration court, 

7 and shall be included in the administrative record. 

8 (c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Notwithstanding any other 

9 provision of law, judicial review of the Secretary’s decision 

10 to deny an application for certified agricultural worker 

11 status, an application to extend such status, or the deci12 sion to revoke such status, shall be limited to the review 

13 of an order of removal under section 242 of the Immigra14 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252). 

15 Subtitle B—Optional Earned 

16 Residence for Long-term Workers 

17 SEC. 111. OPTIONAL ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR LONG18 TERM AGRICULTURAL WORKERS. 

19 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STA20 TUS.— 

21 (1) PRINCIPAL ALIENS.—The Secretary may 

22 adjust the status of an alien from that of a certified 

23 agricultural worker to that of a lawful permanent 

24 resident if the alien submits a completed application, 


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1 including the required processing and penalty fees, 

2 and the Secretary determines that— 

3 (A) except as provided in section 126(c), 

4 the alien performed agricultural labor or serv5 ices for not less than 575 hours (or 100 work 

6 days) each year— 

7 (i) for at least 10 years prior to the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act and for 

9 at least 4 years in certified agricultural 

10 worker status; or 

11 (ii) for fewer than 10 years prior to 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act and 

13 for at least 8 years in certified agricultural 

14 worker status; and 

15 (B) the alien has not become ineligible for 

16 certified agricultural worker status under sec17 tion 101(b). 

18 (2) DEPENDENT ALIENS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The spouse and each 

20 child of an alien described in paragraph (1) 

21 whose status has been adjusted to that of a 

22 lawful permanent resident may be granted law23 ful permanent residence under this subtitle if— 

24 (i) the qualifying relationship to the 

25 principal alien existed on the date on which 


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1 such alien was granted adjustment of sta2 tus under this subtitle; and 

3 (ii) the spouse or child is not ineligible 

4 for certified agricultural worker dependent 

5 status under section 101(b). 

6 (B) PROTECTIONS FOR SPOUSES AND

7 CHILDREN.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu8 rity shall establish procedures to allow the 

9 spouse or child of a certified agricultural work10 er to self-petition for lawful permanent resi11 dence under this subtitle in cases involving— 

12 (i) the death of the certified agricul13 tural worker, so long as the spouse or child 

14 submits a petition not later than 2 years 

15 after the date of the worker’s death; or 

16 (ii) the spouse or a child being bat17 tered or subjected to extreme cruelty by 

18 the certified agricultural worker. 

19 (3) DOCUMENTATION OF WORK HISTORY.—An 

20 applicant for adjustment of status under this section 

21 shall not be required to resubmit evidence of work 

22 history that has been previously submitted to the 

23 Secretary in connection with an approved extension 

24 of certified agricultural worker status. 


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1 (b) PENALTY FEE.—In addition to any processing 

2 fee that the Secretary may assess in accordance with sec3 tion 122(b), a principal alien seeking adjustment of status 

4 under this subtitle shall pay a $1,000 penalty fee, which 

5 shall be deposited into the Immigration Examinations Fee 

6 Account pursuant to section 286(m) of the Immigration 

7 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.1356(m)). 

8 (c) EFFECT OF PENDING APPLICATION.—During the 

9 period beginning on the date on which an alien applies 

10 for adjustment of status under this subtitle, and ending 

11 on the date on which the Secretary makes a final adminis12 trative decision regarding such application, the alien and 

13 any dependents included on the application— 

14 (1) may apply for advance parole, which shall 

15 be granted upon demonstrating a legitimate need to 

16 travel outside the United States for a temporary 

17 purpose; 

18 (2) may not be detained by the Secretary or re19 moved from the United States unless the Secretary 

20 makes a prima facie determination that such alien 

21 is, or has become, ineligible for adjustment of status 

22 under subsection (a); 

23 (3) may not be considered unlawfully present 

24 under section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Immigration and 

25 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(B)); and 


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1 (4) may not be considered an unauthorized 

2 alien (as defined in section 274A(h)(3) of the Immi3 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

4 1324a(h)(3))). 

5 (d) EVIDENCE OF APPLICATION FILING.—As soon as 

6 practicable after receiving an application for adjustment 

7 of status under this subtitle, the Secretary shall provide 

8 the applicant with a document acknowledging the receipt 

9 of such application. Such document shall serve as interim 

10 proof of the alien’s authorization to accept employment 

11 in the United States and shall be accepted by an employer 

12 as evidence of employment authorization under section 

13 274A(b)(1)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

14 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)(C)), pending a final administrative 

15 decision on the application. 

16 (e) WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATION.—The Secretary 

17 shall, upon receipt of a request to withdraw an application 

18 for adjustment of status under this subtitle, cease proc19 essing of the application, and close the case. Withdrawal 

20 of the application shall not prejudice any future applica21 tion filed by the applicant for any immigration benefit 

22 under this Act or under the Immigration and Nationality 

23 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 


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1 SEC. 112. PAYMENT OF TAXES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—An alien may not be granted ad3 justment of status under this subtitle unless the applicant 

4 has satisfied any applicable Federal tax liability. 

5 (b) COMPLIANCE.—An alien may demonstrate com6 pliance with subsection (a) by submitting such documenta7 tion as the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary 

8 of the Treasury, may require by regulation. 

9 SEC. 113. ADJUDICATION AND DECISION; REVIEW. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the requirements of 

11 section 123, the Secretary shall render a decision on an 

12 application for adjustment of status under this subtitle not 

13 later than 180 days after the date on which the application 

14 is filed. 

15 (b) NOTICE.—Prior to denying an application for ad16 justment of status under this subtitle, the Secretary shall 

17 provide the alien with— 

18 (1) written notice that describes the basis for 

19 ineligibility or the deficiencies of the evidence sub20 mitted; and 

21 (2) at least 90 days to contest ineligibility or 

22 submit additional evidence. 

23 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 

24 establish a process by which an applicant may seek admin25 istrative review of a denial of an application for adjust26 ment of status under this subtitle. 


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1 (d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Notwithstanding any other 

2 provision of law, an alien may seek judicial review of a 

3 denial of an application for adjustment of status under 

4 this title in an appropriate United States district court. 

5 Subtitle C—General Provisions 

6 SEC. 121. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this title: 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro9 vided, any term used in this title that is used in the 

10 immigration laws shall have the meaning given such 

11 term in the immigration laws (as such term is de12 fined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nation13 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101)). 

14 (2) AGRICULTURAL LABOR OR SERVICES.—The 

15 term ‘‘agricultural labor or services’’ means— 

16 (A) agricultural labor or services as such 

17 term is used in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii) of the 

18 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

19 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)), without regard to whether 

20 the labor or services are of a seasonal or tem21 porary nature; and 

22 (B) agricultural employment as such term 

23 is defined in section 3 of the Migrant and Sea24 sonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (29 

25 U.S.C. 1802), without regard to whether the 


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1 specific service or activity is temporary or sea2 sonal. 

3 (3) APPLICABLE FEDERAL TAX LIABILITY.— 

4 The term ‘‘applicable Federal tax liability’’ means all 

5 Federal income taxes assessed in accordance with 

6 section 6203 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

7 beginning on the date on which the applicant was 

8 authorized to work in the United States as a cer9 tified agricultural worker. 

10 (4) APPROPRIATE UNITED STATES DISTRICT

11 COURT.—The term ‘‘appropriate United States dis12 trict court’’ means the United States District Court 

13 for the District of Columbia or the United States 

14 district court with jurisdiction over the alien’s prin15 cipal place of residence. 

16 (5) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ has the meaning 

17 given such term in section 101(b)(1) of the Immi18 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)). 

19 (6) CONVICTED OR CONVICTION.—The term 

20 ‘‘convicted’’ or ‘‘conviction’’ does not include a judg21 ment that has been expunged or set aside, that re22 sulted in a rehabilitative disposition, or the equiva23 lent. 

24 (7) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ means 

25 any person or entity, including any labor contractor 


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1 or any agricultural association, that employs workers 

2 in agricultural labor or services. 

3 (8) QUALIFIED DESIGNATED ENTITY.—The 

4 term ‘‘qualified designated entity’’ means— 

5 (A) a qualified farm labor organization or 

6 an association of employers designated by the 

7 Secretary; or 

8 (B) any other entity that the Secretary 

9 designates as having substantial experience, 

10 demonstrated competence, and a history of 

11 long-term involvement in the preparation and 

12 submission of application for adjustment of sta13 tus under title II of the Immigration and Na14 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.). 

15 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

17 (10) WORK DAY.—The term ‘‘work day’’ means 

18 any day in which the individual is employed 5.75 or 

19 more hours in agricultural labor or services. 

20 SEC. 122. RULEMAKING; FEES. 

21 (a) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 180 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall pub23 lish in the Federal Register, an interim final rule imple24 menting this title. Notwithstanding section 553 of title 5, 

25 United States Code, the rule shall be effective, on an inVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5038.RFS H5038

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1 terim basis, immediately upon publication, but may be 

2 subject to change and revision after public notice and op3 portunity for comment. The Secretary shall finalize such 

4 rule not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

5 of this Act. 

6 (b) FEES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may require 

8 an alien applying for any benefit under this title to 

9 pay a reasonable fee that is commensurate with the 

10 cost of processing the application. 

11 (2) FEE WAIVER; INSTALLMENTS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es13 tablish procedures to allow an alien to— 

14 (i) request a waiver of any fee that 

15 the Secretary may assess under this title if 

16 the alien demonstrates to the satisfaction 

17 of the Secretary that the alien is unable to 

18 pay the prescribed fee; or 

19 (ii) pay any fee or penalty that the 

20 Secretary may assess under this title in in21 stallments. 

22 (B) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this sec23 tion shall be read to prohibit an employer from 

24 paying any fee or penalty that the Secretary 


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1 may assess under this title on behalf of an alien 

2 and the alien’s spouse or children. 

3 SEC. 123. BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

4 (a) SUBMISSION OF BIOMETRIC AND BIOGRAPHIC

5 DATA.—The Secretary may not grant or extend certified 

6 agricultural worker or certified agricultural dependent sta7 tus under subtitle A, or grant adjustment of status to that 

8 of a lawful permanent resident under subtitle B, unless 

9 the alien submits biometric and biographic data, in accord10 ance with procedures established by the Secretary. The 

11 Secretary shall provide an alternative procedure for aliens 

12 who cannot provide all required biometric or biographic 

13 data because of a physical impairment. 

14 (b) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—The Secretary shall use 

15 biometric, biographic, and other data that the Secretary 

16 determines appropriate to conduct security and law en17 forcement background checks and to determine whether 

18 there is any criminal, national security, or other factor 

19 that would render the alien ineligible for status under this 

20 title. An alien may not be granted any such status under 

21 this title unless security and law enforcement background 

22 checks are completed to the satisfaction of the Secretary. 

23 SEC. 124. PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

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1 pendent status or lawful permanent resident status under 

2 this title, a determination of whether an alien is a child 

3 shall be made using the age of the alien on the date on 

4 which the initial application for certified agricultural 

5 worker status is filed with the Secretary of Homeland Se6 curity. 

7 (b) LIMITATION.—Subsection (a) shall apply for no 

8 more than 10 years after the date on which the initial 

9 application for certified agricultural worker status is filed 

10 with the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

11 SEC. 125. LIMITATION ON REMOVAL. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—An alien who appears to be prima 

13 facie eligible for status under this title shall be given a 

14 reasonable opportunity to apply for such status. Such an 

15 alien may not be placed in removal proceedings or removed 

16 from the United States until a final administrative deci17 sion establishing ineligibility for such status is rendered. 

18 (b) ALIENS IN REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Notwith19 standing any other provision of the law, the Attorney Gen20 eral shall (upon motion by the Secretary with the consent 

21 of the alien, or motion by the alien) terminate removal 

22 proceedings, without prejudice, against an alien who ap23 pears to be prima facie eligible for status under this title, 

24 and provide such alien a reasonable opportunity to apply 

25 for such status. 


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1 (c) EFFECT OF FINAL ORDER.—An alien present in 

2 the United States who has been ordered removed or has 

3 been permitted to depart voluntarily from the United 

4 States may, notwithstanding such order or permission to 

5 depart, apply for status under this title. Such alien shall 

6 not be required to file a separate motion to reopen, recon7 sider, or vacate the order of removal. If the Secretary ap8 proves the application, the Secretary shall notify the At9 torney General of such approval, and the Attorney General 

10 shall cancel the order of removal. If the Secretary renders 

11 a final administrative decision to deny the application, the 

12 order of removal or permission to depart shall be effective 

13 and enforceable to the same extent as if the application 

14 had not been made, only after all available administrative 

15 and judicial remedies have been exhausted. 

16 (d) EFFECT OF DEPARTURE.—Section 101(g) of the 

17 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(g)) shall 

18 not apply to an alien who departs the United States— 

19 (1) with advance permission to return to the 

20 United States granted by the Secretary under this 

21 title; or 

22 (2) after having been granted certified agricul23 tural worker status or lawful permanent resident 

24 status under this title. 


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1 SEC. 126. DOCUMENTATION OF AGRICULTURAL WORK HIS2 TORY. 

3 (a) BURDEN OF PROOF.—An alien applying for cer4 tified agricultural worker status under subtitle A or ad5 justment of status under subtitle B has the burden of 

6 proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the alien 

7 has worked the requisite number of hours or days required 

8 under section 101, 103, or 111, as applicable. The Sec9 retary shall establish special procedures to properly credit 

10 work in cases in which an alien was employed under an 

11 assumed name. 

12 (b) EVIDENCE.—An alien may meet the burden of 

13 proof under subsection (a) by producing sufficient evi14 dence to show the extent of such employment as a matter 

15 of just and reasonable inference. Such evidence may in16 clude— 

17 (1) an annual record of certified agricultural 

18 worker employment as described in section 105(a), 

19 or other employment records from employers; 

20 (2) employment records maintained by collective 

21 bargaining associations; 

22 (3) tax records or other government records; 

23 (4) sworn affidavits from individuals who have 

24 direct knowledge of the alien’s work history; or 

25 (5) any other documentation designated by the 

26 Secretary for such purpose. 


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1 (c) EXCEPTION FOR EXTRAORDINARY CIR2 CUMSTANCES.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—In determining whether an 

4 alien has met the requirement under section 

5 103(a)(1)(A) or 111(a)(1)(A), the Secretary may 

6 credit the alien with not more than 575 hours (or 

7 100 work days) of agricultural labor or services in 

8 the United States if the alien was unable to perform 

9 the required agricultural labor or services due to— 

10 (A) pregnancy, illness, disease, disabling 

11 injury, or physical limitation of the alien; 

12 (B) injury, illness, disease, or other special 

13 needs of the alien’s child or spouse; 

14 (C) severe weather conditions that pre15 vented the alien from engaging in agricultural 

16 labor or services; or 

17 (D) termination from agricultural employ18 ment, if the Secretary determines that— 

19 (i) the termination was without just 

20 cause; and 

21 (ii) the alien was unable to find alter22 native agricultural employment after a rea23 sonable job search. 

24 (2) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION.—A deter25 mination under paragraph (1)(D) shall not be conVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5038.RFS H5038

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1 clusive, binding, or admissible in a separate or sub2 sequent judicial or administrative action or pro3 ceeding between the alien and a current or prior em4 ployer of the alien or any other party. 

5 SEC. 127. EMPLOYER PROTECTIONS. 

6 (a) CONTINUING EMPLOYMENT.—An employer that 

7 continues to employ an alien knowing that the alien in8 tends to apply for certified agricultural worker status 

9 under subtitle A shall not violate section 274A(a)(2) of 

10 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

11 1324a(a)(2)) by continuing to employ the alien for the du12 ration of the application period under section 101(c), and 

13 with respect to an alien who applies for certified agricul14 tural status, for the duration of the period during which 

15 the alien’s application is pending final determination. 

16 (b) USE OF EMPLOYMENT RECORDS.—Copies of em17 ployment records or other evidence of employment pro18 vided by an alien or by an alien’s employer in support of 

19 an alien’s application for certified agricultural worker or 

20 adjustment of status under this title may not be used in 

21 a civil or criminal prosecution or investigation of that em22 ployer under section 274A of the Immigration and Nation23 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) or the Internal Revenue Code 

24 of 1986 for the prior unlawful employment of that alien 

25 regardless of the outcome of such application. 


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1 (c) ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS.—Employers that 

2 provide unauthorized aliens with copies of employment 

3 records or other evidence of employment in support of an 

4 application for certified agricultural worker status or ad5 justment of status under this title shall not be subject to 

6 civil and criminal liability pursuant to such section 274A 

7 for employing such unauthorized aliens. Records or other 

8 evidence of employment provided by employers in response 

9 to a request for such records for the purpose of estab10 lishing eligibility for status under this title may not be 

11 used for any purpose other than establishing such eligi12 bility. 

13 (d) LIMITATION ON PROTECTION.—The protections 

14 for employers under this section shall not apply if the em15 ployer provides employment records to the alien that are 

16 determined to be fraudulent. 

17 SEC. 128. CORRECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY RECORDS; 

18 CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(e)(1) of the Social 

20 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 408(e)(1)) is amended— 

21 (1) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

22 the end; 

23 (2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘or’’ at 

24 the end; 


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1 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(D) who is granted certified agricultural work4 er status, certified agricultural dependent status, or 

5 lawful permanent resident status under title I of the 

6 Farm Work Modernization Act of 2019,’’; and 

7 (4) in the undesignated matter following sub8 paragraph (D), as added by paragraph (3), by strik9 ing ‘‘1990.’’ and inserting ‘‘1990, or in the case of 

10 an alien described in subparagraph (D), if such con11 duct is alleged to have occurred before the date on 

12 which the alien was granted status under title I of 

13 the Farm Work Modernization Act of 2019.’’. 

14 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 subsection (a) shall take effect on the first day of the sev16 enth month that begins after the date of the enactment 

17 of this Act. 

18 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (1) SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.—Section 210(a)(1) 

20 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 410(a)(1)) is 

21 amended by inserting before the semicolon the fol22 lowing: ‘‘(other than aliens granted certified agricul23 tural worker status or certified agricultural depend24 ent status under title I of the Farm Work Mod25 ernization Act of 2019’’. 


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1 (2) INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986.—Sec2 tion 3121(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

3 1986 is amended by inserting before the semicolon 

4 the following: ‘‘(other than aliens granted certified 

5 agricultural worker status or certified agricultural 

6 dependent status under title I of the Farm Work 

7 Modernization Act of 2019’’. 

8 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

9 by this subsection shall apply with respect to service 

10 performed after the date of the enactment of this 

11 Act. 

12 (d) AUTOMATED SYSTEM TO ASSIGN SOCIAL SECU13 RITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS.—Section 205(c)(2)(B) of the 

14 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(B)) is amended 

15 by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(iv) The Commissioner of Social Se17 curity shall, to the extent practicable, co18 ordinate with the Secretary of the Depart19 ment of Homeland Security to implement 

20 an automated system for the Commissioner 

21 to assign social security account numbers 

22 to aliens granted certified agricultural 

23 worker status or certified agricultural de24 pendent status under title I of the Farm 

25 Work Modernization Act of 2019. An alien 


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1 who is granted such status, and who was 

2 not previously assigned a social security 

3 account number, shall request assignment 

4 of a social security account number and a 

5 social security card from the Commissioner 

6 through such system. The Secretary shall 

7 collect and provide to the Commissioner 

8 such information as the Commissioner 

9 deems necessary for the Commissioner to 

10 assign a social security account number, 

11 which information may be used by the 

12 Commissioner for any purpose for which 

13 the Commissioner is otherwise authorized 

14 under Federal law. The Commissioner may 

15 maintain, use, and disclose such informa16 tion only as permitted by the Privacy Act 

17 and other Federal law.’’. 

18 SEC. 129. DISCLOSURES AND PRIVACY. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not disclose 

20 or use information provided in an application for certified 

21 agricultural worker status or adjustment of status under 

22 this title (including information provided during adminis23 trative or judicial review) for the purpose of immigration 

24 enforcement. 


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1 (b) REFERRALS PROHIBITED.—The Secretary, based 

2 solely on information provided in an application for cer3 tified agricultural worker status or adjustment of status 

4 under this title (including information provided during ad5 ministrative or judicial review), may not refer an applicant 

6 to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Cus7 toms and Border Protection, or any designee of either 

8 such entity. 

9 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding subsections (a) 

10 and (b), information provided in an application for cer11 tified agricultural worker status or adjustment of status 

12 under this title may be shared with Federal security and 

13 law enforcement agencies— 

14 (1) for assistance in the consideration of an ap15 plication under this title; 

16 (2) to identify or prevent fraudulent claims or 

17 schemes; 

18 (3) for national security purposes; or 

19 (4) for the investigation or prosecution of any 

20 felony not related to immigration status. 

21 (d) PENALTY.—Any person who knowingly uses, pub22 lishes, or permits information to be examined in violation 

23 of this section shall be fined not more than $10,000. 

24 (e) PRIVACY.—The Secretary shall ensure that ap25 propriate administrative and physical safeguards are in 


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1 place to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity 

2 of personally identifiable information collected, main3 tained, and disseminated pursuant to this title. 

4 SEC. 130. PENALTIES FOR FALSE STATEMENTS IN APPLICA5 TIONS. 

6 (a) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person who— 

7 (1) files an application for certified agricultural 

8 worker status or adjustment of status under this 

9 title and knowingly falsifies, conceals, or covers up 

10 a material fact or makes any false, fictitious, or 

11 fraudulent statements or representations, or makes 

12 or uses any false writing or document knowing the 

13 same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent 

14 statement or entry; or 

15 (2) creates or supplies a false writing or docu16 ment for use in making such an application, 

17 shall be fined in accordance with title 18, United States 

18 Code, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. 

19 (b) INADMISSIBILITY.—An alien who is convicted 

20 under subsection (a) shall be deemed inadmissible to the 

21 United States under section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immi22 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(C)(i)). 

23 (c) DEPOSIT.—Fines collected under subsection (a) 

24 shall be deposited into the Immigration Examinations Fee 


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1 Account pursuant to section 286(m) of the Immigration 

2 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(m)). 

3 SEC. 131. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than the first 

5 day of the application period described in section 101(c)— 

6 (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security, in co7 operation with qualified designated entities, shall 

8 broadly disseminate information described in sub9 section (b); and 

10 (2) the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation 

11 with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall dis12 seminate to agricultural employers a document con13 taining the information described in subsection (b) 

14 for posting at employer worksites. 

15 (b) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The information de16 scribed in this subsection shall include— 

17 (1) the benefits that aliens may receive under 

18 this title; and 

19 (2) the requirements that an alien must meet to 

20 receive such benefits. 

21 SEC. 132. EXEMPTION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS. 

22 The numerical limitations under title II of the Immi23 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.) shall 

24 not apply to the adjustment of aliens to lawful permanent 


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1 resident status under this title, and such aliens shall not 

2 be counted toward any such numerical limitation. 

3 SEC. 133. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

4 Not later than 180 days after the publication of the 

5 final rule under section 122(a), and annually thereafter 

6 for the following 10 years, the Secretary shall submit a 

7 report to Congress that identifies, for the previous fiscal 

8 year— 

9 (1) the number of principal aliens who applied 

10 for certified agricultural worker status under subtitle 

11 A, and the number of dependent spouses and chil12 dren included in such applications; 

13 (2) the number of principal aliens who were 

14 granted certified agricultural worker status under 

15 subtitle A, and the number of dependent spouses 

16 and children who were granted certified agricultural 

17 dependent status; 

18 (3) the number of principal aliens who applied 

19 for an extension of their certified agricultural worker 

20 status under subtitle A, and the number of depend21 ent spouses and children included in such applica22 tions; 

23 (4) the number of principal aliens who were 

24 granted an extension of certified agricultural worker 

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1 ent spouses and children who were granted certified 

2 agricultural dependent status under such an exten3 sion; 

4 (5) the number of principal aliens who applied 

5 for adjustment of status under subtitle B, and the 

6 number of dependent spouses and children included 

7 in such applications; 

8 (6) the number of principal aliens who were 

9 granted lawful permanent resident status under sub10 title B, and the number of spouses and children who 

11 were granted such status as dependents; 

12 (7) the number of principal aliens included in 

13 petitions described in section 101(e), and the num14 ber of dependent spouses and children included in 

15 such applications; and 

16 (8) the number of principal aliens who were 

17 granted H–2A status pursuant to petitions described 

18 in section 101(e), and the number of dependent 

19 spouses and children who were granted H–4 status. 

20 SEC. 134. GRANT PROGRAM TO ASSIST ELIGIBLE APPLI21 CANTS. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

23 a program to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eli24 gible nonprofit organizations to assist eligible applicants 


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1 under this title by providing them with the services de2 scribed in subsection (c). 

3 (b) ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—For 

4 purposes of this section, the term ‘‘eligible nonprofit orga5 nization’’ means an organization described in section 

6 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (exclud7 ing a recipient of funds under title X of the Economic 

8 Opportunity Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2996 et seq.)) that 

9 has demonstrated qualifications, experience, and expertise 

10 in providing quality services to farm workers or aliens. 

11 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Grant funds awarded under 

12 this section may be used for the design and implementa13 tion of programs that provide— 

14 (1) information to the public regarding the eli15 gibility and benefits of certified agricultural worker 

16 status authorized under this title; and 

17 (2) assistance, within the scope of authorized 

18 practice of immigration law, to individuals submit19 ting applications for certified agricultural worker 

20 status or adjustment of status under this title, in21 cluding— 

22 (A) screening prospective applicants to as23 sess their eligibility for such status; 


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1 (B) completing applications, including pro2 viding assistance in obtaining necessary docu3 ments and supporting evidence; and 

4 (C) providing any other assistance that the 

5 Secretary determines useful to assist aliens in 

6 applying for certified agricultural worker status 

7 or adjustment of status under this title. 

8 (d) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—In addition to any funds 

9 appropriated to carry out this section, the Secretary may 

10 use up to $10,000,000 from the Immigration Examina11 tions Fee Account under section 286(m) of the Immigra12 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(m)) to carry out 

13 this section. 

14 (e) ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES.—Section 504(a)(11) 

15 of Public Law 104–134 (110 Stat. 1321–53 et seq.) shall 

16 not be construed to prevent a recipient of funds under title 

17 X of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

18 2996 et seq.) from providing legal assistance directly re19 lated to an application for status under this title or to 

20 an alien granted such status. 

21 SEC. 135. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec23 retary, such sums as may be necessary to implement this 

24 title, including any amounts needed for costs associated 


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1 with the initiation of such implementation, for each of fis2 cal years 2020 through 2022. 

3 TITLE II—ENSURING AN AGRI4 CULTURAL WORKFORCE FOR 

5 THE FUTURE 

6 Subtitle A—Reforming the H–2A 

7 Temporary Worker Program 

8 SEC. 201. COMPREHENSIVE AND STREAMLINED ELEC9 TRONIC H–2A PLATFORM. 

10 (a) STREAMLINED H–2A PLATFORM.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months 

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec13 retary of Homeland Security, in consultation with 

14 the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Agriculture, 

15 the Secretary of State, and United States Digital 

16 Service, shall ensure the establishment of an elec17 tronic platform through which a petition for an H– 

18 2A worker may be filed. Such platform shall— 

19 (A) serve as a single point of access for an 

20 employer to input all information and sup21 porting documentation required for obtaining 

22 labor certification from the Secretary of Labor 

23 and the adjudication of the H–2A petition by 

24 the Secretary of Homeland Security; 


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1 (B) serve as a single point of access for the 

2 Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary 

3 of Labor, and State workforce agencies to con4 currently perform their respective review and 

5 adjudicatory responsibilities in the H–2A proc6 ess; 

7 (C) facilitate communication between em8 ployers and agency adjudicators, including by 

9 allowing employers to— 

10 (i) receive and respond to notices of 

11 deficiency and requests for information; 

12 (ii) submit requests for inspections 

13 and licensing; 

14 (iii) receive notices of approval and 

15 denial; and 

16 (iv) request reconsideration or appeal 

17 of agency decisions; and 

18 (D) provide information to the Secretary of 

19 State and U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

20 necessary for the efficient and secure processing 

21 of H–2A visas and applications for admission. 

22 (2) OBJECTIVES.—In developing the platform 

23 described in paragraph (1), the Secretary of Home24 land Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 

25 Labor, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of 


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1 State, and United States Digital Service, shall 

2 streamline and improve the H–2A process, including 

3 by— 

4 (A) eliminating the need for employers to 

5 submit duplicate information and documenta6 tion to multiple agencies; 

7 (B) eliminating redundant processes, where 

8 a single matter in a petition is adjudicated by 

9 more than one agency; 

10 (C) reducing the occurrence of common pe11 tition errors, and otherwise improving and expe12 diting the processing of H–2A petitions; and 

13 (D) ensuring compliance with H–2A pro14 gram requirements and the protection of the 

15 wages and working conditions of workers. 

16 (b) ONLINE JOB REGISTRY.—The Secretary of Labor 

17 shall maintain a national, publicly-accessible online job 

18 registry and database of all job orders submitted by H– 

19 2A employers. The registry and database shall— 

20 (1) be searchable using relevant criteria, includ21 ing the types of jobs needed to be filled, the date(s) 

22 and location(s) of need, and the employer(s) named 

23 in the job order; 


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1 (2) provide an interface for workers in English, 

2 Spanish, and any other language that the Secretary 

3 of Labor determines to be appropriate; and 

4 (3) provide for public access of job orders ap5 proved under section 218(h)(2) of the Immigration 

6 and Nationality Act. 

7 SEC. 202. H–2A PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. 

8 Section 218 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

9 (8 U.S.C. 1188) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 218. ADMISSION OF TEMPORARY H–2A WORKERS. 

11 ‘‘(a) LABOR CERTIFICATION CONDITIONS.—The Sec12 retary of Homeland Security may not approve a petition 

13 to admit an H–2A worker unless the Secretary of Labor 

14 has certified that— 

15 ‘‘(1) there are not sufficient United States 

16 workers who are able, willing and qualified, and who 

17 will be available at the time and place needed, to 

18 perform the agricultural labor or services described 

19 in the petition; and 

20 ‘‘(2) the employment of the H–2A worker in 

21 such labor or services will not adversely affect the 

22 wages and working conditions of workers in the 

23 United States who are similarly employed. 

24 ‘‘(b) H–2A PETITION REQUIREMENTS.—An em25 ployer filing a petition for an H–2A worker to perform 


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1 agricultural labor or services shall attest to and dem2 onstrate compliance, as and when appropriate, with all ap3 plicable requirements under this section, including the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(1) NEED FOR LABOR OR SERVICES.—The em6 ployer has described the need for agricultural labor 

7 or services in a job order that includes a description 

8 of the nature and location of the work to be per9 formed, the anticipated period or periods (expected 

10 start and end dates) for which the workers will be 

11 needed, and the number of job opportunities in 

12 which the employer seeks to employ the workers. 

13 ‘‘(2) NONDISPLACEMENT OF UNITED STATES

14 WORKERS.—The employer has not and will not dis15 place United States workers employed by the em16 ployer during the period of employment of the H– 

17 2A worker and during the 60-day period imme18 diately preceding such period of employment in the 

19 job for which the employer seeks approval to employ 

20 the H–2A worker. 

21 ‘‘(3) STRIKE OR LOCKOUT.—Each place of em22 ployment described in the petition is not, at the time 

23 of filing the petition and until the petition is ap24 proved, subject to a strike or lockout in the course 

25 of a labor dispute. 


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1 ‘‘(4) RECRUITMENT OF UNITED STATES WORK2 ERS.—The employer shall engage in the recruitment 

3 of United States workers as described in subsection 

4 (c) and shall hire such workers who are able, willing 

5 and qualified, and who will be available at the time 

6 and place needed, to perform the agricultural labor 

7 or services described in the petition. The employer 

8 may reject a United States worker only for lawful, 

9 job-related reasons. 

10 ‘‘(5) WAGES, BENEFITS, AND WORKING CONDI11 TIONS.—The employer shall offer and provide, at a 

12 minimum, the wages, benefits, and working condi13 tions required by this section to the H–2A worker 

14 and all workers who are similarly employed. The em15 ployer— 

16 ‘‘(A) shall offer such similarly employed 

17 workers not less than the same benefits, wages, 

18 and working conditions that the employer is of19 fering or will provide to the H–2A worker; and 

20 ‘‘(B) may not impose on such similarly em21 ployed workers any restrictions or obligations 

22 that will not be imposed on the H–2A worker. 

23 ‘‘(6) WORKERS’ COMPENSATION.—If the job op24 portunity is not covered by or is exempt from the 

25 State workers’ compensation law, the employer shall 


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1 provide, at no cost to the worker, insurance covering 

2 injury and disease arising out of, and in the course 

3 of, the worker’s employment which will provide bene4 fits at least equal to those provided under the State 

5 workers’ compensation law. 

6 ‘‘(7) COMPLIANCE WITH LABOR AND EMPLOY7 MENT LAWS.—The employer shall comply with all 

8 applicable Federal, State and local employment-re9 lated laws and regulations. 

10 ‘‘(8) COMPLIANCE WITH FOREIGN LABOR RE11 CRUITMENT LAWS.—The employer shall comply with 

12 subtitle C of title II of the Farm Workforce Mod13 ernization Act of 2019. 

14 ‘‘(c) RECRUITING REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The employer may satisfy 

16 the recruitment requirement described in subsection 

17 (b)(4) by satisfying all of the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) JOB ORDER.—As provided in sub19 section (h)(1), the employer shall complete a 

20 job order for posting on the electronic job reg21 istry maintained by the Secretary of Labor and 

22 for distribution by the appropriate State work23 force agency. Such posting shall remain on the 

24 job registry as an active job order through the 

25 period described in paragraph (2)(B). 


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1 ‘‘(B) FORMER WORKERS.—At least 45 

2 days before each start date identified in the pe3 tition, the employer shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) make reasonable efforts to con5 tact any United States worker the em6 ployer employed in the previous year in the 

7 same occupation and area of intended em8 ployment for which an H–2A worker is 

9 sought (excluding workers who were termi10 nated for cause or abandoned the work11 site); and 

12 ‘‘(ii) post such job opportunity in a 

13 conspicuous location or locations at the 

14 place of employment. 

15 ‘‘(C) POSITIVE RECRUITMENT.—During 

16 the period of recruitment, the employer shall 

17 complete any other positive recruitment steps 

18 within a multi-State region of traditional or ex19 pected labor supply where the Secretary of 

20 Labor finds that there are a significant number 

21 of qualified United States workers who, if re22 cruited, would be willing to make themselves 

23 available for work at the time and place needed. 

24 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF RECRUITMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

2 subsection, the period of recruitment begins on 

3 the date on which the job order is posted on the 

4 online job registry and ends on the date that 

5 H–2A workers depart for the employer’s place 

6 of employment. For a petition involving more 

7 than one start date under subsection (h)(1)(C), 

8 the end of the period of recruitment shall be de9 termined by the date of departure of the H–2A 

10 workers for the final start date identified in the 

11 petition. 

12 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT TO HIRE US WORK13 ERS.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

15 the limitations of subparagraph (A), the 

16 employer will provide employment to any 

17 qualified United States worker who applies 

18 to the employer for any job opportunity in19 cluded in the petition until the later of— 

20 ‘‘(I) the date that is 30 days 

21 after the date on which work begins; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(II) the date on which— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) 33 percent of the work 

2 contract for the job opportunity 

3 has elapsed; or 

4 ‘‘(bb) if the employer is a 

5 labor contractor, 50 percent of 

6 the work contract for the job op7 portunity has elapsed. 

8 ‘‘(ii) STAGGERED ENTRY.—For a peti9 tion involving more than one start date 

10 under subsection (h)(1)(C), each start date 

11 designated in the petition shall establish a 

12 separate job opportunity. An employer may 

13 not reject a United States worker because 

14 the worker is unable or unwilling to fill 

15 more than one job opportunity included in 

16 the petition. 

17 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding 

18 clause (i), the employer may offer a job op19 portunity to an H–2A worker instead of an 

20 alien granted certified agricultural worker 

21 status under title I of the Farm Workforce 

22 Modernization Act of 2019 if the H–2A 

23 worker was employed by the employer in 

24 each of 3 years during the most recent 4- 

25 year period. 


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1 ‘‘(3) RECRUITMENT REPORT.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The employer shall 

3 maintain a recruitment report through the ap4 plicable period described in paragraph (2)(B) 

5 and submit regular updates through the elec6 tronic platform on the results of recruitment. 

7 The employer shall retain the recruitment re8 port, and all associated recruitment documenta9 tion, for a period of 3 years from the date of 

10 certification. 

11 ‘‘(B) BURDEN OF PROOF.—If the employer 

12 asserts that any eligible individual who has ap13 plied or been referred is not able, willing or 

14 qualified, the employer bears the burden of 

15 proof to establish that the individual is not able, 

16 willing or qualified because of a lawful, employ17 ment-related reason. 

18 ‘‘(d) WAGE REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each employer under this 

20 section will offer the worker, during the period of 

21 authorized employment, wages that are at least the 

22 greatest of— 

23 ‘‘(A) the agreed-upon collective bargaining 

24 wage; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the adverse effect wage rate (or any 

2 successor wage established under paragraph 

3 (7)); 

4 ‘‘(C) the prevailing wage (hourly wage or 

5 piece rate); or 

6 ‘‘(D) the Federal or State minimum wage. 

7 ‘‘(2) ADVERSE EFFECT WAGE RATE DETER8 MINATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

10 under subparagraph (B), the applicable adverse 

11 effect wage rate for each State and occupational 

12 classification for a calendar year shall be as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(i) The annual average hourly wage 

15 for the occupational classification in the 

16 State or region as reported by the Sec17 retary of Agriculture based on a wage sur18 vey conducted by such Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(ii) If a wage described in clause (i) 

20 is not reported, the national annual aver21 age hourly wage for the occupational clas22 sification as reported by the Secretary of 

23 Agriculture based on a wage survey con24 ducted by such Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) If a wage described in clause (i) 

2 or (ii) is not reported, the Statewide an3 nual average hourly wage for the standard 

4 occupational classification as reported by 

5 the Secretary of Labor based on a wage 

6 survey conducted by such Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(iv) If a wage described in clause (i), 

8 (ii), or (iii) is not reported, the national av9 erage hourly wage for the occupational 

10 classification as reported by the Secretary 

11 of Labor based on a wage survey con12 ducted by such Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS ON WAGE FLUCTUA14 TIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) WAGE FREEZE FOR CALENDAR

16 YEAR 2020.—For calendar year 2020, the 

17 adverse effect wage rate for each State and 

18 occupational classification under this sub19 section shall be the adverse effect wage 

20 rate that was in effect for H–2A workers 

21 in the applicable State in calendar year 

22 2019. 

23 ‘‘(ii) CALENDAR YEARS 2021 THROUGH

24 2029.—For each of calendar years 2021 

25 through 2029, the adverse effect wage rate 


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1 for each State and occupational classifica2 tion under this subsection shall be the 

3 wage calculated under subparagraph (A), 

4 except that such wage may not— 

5 ‘‘(I) be more than 1.5 percent 

6 lower than the wage in effect for H– 

7 2A workers in the applicable State 

8 and occupational classification in the 

9 immediately preceding calendar year; 

10 ‘‘(II) except as provided in clause 

11 (III), be more than 3.25 percent high12 er than the wage in effect for H–2A 

13 workers in the applicable State and 

14 occupational classification in the im15 mediately preceding calendar year; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(III) if the application of clause 

18 (II) results in a wage that is lower 

19 than 110 percent of the applicable 

20 Federal or State minimum wage, be 

21 more than 4.25 percent higher than 

22 the wage in effect for H–2A workers 

23 in the applicable State and occupa24 tional classification in the immediately 

25 preceding calendar year. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) CALENDAR YEARS AFTER

2 2029.—For any calendar year after 2029, 

3 the applicable wage rate described in para4 graph (1)(B) shall be the wage rate estab5 lished pursuant to paragraph (7)(D). Until 

6 such wage rate is effective, the adverse ef7 fect wage rate for each State and occupa8 tional classification under this subsection 

9 shall be the wage calculated under sub10 paragraph (A), except that such wage may 

11 not be more than 1.5 percent lower or 3.25 

12 percent higher than the wage in effect for 

13 H–2A workers in the applicable State and 

14 occupational classification in the imme15 diately preceding calendar year. 

16 ‘‘(3) MULTIPLE OCCUPATIONS.—If the primary 

17 job duties for the job opportunity described in the 

18 petition do not fall within a single occupational clas19 sification, the applicable wage rates under subpara20 graphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (1) for the job op21 portunity shall be based on the highest such wage 

22 rates for all applicable occupational classifications. 

23 ‘‘(4) PUBLICATION; WAGES IN EFFECT.— 

24 ‘‘(A) PUBLICATION.—Prior to the start of 

25 each calendar year, the Secretary of Labor shall 


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1 publish the applicable adverse effect wage rate 

2 (or successor wage rate, if any), and prevailing 

3 wage if available, for each State and occupa4 tional classification through notice in the Fed5 eral Register. 

6 ‘‘(B) JOB ORDERS IN EFFECT.—Except as 

7 provided in subparagraph (C), publication by 

8 the Secretary of Labor of an updated adverse 

9 effect wage rate or prevailing wage for a State 

10 and occupational classification shall not affect 

11 the wage rate guaranteed in any approved job 

12 order for which recruitment efforts have com13 menced at the time of publication. 

14 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION FOR YEAR-ROUND

15 JOBS.—If the Secretary of Labor publishes an 

16 updated adverse effect wage rate or prevailing 

17 wage for a State and occupational classification 

18 concerning a petition described in subsection 

19 (i), and the updated wage is higher than the 

20 wage rate guaranteed in the work contract, the 

21 employer shall pay the updated wage not later 

22 than 14 days after publication of the updated 

23 wage in the Federal Register. 

24 ‘‘(5) WORKERS PAID ON A PIECE RATE OR

25 OTHER INCENTIVE BASIS.—If an employer pays by 


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1 the piece rate or other incentive method and requires 

2 one or more minimum productivity standards as a 

3 condition of job retention, such standards shall be 

4 specified in the job order and shall be no more than 

5 those normally required (at the time of the first peti6 tion for H–2A workers) by other employers for the 

7 activity in the area of intended employment, unless 

8 the Secretary of Labor approves a higher minimum 

9 standard resulting from material changes in produc10 tion methods. 

11 ‘‘(6) GUARANTEE OF EMPLOYMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) OFFER TO WORKER.—The employer 

13 shall guarantee the worker employment for the 

14 hourly equivalent of at least three-fourths of the 

15 work days of the total period of employment, 

16 beginning with the first work day after the ar17 rival of the worker at the place of employment 

18 and ending on the date specified in the job 

19 offer. For purposes of this subparagraph, the 

20 hourly equivalent means the number of hours in 

21 the work days as stated in the job offer and 

22 shall exclude the worker’s Sabbath and Federal 

23 holidays. If the employer affords the worker less 

24 employment than that required under this para25 graph, the employer shall pay the worker the 


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1 amount which the worker would have earned 

2 had the worker, in fact, worked for the guaran3 teed number of hours. 

4 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO WORK.—Any hours 

5 which the worker fails to work, up to a max6 imum of the number of hours specified in the 

7 job offer for a work day, when the worker has 

8 been offered an opportunity to do so, and all 

9 hours of work actually performed (including vol10 untary work in excess of the number of hours 

11 specified in the job offer in a work day, on the 

12 worker’s Sabbath, or on Federal holidays) may 

13 be counted by the employer in calculating 

14 whether the period of guaranteed employment 

15 has been met. 

16 ‘‘(C) ABANDONMENT OF EMPLOYMENT; 

17 TERMINATION FOR CAUSE.—If the worker vol18 untarily abandons employment without good 

19 cause before the end of the contract period, or 

20 is terminated for cause, the worker is not enti21 tled to the guarantee of employment described 

22 in subparagraph (A). 

23 ‘‘(D) CONTRACT IMPOSSIBILITY.—If, be24 fore the expiration of the period of employment 

25 specified in the job offer, the services of the 


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1 worker are no longer required for reasons be2 yond the control of the employer due to any 

3 form of natural disaster before the guarantee in 

4 subparagraph (A) is fulfilled, the employer may 

5 terminate the worker’s employment. In the 

6 event of such termination, the employer shall 

7 fulfill the employment guarantee in subpara8 graph (A) for the work days that have elapsed 

9 from the first work day after the arrival of the 

10 worker to the termination of employment. The 

11 employer shall make efforts to transfer a work12 er to other comparable employment acceptable 

13 to the worker. If such transfer is not effected, 

14 the employer shall provide the return transpor15 tation required in subsection (f)(2). 

16 ‘‘(7) WAGE STANDARDS AFTER 2029.— 

17 ‘‘(A) STUDY OF ADVERSE EFFECT WAGE

18 RATE.—Beginning in fiscal year 2026, the Sec19 retary of Agriculture and Secretary of Labor 

20 shall jointly conduct a study that addresses— 

21 ‘‘(i) whether the employment of H–2A 

22 workers has depressed the wages of United 

23 States farm workers; 

24 ‘‘(ii) whether an adverse effect wage 

25 rate is necessary to protect the wages of 


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1 United States farm workers in occupations 

2 in which H–2A workers are employed; 

3 ‘‘(iii) whether alternative wage stand4 ards would be sufficient to prevent wages 

5 in occupations in which H–2A workers are 

6 employed from falling below the wage level 

7 that would have prevailed in the absence of 

8 H–2A employment; 

9 ‘‘(iv) whether any changes are war10 ranted in the current methodologies for 

11 calculating the adverse effect wage rate 

12 and the prevailing wage rate; and 

13 ‘‘(v) recommendations for future wage 

14 protection under this section. 

15 ‘‘(B) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than Oc16 tober 1, 2027, the Secretary of Agriculture and 

17 Secretary of Labor shall jointly prepare and 

18 submit a report to the Congress setting forth 

19 the findings of the study conducted under sub20 paragraph (A) and recommendations for future 

21 wage protections under this section. 

22 ‘‘(C) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the 

23 study under subparagraph (A) and preparing 

24 the report under subparagraph (B), the Sec25 retary of Agriculture and Secretary of Labor 


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1 shall consult with representatives of agricultural 

2 employers and an equal number of representa3 tives of agricultural workers, at the national, 

4 State and local level. 

5 ‘‘(D) WAGE DETERMINATION AFTER

6 2029.—Upon publication of the report described 

7 in subparagraph (B), the Secretary of Labor, in 

8 consultation with and the approval of the Sec9 retary of Agriculture, shall make a rule to es10 tablish a process for annually determining the 

11 wage rate for purposes of paragraph (1)(B) for 

12 fiscal years after 2029. Such process shall be 

13 designed to ensure that the employment of H– 

14 2A workers does not undermine the wages and 

15 working conditions of similarly employed United 

16 States workers. 

17 ‘‘(e) HOUSING REQUIREMENTS.—Employers shall 

18 furnish housing in accordance with regulations established 

19 by the Secretary of Labor. Such regulations shall be con20 sistent with the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The employer shall be per22 mitted at the employer’s option to provide housing 

23 meeting applicable Federal standards for temporary 

24 labor camps or to secure housing which meets the 

25 local standards for rental and/or public accommodaVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00069 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5038.RFS H5038

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1 tions or other substantially similar class of habi2 tation: Provided, That in the absence of applicable 

3 local standards, State standards for rental and/or 

4 public accommodations or other substantially similar 

5 class of habitation shall be met: Provided further, 

6 That in the absence of applicable local or State 

7 standards, Federal temporary labor camp standards 

8 shall apply. 

9 ‘‘(2) FAMILY HOUSING.—Except as otherwise 

10 provided in subsection (i)(5), the employer shall pro11 vide family housing to workers with families who re12 quest it when it is the prevailing practice in the area 

13 and occupation of intended employment to provide 

14 family housing. 

15 ‘‘(3) UNITED STATES WORKERS.—Notwith16 standing paragraphs (1) and (2), an employer is not 

17 required to provide housing to United States work18 ers who are reasonably able to return to their resi19 dence within the same day. 

20 ‘‘(4) TIMING OF INSPECTION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

22 Labor or designee shall make a determination 

23 as to whether the housing furnished by an em24 ployer for a worker meets the requirements im25 posed by this subsection prior to the date on 


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1 which the Secretary of Labor is required to 

2 make a certification with respect to a petition 

3 for the admission of such worker. 

4 ‘‘(B) TIMELY INSPECTION.—The Secretary 

5 of Labor shall provide a process for— 

6 ‘‘(i) an employer to request inspection 

7 of housing up to 60 days before the date 

8 on which the employer will file a petition 

9 under this section; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) annual inspection of housing for 

11 workers who are engaged in agricultural 

12 employment that is not of a seasonal or 

13 temporary nature. 

14 ‘‘(f) TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) TRAVEL TO PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT.—A 

16 worker who completes 50 percent of the period of 

17 employment specified in the job order shall be reim18 bursed by the employer for the cost of the worker’s 

19 transportation and subsistence from the place from 

20 which the worker came to work for the employer (or 

21 place of last employment, if the worker traveled 

22 from such place) to the place of employment. 

23 ‘‘(2) TRAVEL FROM PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT.— 

24 For a worker who completes the period of employ25 ment specified in the job order or who is terminated 


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1 without cause, the employer shall provide or pay for 

2 the worker’s transportation and subsistence from the 

3 place of employment to the place from which the 

4 worker, disregarding intervening employment, came 

5 to work for the employer, or to the place of next em6 ployment, if the worker has contracted with a subse7 quent employer who has not agreed to provide or 

8 pay for the worker’s transportation and subsistence 

9 to such subsequent employer’s place of employment. 

10 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) AMOUNT OF REIMBURSEMENT.—Ex12 cept as provided in subparagraph (B), the 

13 amount of reimbursement provided under para14 graph (1) or (2) to a worker need not exceed 

15 the lesser of— 

16 ‘‘(i) the actual cost to the worker of 

17 the transportation and subsistence in18 volved; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) the most economical and reason20 able common carrier transportation 

21 charges and subsistence costs for the dis22 tance involved. 

23 ‘‘(B) DISTANCE TRAVELED.—For travel to 

24 or from the worker’s home country, if the travel 

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1 evant consulate is 50 miles or less, reimburse2 ment for transportation and subsistence may be 

3 based on transportation to or from the con4 sulate. 

5 ‘‘(g) HEAT ILLNESS PREVENTION PLAN.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The employer shall main7 tain a reasonable plan that describes the employer’s 

8 procedures for the prevention of heat illness, includ9 ing appropriate training, access to water and shade, 

10 the provision of breaks, and the protocols for emer11 gency response. Such plan shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) be in writing in English and, to the 

13 extent necessary, any language common to a 

14 significant portion of the workers if they are 

15 not fluent in English; and 

16 ‘‘(B) be posted at a conspicuous location at 

17 the worksite and provided to employees prior to 

18 the commencement of labor or services. 

19 ‘‘(2) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this sub20 section is intended to limit any other Federal or 

21 State authority to promulgate, enforce, or maintain 

22 health and safety standards related to heat-related 

23 illness. 

24 ‘‘(h) H–2A PETITION PROCEDURES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF PETITION AND JOB

2 ORDER.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The employer shall 

4 submit information required for the adjudica5 tion of the H–2A petition, including a job 

6 order, through the electronic platform no more 

7 than 75 calendar days and no fewer than 60 

8 calendar days before the employer’s first date of 

9 need specified in the petition. 

10 ‘‘(B) FILING BY AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIA11 TIONS.—An association of agricultural pro12 ducers that use agricultural services may file an 

13 H–2A petition under subparagraph (A). If an 

14 association is a joint or sole employer of work15 ers who perform agricultural labor or services, 

16 H–2A workers may be used for the approved 

17 job opportunities of any of the association’s 

18 producer members and such workers may be 

19 transferred among its producer members to per20 form the agricultural labor or services for which 

21 the petition was approved. 

22 ‘‘(C) PETITIONS INVOLVING STAGGERED

23 ENTRY.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro25 vided in clause (ii), an employer may file 


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1 a petition involving employment in the 

2 same occupational classification and same 

3 area of intended employment with multiple 

4 start dates if— 

5 ‘‘(I) the petition involves tem6 porary or seasonal employment and no 

7 more than 10 start dates; 

8 ‘‘(II) the multiple start dates 

9 share a common end date; 

10 ‘‘(III) no more than 120 days 

11 separate the first start date and the 

12 final start date listed in the petition; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(IV) the need for multiple start 

15 dates arises from variations in labor 

16 needs associated with the job oppor17 tunity identified in the petition. 

18 ‘‘(ii) LABOR CONTRACTORS.—A labor 

19 contractor may not file a petition described 

20 in clause (i) unless the labor contractor— 

21 ‘‘(I) is filing as a joint employer 

22 with its contractees, or is operating in 

23 a State in which joint employment 

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1 tractor and its contractees is other2 wise established; or 

3 ‘‘(II) has posted and is maintain4 ing a premium surety bond as de5 scribed in subsection (l)(1). 

6 ‘‘(2) LABOR CERTIFICATION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) REVIEW OF JOB ORDER.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

9 Labor, in consultation with the relevant 

10 State workforce agency, shall review the 

11 job order for compliance with this section 

12 and notify the employer through the elec13 tronic platform of any deficiencies not later 

14 than 7 business days from the date the 

15 employer submits the necessary informa16 tion required under paragraph (1)(A). The 

17 employer shall be provided 5 business days 

18 to respond to any such notice of deficiency. 

19 ‘‘(ii) STANDARD.—The job order must 

20 include all material terms and conditions 

21 of employment, including the requirements 

22 of this section, and must be otherwise con23 sistent with the minimum standards pro24 vided under Federal, State or local law. In 

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1 cific qualification is appropriate in a job 

2 order, the Secretary of Labor shall apply 

3 the normal and accepted qualification re4 quired by non-H–2A employers in the 

5 same or comparable occupations and crops. 

6 ‘‘(iii) EMERGENCY PROCEDURES.— 

7 The Secretary of Labor shall establish 

8 emergency procedures for the curing of de9 ficiencies that cannot be resolved during 

10 the period described in clause (i). 

11 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL OF JOB ORDER.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Upon approval of 

13 the job order, the Secretary of Labor shall 

14 immediately place for public examination a 

15 copy of the job order on the online job reg16 istry, and the State workforce agency serv17 ing the area of intended employment shall 

18 commence the recruitment of United 

19 States workers. 

20 ‘‘(ii) REFERRAL OF UNITED STATES

21 WORKERS.—The Secretary of Labor and 

22 State workforce agency shall keep the job 

23 order active until the end of the period de24 scribed in subsection (c)(2) and shall refer 


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1 to the employer each United States worker 

2 who applies for the job opportunity. 

3 ‘‘(C) REVIEW OF INFORMATION FOR DEFI4 CIENCIES.—Within 7 business days of the ap5 proval of the job order, the Secretary of Labor 

6 shall review the information necessary to make 

7 a labor certification and notify the employer 

8 through the electronic platform if such informa9 tion does not meet the standards for approval. 

10 Such notification shall include a description of 

11 any deficiency, and the employer shall be pro12 vided 5 business days to cure such deficiency. 

13 ‘‘(D) CERTIFICATION AND AUTHORIZATION

14 OF WORKERS.—Not later than 30 days before 

15 the date that labor or services are first required 

16 to be performed, the Secretary of Labor shall 

17 issue the requested labor certification if the 

18 Secretary determines that the requirements set 

19 forth in this section have been met. 

20 ‘‘(E) EXPEDITED ADMINISTRATIVE AP21 PEALS OF CERTAIN DETERMINATIONS.—The 

22 Secretary of Labor shall by regulation establish 

23 a procedure for an employer to request the ex24 pedited review of a denial of a labor certifi25 cation under this section, or the revocation of 


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1 such a certification. Such procedure shall re2 quire the Secretary to expeditiously, but no 

3 later than 72 hours after expedited review is re4 quested, issue a de novo determination on a 

5 labor certification that was denied in whole or 

6 in part because of the availability of able, will7 ing and qualified workers if the employer dem8 onstrates, consistent with subsection (c)(3)(B), 

9 that such workers are not actually available at 

10 the time or place such labor or services are re11 quired. 

12 ‘‘(3) PETITION DECISION.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 7 busi14 ness days after the Secretary of Labor issues 

15 the certification, the Secretary of Homeland Se16 curity shall issue a decision on the petition and 

17 shall transmit a notice of action to the peti18 tioner via the electronic platform. 

19 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL.—Upon approval of a pe20 tition under this section, the Secretary of 

21 Homeland Security shall ensure that such ap22 proval is noted in the electronic platform and is 

23 available to the Secretary of State and U.S. 

24 Customs and Border Protection, as necessary, 

25 to facilitate visa issuance and admission. 


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1 ‘‘(C) PARTIAL APPROVAL.—A petition for 

2 multiple named beneficiaries may be partially 

3 approved with respect to eligible beneficiaries 

4 notwithstanding the ineligibility, or potential in5 eligibility, of one or more other beneficiaries. 

6 ‘‘(D) POST-CERTIFICATION AMEND7 MENTS.—The Secretary of Labor shall provide 

8 a process for amending a request for labor cer9 tification in conjunction with an H–2A petition, 

10 subsequent to certification by the Secretary of 

11 Labor, in cases in which the requested amend12 ment does not materially change the petition 

13 (including the job order). 

14 ‘‘(4) ROLES OF AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIA15 TIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) MEMBER’S VIOLATION DOES NOT

17 NECESSARILY DISQUALIFY ASSOCIATION OR

18 OTHER MEMBERS.—If an individual producer 

19 member of a joint employer association is deter20 mined to have committed an act that results in 

21 the denial of a petition with respect to the 

22 member, the denial shall apply only to that 

23 member of the association unless the Secretary 

24 of Labor determines that the association or 


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1 other member participated in, had knowledge 

2 of, or reason to know of, the violation. 

3 ‘‘(B) ASSOCIATION’S VIOLATION DOES NOT

4 NECESSARILY DISQUALIFY MEMBERS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) If an association representing ag6 ricultural producers as a joint employer is 

7 determined to have committed an act that 

8 results in the denial of a petition with re9 spect to the association, the denial shall 

10 apply only to the association and does not 

11 apply to any individual producer member 

12 of the association unless the Secretary of 

13 Labor determines that the member partici14 pated in, had knowledge of, or reason to 

15 know of, the violation. 

16 ‘‘(ii) If an association of agricultural 

17 producers certified as a sole employer is 

18 determined to have committed an act that 

19 results in the denial of a petition with re20 spect to the association, no individual pro21 ducer member of such association may be 

22 the beneficiary of the services of H–2A 

23 workers in the commodity and occupation 

24 in which such aliens were employed by the 

25 association which was denied during the 


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1 period such denial is in force, unless such 

2 producer member employs such aliens in 

3 the commodity and occupation in question 

4 directly or through an association which is 

5 a joint employer of such workers with the 

6 producer member. 

7 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL PROCEDURES.—The Secretary of 

8 Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Agri9 culture and Secretary of Homeland Security, may by 

10 regulation establish alternate procedures that rea11 sonably modify program requirements under this 

12 section, when the Secretary determines that such 

13 modifications are required due to the unique nature 

14 of the work involved. 

15 ‘‘(6) CONSTRUCTION OCCUPATIONS.—An em16 ployer may not file a petition under this section on 

17 behalf of a worker if the majority of the worker’s 

18 duties will fall within a construction or extraction oc19 cupational classification. 

20 ‘‘(i) NON-TEMPORARY OR -SEASONAL NEEDS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the re22 quirement in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) that the 

23 agricultural labor or services performed by an H–2A 

24 worker be of a temporary or seasonal nature, the 

25 Secretary of Homeland Security may, consistent 


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1 with the provisions of this subsection, approve a pe2 tition for an H–2A worker to perform agricultural 

3 services or labor that is not of a temporary or sea4 sonal nature. 

5 ‘‘(2) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) FIRST 3 FISCAL YEARS.—The total 

7 number of aliens who may be issued visas or 

8 otherwise provided H–2A nonimmigrant status 

9 under paragraph (1) for the first fiscal year 

10 during which the first visa is issued under such 

11 paragraph and for each of the following two fis12 cal years may not exceed 20,000. 

13 ‘‘(B) FISCAL YEARS 4 THROUGH 10.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The total number 

15 of aliens who may be issued visas or other16 wise provided H–2A nonimmigrant status 

17 under paragraph (1) for the first fiscal 

18 year following the fiscal years referred to 

19 in subparagraph (A) and for each of the 

20 following 6 fiscal years may not exceed a 

21 numerical limitation jointly imposed by the 

22 Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of 

23 Labor in accordance with clause (ii). 

24 ‘‘(ii) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS.—For 

25 each fiscal year referred to in clause (i), 


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1 the Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary 

2 of Labor, in consultation with the Sec3 retary of Homeland Security, shall estab4 lish a numerical limitation for purposes of 

5 clause (i). Such numerical limitation may 

6 not be lower 20,000 and may not vary by 

7 more than 12.5 percent compared to the 

8 numerical limitation applicable to the im9 mediately preceding fiscal year. In estab10 lishing such numerical limitation, the Sec11 retaries shall consider appropriate factors, 

12 including— 

13 ‘‘(I) a demonstrated shortage of 

14 agricultural workers; 

15 ‘‘(II) the level of unemployment 

16 and underemployment of agricultural 

17 workers during the preceding fiscal 

18 year; 

19 ‘‘(III) the number of H–2A work20 ers sought by employers during the 

21 preceding fiscal year to engage in ag22 ricultural labor or services not of a 

23 temporary or seasonal nature; 

24 ‘‘(IV) the number of such H–2A 

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1 cent fiscal year who remain in the 

2 United States in compliance with the 

3 terms of such visa; 

4 ‘‘(V) the estimated number of 

5 United States workers, including 

6 workers who obtained certified agri7 cultural worker status under title I of 

8 the Farm Workforce Modernization 

9 Act of 2019, who worked during the 

10 preceding fiscal year in agricultural 

11 labor or services not of a temporary 

12 or seasonal nature; 

13 ‘‘(VI) the number of such United 

14 States workers who accepted jobs of15 fered by employers using the online 

16 job registry during the preceding fis17 cal year; 

18 ‘‘(VII) any growth or contraction 

19 of the United States agricultural in20 dustry that has increased or decreased 

21 the demand for agricultural workers; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(VIII) any changes in the real 

24 wages paid to agricultural workers in 

25 the United States as an indication of 


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1 a shortage or surplus of agricultural 

2 labor. 

3 ‘‘(C) SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS.—For 

4 each fiscal year following the fiscal years re5 ferred to in subparagraph (B), the Secretary of 

6 Agriculture and Secretary of Labor shall jointly 

7 determine, in consultation with the Secretary of 

8 Homeland Security, and after considering ap9 propriate factors, including those factors listed 

10 in subclauses (I) through (VIII) of subpara11 graph (B)(ii), whether to establish a numerical 

12 limitation for that fiscal year. If a numerical 

13 limitation is so established— 

14 ‘‘(i) such numerical limitation may 

15 not be lower than highest number of aliens 

16 admitted under this subsection in any of 

17 the three fiscal years immediately pre18 ceding the fiscal year for which the numer19 ical limitation is to be established; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the total number of aliens who 

21 may be issued visas or otherwise provided 

22 H–2A nonimmigrant status under para23 graph (1) for that fiscal year may not ex24 ceed such numerical limitation. 


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1 ‘‘(D) EMERGENCY PROCEDURES.—The 

2 Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of 

3 Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security, shall jointly establish by 

5 regulation procedures for immediately adjusting 

6 a numerical limitation imposed under subpara7 graph (B) or (C) to account for significant 

8 labor shortages. 

9 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION OF VISAS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) BI-ANNUAL ALLOCATION.—The an11 nual allocation of visas described in paragraph 

12 (2) shall be evenly allocated between two halves 

13 of the fiscal year unless the Secretary of Home14 land Security, in consultation with the Sec15 retary of Agriculture and Secretary of Labor, 

16 determines that an alternative allocation would 

17 better accommodate demand for visas. Any un18 used visas in the first half of the fiscal year 

19 shall be added to the allocation for the subse20 quent half of the same fiscal year. 

21 ‘‘(B) RESERVE FOR DAIRY LABOR OR

22 SERVICES.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Of the visa num24 bers made available in each half of the fis25 cal year pursuant to subparagraph (A), 50 


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1 percent of such visas shall be reserved for 

2 employers filing petitions seeking H–2A 

3 workers to engage in agricultural labor or 

4 services in the dairy industry. 

5 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—If, after 4 months 

6 have elapsed in one half of the fiscal year, 

7 the Secretary of Homeland Security deter8 mines that application of clause (i) will re9 sult in visas going unused during that half 

10 of the fiscal year, clause (i) shall not apply 

11 to visas under this paragraph during the 

12 remainder of such calendar half. 

13 ‘‘(C) LIMITED ALLOCATION FOR CERTAIN

14 SPECIAL PROCEDURES INDUSTRIES.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

16 the numerical limitations under paragraph 

17 (2), up to 500 aliens may be issued visas 

18 or otherwise provided H–2A nonimmigrant 

19 status under paragraph (1) in a fiscal year 

20 for range sheep or goat herding. 

21 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—The total number 

22 of aliens in the United States in valid H– 

23 2A status under clause (i) at any one time 

24 may not exceed 500. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) CLARIFICATION.—Any visas 

2 issued under this subparagraph may not be 

3 considered for purposes of the annual ad4 justments under subparagraphs (B) and 

5 (C) of paragraph (2). 

6 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL ROUND TRIP HOME.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the 

8 other requirements of this section, an employer 

9 shall provide H–2A workers employed under 

10 this subsection, at no cost to such workers, with 

11 annual round trip travel, including transpor12 tation and subsistence during travel, to their 

13 homes in their communities of origin. The em14 ployer must provide such travel within 14 

15 months of the initiation of the worker’s employ16 ment, and no more than 14 months can elapse 

17 between each required period of travel. 

18 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The cost of travel 

19 under subparagraph (A) need not exceed the 

20 lesser of— 

21 ‘‘(i) the actual cost to the worker of 

22 the transportation and subsistence in23 volved; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) the most economical and reason25 able common carrier transportation 


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1 charges and subsistence costs for the dis2 tance involved. 

3 ‘‘(5) FAMILY HOUSING.—An employer seeking 

4 to employ an H–2A worker pursuant to this sub5 section shall offer family housing to workers with 

6 families if such workers are engaged in agricultural 

7 employment that is not of a seasonal or temporary 

8 nature. The worker may reject such an offer. The 

9 employer may not charge the worker for the work10 er’s housing, except that if the worker accepts family 

11 housing, a prorated rent based on the fair market 

12 value for such housing may be charged for the work13 er’s family members. 

14 ‘‘(6) WORKPLACE SAFETY PLAN FOR DAIRY EM15 PLOYEES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an employer is 

17 seeking to employ a worker in agricultural labor 

18 or services in the dairy industry pursuant to 

19 this subsection, the employer must report inci20 dents consistent with the requirements under 

21 section 1904.39 of title 29, Code of Federal 

22 Regulations, and maintain an effective worksite 

23 safety and compliance plan to prevent work24 place accidents and otherwise ensure safety. 

25 Such plan shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) be in writing in English and, to 

2 the extent necessary, any language com3 mon to a significant portion of the workers 

4 if they are not fluent in English; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) be posted at a conspicuous loca6 tion at the worksite and provided to em7 ployees prior to the commencement of 

8 labor or services. 

9 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The Secretary 

10 of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of 

11 Agriculture, shall establish by regulation the 

12 minimum requirements for the plan described 

13 in subparagraph (A). Such plan shall include 

14 measures to— 

15 ‘‘(i) require workers (other than the 

16 employer’s family members) whose posi17 tions require contact with animals to com18 plete animal care training, including ani19 mal handling and job-specific animal care; 

20 ‘‘(ii) protect against sexual harass21 ment and violence, resolve complaints in22 volving harassment or violence, and protect 

23 against retaliation against workers report24 ing harassment or violence; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) contain other provisions nec2 essary for ensuring workplace safety, as 

3 determined by the Secretary of Labor, in 

4 consultation with the Secretary of Agri5 culture. 

6 ‘‘(C) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this 

7 paragraph is intended to apply to persons or 

8 entities that are not seeking to employ workers 

9 under this section. Nothing in this paragraph is 

10 intended to limit any other Federal or State au11 thority to promulgate, enforce, or maintain 

12 health and safety standards related to the dairy 

13 industry. 

14 ‘‘(j) ELIGIBILITY FOR H–2A STATUS AND ADMISSION

15 TO THE UNITED STATES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) DISQUALIFICATION.—An alien shall be in17 eligible for admission to the United States as an H– 

18 2A worker pursuant to a petition filed under this 

19 section if the alien was admitted to the United 

20 States as an H–2A worker within the past 5 years 

21 of the date the petition was filed and— 

22 ‘‘(A) violated a material provision of this 

23 section, including the requirement to promptly 

24 depart the United States when the alien’s au25 thorized period of admission has expired, unless 


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1 the alien has good cause for such failure to de2 part; or 

3 ‘‘(B) otherwise violated a term or condition 

4 of admission into the United States as an H– 

5 2A worker. 

6 ‘‘(2) VISA VALIDITY.—A visa issued to an H– 

7 2A worker shall be valid for 3 years and shall allow 

8 for multiple entries during the approved period of 

9 admission. 

10 ‘‘(3) PERIOD OF AUTHORIZED STAY; ADMIS11 SION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An alien admissible as 

13 an H–2A worker shall be authorized to stay in 

14 the United States for the period of employment 

15 specified in the petition approved by the Sec16 retary of Homeland Security under this section. 

17 The maximum continuous period of authorized 

18 stay for an H–2A worker is 36 months. 

19 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT TO REMAIN OUTSIDE

20 THE UNITED STATES.—In the case of an H–2A 

21 worker whose maximum continuous period of 

22 authorized stay (including any extensions) has 

23 expired, the alien may not again be eligible for 

24 such stay until the alien remains outside the 


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1 United States for a cumulative period of at 

2 least 45 days. 

3 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security shall deduct absences from 

5 the United States that take place during an H– 

6 2A worker’s period of authorized stay from the 

7 period that the alien is required to remain out8 side the United States under subparagraph (B), 

9 if the alien or the alien’s employer requests 

10 such a deduction, and provides clear and con11 vincing proof that the alien qualifies for such a 

12 deduction. Such proof shall consist of evidence 

13 including, but not limited to, arrival and depar14 ture records, copies of tax returns, and records 

15 of employment abroad. 

16 ‘‘(D) ADMISSION.—In addition to the max17 imum continuous period of authorized stay, an 

18 H–2A worker’s authorized period of admission 

19 shall include an additional period of 10 days 

20 prior to the beginning of the period of employ21 ment for the purpose of traveling to the place 

22 of employment and 45 days at the end of the 

23 period of employment for the purpose of trav24 eling home or seeking an extension of status 

25 based on a subsequent offer of employment if 


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1 the worker has not reached the maximum con2 tinuous period of authorized stay under sub3 paragraph (A) (subject to the exceptions in sub4 paragraph (C)). 

5 ‘‘(4) CONTINUING H–2A WORKERS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) SUCCESSIVE EMPLOYMENT.—An H– 

7 2A worker is authorized to start new or concur8 rent employment upon the filing of a nonfrivo9 lous H–2A petition, or as of the requested start 

10 date, whichever is later if— 

11 ‘‘(i) the petition to start new or con12 current employment was filed prior to the 

13 expiration of the H–2A worker’s period of 

14 admission as defined in paragraph (3)(D); 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the H–2A worker has not been 

17 employed without authorization in the 

18 United States from the time of last admis19 sion to the United States in H–2A status 

20 through the filing of the petition for new 

21 employment. 

22 ‘‘(B) PROTECTION DUE TO IMMIGRANT

23 VISA BACKLOGS.—Notwithstanding the limita24 tions on the period of authorized stay described 

25 in paragraph (3), any H–2A worker who— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is the beneficiary of an approved 

2 petition, filed under section 204(a)(1)(E) 

3 or (F) for preference status under section 

4 203(b)(3)(A)(iii); and 

5 ‘‘(ii) is eligible to be granted such sta6 tus but for the annual limitations on visas 

7 under section 203(b)(3)(A), 

8 may apply for, and the Secretary of Homeland 

9 Security may grant, an extension of such non10 immigrant status until the Secretary of Home11 land Security issues a final administrative deci12 sion on the alien’s application for adjustment of 

13 status or the Secretary of State issues a final 

14 decision on the alien’s application for an immi15 grant visa. 

16 ‘‘(5) ABANDONMENT OF EMPLOYMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

18 subparagraph (B), an H–2A worker who aban19 dons the employment which was the basis for 

20 the worker’s authorized stay, without good 

21 cause, shall be considered to have failed to 

22 maintain H–2A status and shall depart the 

23 United States or be subject to removal under 

24 section 237(a)(1)(C)(i). 


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1 ‘‘(B) GRACE PERIOD TO SECURE NEW EM2 PLOYMENT.—An H–2A worker shall not be con3 sidered to have failed to maintain H–2A status 

4 solely on the basis of a cessation of the employ5 ment on which the alien’s classification was 

6 based for a period of 45 consecutive days, or 

7 until the end of the authorized validity period, 

8 whichever is shorter, once during each author9 ized validity period. 

10 ‘‘(k) REQUIRED DISCLOSURES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) DISCLOSURE OF WORK CONTRACT.—Not 

12 later than the time the H–2A worker applies for a 

13 visa, the employer shall provide the worker with a 

14 copy of the work contract that includes the disclo15 sures and rights under this section (or in the ab16 sence of such a contract, a copy of the job order and 

17 proof of the certification described in subparagraphs 

18 (B) and (D) of subsection (h)(2)). An H–2A worker 

19 moving from one H–2A employer to a subsequent 

20 H–2A employer shall be provided with a copy of the 

21 new employment contract no later than the time an 

22 offer of employment is made by the subsequent em23 ployer. 

24 ‘‘(2) HOURS AND EARNINGS STATEMENTS.— 

25 The employer shall furnish to H–2A workers, on or 


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1 before each payday, in one or more written state2 ments— 

3 ‘‘(A) the worker’s total earnings for the 

4 pay period; 

5 ‘‘(B) the worker’s hourly rate of pay, piece 

6 rate of pay, or both; 

7 ‘‘(C) the hours of employment offered to 

8 the worker and the hours of employment actu9 ally worked; 

10 ‘‘(D) if piece rates of pay are used, the 

11 units produced daily; 

12 ‘‘(E) an itemization of the deductions 

13 made from the worker’s wages; and 

14 ‘‘(F) any other information required by 

15 Federal, State or local law. 

16 ‘‘(3) NOTICE OF WORKER RIGHTS.—The em17 ployer must post and maintain in a conspicuous lo18 cation at the place of employment, a poster provided 

19 by the Secretary of Labor in English, and, to the ex20 tent necessary, any language common to a signifi21 cant portion of the workers if they are not fluent in 

22 English, which sets out the rights and protections 

23 for workers employed pursuant to this section. 

24 ‘‘(l) LABOR CONTRACTORS; FOREIGN LABOR RE25 CRUITERS; PROHIBITION ON FEES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) LABOR CONTRACTORS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) SURETY BOND.—An employer that is 

3 a labor contractor who seeks to employ H–2A 

4 workers shall maintain a surety bond in an 

5 amount required under subparagraph (B). Such 

6 bond shall be payable to the Secretary of Labor 

7 or pursuant to the resolution of a civil or crimi8 nal proceeding, for the payment of wages and 

9 benefits, including any assessment of interest, 

10 owed to an H–2A worker or a similarly em11 ployed United States worker, or a United 

12 States worker who has been rejected or dis13 placed in violation of this section. 

14 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF BOND.—The Secretary 

15 of Labor shall annually publish in the Federal 

16 Register a schedule of required bond amounts 

17 that are determined by such Secretary to be 

18 sufficient for labor contractors to discharge fi19 nancial obligations under this section based on 

20 the number of workers the labor contractor 

21 seeks to employ and the wages such workers are 

22 required to be paid. 

23 ‘‘(C) PREMIUM BOND.—A labor contractor 

24 seeking to file a petition involving more than 

25 one start date under subsection (h)(1)(C) shall 


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1 maintain a surety bond that is at least 15 per2 cent higher than the applicable bond amount 

3 determined by the Secretary under subpara4 graph (B). 

5 ‘‘(D) USE OF FUNDS.—Any sums paid to 

6 the Secretary under subparagraph (A) that are 

7 not paid to a worker because of the inability to 

8 do so within a period of 5 years following the 

9 date of a violation giving rise to the obligation 

10 to pay shall remain available to the Secretary 

11 without further appropriation until expended to 

12 support the enforcement of this section. 

13 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION AGAINST EMPLOYEES PAY14 ING FEES.—Neither the employer nor its agents 

15 shall seek or receive payment of any kind from any 

16 worker for any activity related to the H–2A process, 

17 including payment of the employer’s attorneys’ fees, 

18 application fees, or recruitment costs. An employer 

19 and its agents may receive reimbursement for costs 

20 that are the responsibility and primarily for the ben21 efit of the worker, such as government-required 

22 passport fees. 

23 ‘‘(3) THIRD PARTY CONTRACTS.—The contract 

24 between an employer and any labor contractor or 

25 any foreign labor recruiter (or any agent of such 


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1 labor contractor or foreign labor recruiter) whom the 

2 employer engages shall include a term providing for 

3 the termination of such contract for cause if the con4 tractor or recruiter, either directly or indirectly, in 

5 the placement or recruitment of H–2A workers seeks 

6 or receives payments or other compensation from 

7 prospective employees. Upon learning that a labor 

8 contractor or foreign labor recruiter has sought or 

9 collected such payments, the employer shall so termi10 nate any contracts with such contractor or recruiter. 

11 ‘‘(m) ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor is 

13 authorized to take such actions against employers, 

14 including imposing appropriate penalties and seeking 

15 monetary and injunctive relief and specific perform16 ance of contractual obligations, as may be necessary 

17 to ensure compliance with the requirements of this 

18 section and with the applicable terms and conditions 

19 of employment. 

20 ‘‘(2) COMPLAINT PROCESS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) PROCESS.—The Secretary of Labor 

22 shall establish a process for the receipt, inves23 tigation, and disposition of complaints alleging 

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1 quirements under this section and with the ap2 plicable terms and conditions of employment. 

3 ‘‘(B) FILING.—A complaint referred to in 

4 subparagraph (A) may be filed not later than 2 

5 years after the date of the conduct that is the 

6 subject of the complaint. 

7 ‘‘(C) COMPLAINT NOT EXCLUSIVE.—A 

8 complaint filed under this paragraph is not an 

9 exclusive remedy and the filing of such a com10 plaint does not waive any rights or remedies of 

11 the aggrieved party under this law or other 

12 laws. 

13 ‘‘(D) DECISION AND REMEDIES.—If the 

14 Secretary of Labor finds, after notice and op15 portunity for a hearing, that the employer failed 

16 to comply with the requirements of this section 

17 or the terms and conditions of employment, the 

18 Secretary of Labor may require payment of un19 paid wages, unpaid benefits, fees assessed in 

20 violation of this section, damages, and civil 

21 money penalties. The Secretary is also author22 ized to impose other administrative remedies, 

23 including disqualification of the employer from 

24 utilizing the H–2A program for a period of up 

25 to 5 years in the event of willful or multiple 


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1 material violations. The Secretary is authorized 

2 to permanently disqualify an employer from uti3 lizing the H–2A program upon a subsequent 

4 finding involving willful or multiple material 

5 violations. 

6 ‘‘(E) DISPOSITION OF PENALTIES.—Civil 

7 penalties collected under this paragraph shall be 

8 deposited into the H–2A Labor Certification 

9 Fee Account established under section 203 of 

10 the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 

11 2019. 

12 ‘‘(3) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

13 this subsection may be construed as limiting the au14 thority of the Secretary of Labor to conduct an in15 vestigation— 

16 ‘‘(A) under any other law, including any 

17 law affecting migrant and seasonal agricultural 

18 workers; or 

19 ‘‘(B) in the absence of a complaint. 

20 ‘‘(4) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.—It is a viola21 tion of this subsection for any person to intimidate, 

22 threaten, restrain, coerce, blacklist, discharge, or in 

23 any other manner discriminate against, or to cause 

24 any person to intimidate, threaten, restrain, coerce, 

25 blacklist, or in any manner discriminate against, an 


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1 employee, including a former employee or an appli2 cant for employment, because the employee— 

3 ‘‘(A) has disclosed information to the em4 ployer, or to any other person, that the em5 ployee reasonably believes evidences a violation 

6 under this section, or any rule or regulation re7 lating to this section; 

8 ‘‘(B) has filed a complaint concerning the 

9 employer’s compliance with the requirements 

10 under this section or any rule or regulation per11 taining to this section; 

12 ‘‘(C) cooperates or seeks to cooperate in an 

13 investigation or other proceeding concerning the 

14 employer’s compliance with the requirements 

15 under this section or any rule or regulation per16 taining to this section; or 

17 ‘‘(D) has taken steps to exercise or assert 

18 any right or protection under the provisions of 

19 this section, or any rule or regulation pertaining 

20 to this section, or any other relevant Federal, 

21 State, or local law. 

22 ‘‘(5) INTERAGENCY COMMUNICATION.—The 

23 Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Sec24 retary of Homeland Security, Secretary of State and 

25 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 


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1 shall establish mechanisms by which the agencies 

2 and their components share information, including 

3 by public electronic means, regarding complaints, 

4 studies, investigations, findings and remedies regard5 ing compliance by employers with the requirements 

6 of the H–2A program and other employment-related 

7 laws and regulations. 

8 ‘‘(n) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) DISPLACE.—The term ‘displace’ means to 

10 lay off a similarly employed United States worker, 

11 other than for lawful job-related reasons, in the oc12 cupation and area of intended employment for the 

13 job for which H–2A workers are sought. 

14 ‘‘(2) H–2A WORKER.—The term ‘H–2A worker’ 

15 means a nonimmigrant described in section 

16 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a). 

17 ‘‘(3) JOB ORDER.—The term ‘job order’ means 

18 the document containing the material terms and 

19 conditions of employment, including obligations and 

20 assurances required under this section or any other 

21 law. 

22 ‘‘(4) ONLINE JOB REGISTRY.—The term ‘online 

23 job registry’ means the online job registry of the 

24 Secretary of Labor required under section 201(b) of 


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1 the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019 (or 

2 similar successor registry). 

3 ‘‘(5) SIMILARLY EMPLOYED.—The term ‘simi4 larly employed’, in the case of a worker, means a 

5 worker in the same occupational classification as the 

6 classification or classifications for which the H–2A 

7 worker is sought. 

8 ‘‘(6) UNITED STATES WORKER.—The term 

9 ‘United States worker’ means any worker who is— 

10 ‘‘(A) a citizen or national of the United 

11 States; 

12 ‘‘(B) an alien who is lawfully admitted for 

13 permanent residence, is admitted as a refugee 

14 under section 207, is granted asylum under sec15 tion 208, or is an immigrant otherwise author16 ized to be employed in the United States; 

17 ‘‘(C) an alien granted certified agricultural 

18 worker status under title I of the Farm Work19 force Modernization Act of 2019; or 

20 ‘‘(D) an individual who is not an unauthor21 ized alien (as defined in section 274A(h)(3)) 

22 with respect to the employment in which the 

23 worker is engaging. 

24 ‘‘(o) FEES; AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

25 ‘‘(1) FEES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

2 Homeland Security shall impose a fee to proc3 ess petitions under this section. Such fee shall 

4 be set at a level that is sufficient to recover the 

5 reasonable costs of processing the petition, in6 cluding the reasonable costs of providing labor 

7 certification by the Secretary of Labor. 

8 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION.—Fees collected 

9 under subparagraph (A) shall be deposited as 

10 offsetting receipts into the immigration exami11 nations fee account in section 286(m), except 

12 that the portion of fees assessed for the Sec13 retary of Labor shall be deposited into the H– 

14 2A Labor Certification Fee Account established 

15 pursuant to section 203(c) of the Farm Work16 force Modernization Act of 2019 . 

17 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized 

18 to be appropriated for each fiscal year such sums as 

19 necessary for the purposes of— 

20 ‘‘(A) recruiting United States workers for 

21 labor or services which might otherwise be per22 formed by H–2A workers, including by ensuring 

23 that State workforce agencies are sufficiently 

24 funded to fulfill their functions under this sec25 tion; 


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1 ‘‘(B) enabling the Secretary of Labor to 

2 make determinations and certifications under 

3 this section and under section 212(a)(5)(A)(i); 

4 ‘‘(C) monitoring the terms and conditions 

5 under which H–2A workers (and United States 

6 workers employed by the same employers) are 

7 employed in the United States; and 

8 ‘‘(D) enabling the Secretary of Agriculture 

9 to carry out the Secretary of Agriculture’s du10 ties and responsibilities under this section.’’. 

11 SEC. 203. AGENCY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. 

12 (a) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF

13 LABOR.—With respect to the administration of the H–2A 

14 program, the Secretary of Labor shall be responsible for— 

15 (1) consulting with State workforce agencies 

16 to— 

17 (A) review and process job orders; 

18 (B) facilitate the recruitment and referral 

19 of able, willing and qualified United States 

20 workers who will be available at the time and 

21 place needed; 

22 (C) determine prevailing wages and prac23 tices; and 

24 (D) conduct timely inspections to ensure 

25 compliance with applicable Federal, State, or 


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1 local housing standards and Federal regulations 

2 for H–2A housing; 

3 (2) determining whether the employer has met 

4 the conditions for approval of the H–2A petition de5 scribed in section 218 of the Immigration and Na6 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188); 

7 (3) determining, in consultation with the Sec8 retary of Agriculture, whether a job opportunity is 

9 of a seasonal or temporary nature; 

10 (4) determining whether the employer has com11 plied or will comply with the H–2A program require12 ments set forth in section 218 of the Immigration 

13 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188); 

14 (5) processing and investigating complaints con15 sistent with section 218(m) of the Immigration and 

16 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(m)); 

17 (6) referring any matter as appropriate to the 

18 Inspector General of the Department of Labor for 

19 investigation; 

20 (7) ensuring that guidance to State workforce 

21 agencies to conduct wage surveys is regularly up22 dated; and 

23 (8) issuing such rules and regulations as are 

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1 sponsibilities under section 218 of the Immigration 

2 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188). 

3 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF

4 HOMELAND SECURITY.—With respect to the administra5 tion of the H–2A program, the Secretary of Homeland Se6 curity shall be responsible for— 

7 (1) adjudicating petitions for the admission of 

8 H–2A workers, which shall include an assessment as 

9 to whether each beneficiary will be employed in ac10 cordance with the terms and conditions of the cer11 tification and whether any named beneficiaries qual12 ify for such employment; 

13 (2) transmitting a copy of the final decision on 

14 the petition to the employer, and in the case of ap15 proved petitions, ensuring that the petition approval 

16 is reflected in the electronic platform to facilitate the 

17 prompt issuance of a visa by the Department of 

18 State (if required) and the admission of the H–2A 

19 workers to the United States; 

20 (3) establishing a reliable and secure method 

21 through which H–2A workers can access information 

22 about their H–2A visa status, including information 

23 on pending, approved, or denied petitions to extend 

24 such status; 


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1 (4) investigating and preventing fraud in the 

2 program, including the utilization of H–2A workers 

3 for other than allowable agricultural labor or serv4 ices; and 

5 (5) issuing such rules and regulations as are 

6 necessary to carry out the Secretary of Homeland 

7 Security’s responsibilities under section 218 of the 

8 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188). 

9 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT AND USE OF

10 FUNDS.— 

11 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.—There is 

12 established in the general fund of the Treasury a 

13 separate account, which shall be known as the ‘‘H– 

14 2A Labor Certification Fee Account’’. Notwith15 standing any other provisions of law, there shall be 

16 deposited as offsetting receipts into the account all 

17 amounts— 

18 (A) collected as a civil penalty under sec19 tion 218(m)(2)(E)of the Immigration and Na20 tionality Act; and 

21 (B) collected as a fee under section 

22 218(o)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Nation23 ality Act. 

24 (2) USE OF FEES.—Amounts deposited into the 

25 H–2A Labor Certification Fee Account shall be 


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1 available (except as otherwise provided in this para2 graph) without fiscal year limitation and without the 

3 requirement for specification in appropriations Acts 

4 to the Secretary of Labor for use, directly or 

5 through grants, contracts, or other arrangements, in 

6 such amounts as the Secretary of Labor determines 

7 are necessary for the costs of Federal and State ad8 ministration in carrying out activities in connection 

9 with labor certification under section 218 of the Im10 migration and Nationality Act. Such costs may in11 clude personnel salaries and benefits, equipment and 

12 infrastructure for adjudication and customer service 

13 processes, the operation and maintenance of an on14 line job registry, and program integrity activities. 

15 The Secretary, in determining what amounts to 

16 transfer to States for State administration in car17 rying out activities in connection with labor certifi18 cation under section 218 of the Immigration and 

19 Nationality Act shall consider the number of H–2A 

20 workers employed in that State and shall adjust the 

21 amount transferred to that State accordingly. In ad22 dition, 10 percent of the amounts deposited into the 

23 H–2A Labor Certification Fee Account shall be 

24 available to the Office of Inspector General of the 

25 Department of Labor to conduct audits and criminal 


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1 investigations relating to such foreign labor certifi2 cation programs. 

3 (3) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—Amounts available 

4 under paragraph (1) shall be available in addition to 

5 any other funds appropriated or made available to 

6 the Department of Labor under other laws, includ7 ing section 218(o)(2) of the Immigration and Na8 tionality Act. 

9 SEC. 204. WORKER PROTECTION AND COMPLIANCE. 

10 (a) EQUALITY OF TREATMENT.—H–2A workers shall 

11 not be denied any right or remedy under any Federal, 

12 State, or local labor or employment law applicable to 

13 United States workers engaged in agricultural employ14 ment. 

15 (b) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.— 

16 (1) MIGRANT AND SEASONAL AGRICULTURAL

17 WORKER PROTECTION ACT.—H–2A workers shall be 

18 considered migrant agricultural workers for purposes 

19 of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker 

20 Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

21 (2) WAIVER OF RIGHTS PROHIBITED.—Agree22 ments by H–2A workers to waive or modify any 

23 rights or protections under this Act or section 218 

24 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

25 1188) shall be considered void or contrary to public 


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1 policy except as provided in a collective bargaining 

2 agreement with a bona fide labor organization. 

3 (3) MEDIATION.— 

4 (A) FREE MEDIATION SERVICES.—The 

5 Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service 

6 shall be available to assist in resolving disputes 

7 arising under this section between H–2A work8 ers and agricultural employers without charge 

9 to the parties. 

10 (B) COMPLAINT.—If an H–2A worker files 

11 a civil lawsuit alleging one or more violations of 

12 section 218 of the Immigration and Nationality 

13 Act (8 U.S.C. 1188), the Fair Labor Standards 

14 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), or the Mi15 grant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protec16 tion Act (29 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), not later 

17 than 60 days after the filing of proof of service 

18 of the complaint, a party to the lawsuit may file 

19 a request with the Federal Mediation and Con20 ciliation Service to assist the parties in reaching 

21 a satisfactory resolution of all issues involving 

22 all parties to the dispute. 

23 (C) NOTICE.—Upon filing a request under 

24 subparagraph (B) and giving of notice to the 

25 parties, the parties shall attempt mediation 


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1 within the period specified in subparagraph 

2 (D), except that nothing in this paragraph shall 

3 limit the ability of a court to order preliminary 

4 injunctive relief to protect health and safety or 

5 to otherwise prevent irreparable harm. 

6 (D) 90-DAY LIMIT.—The Federal Medi7 ation and Conciliation Service may conduct me8 diation or other nonbinding dispute resolution 

9 activities for a period not to exceed 90 days be10 ginning on the date on which the Federal Medi11 ation and Conciliation Service receives a request 

12 for assistance under subparagraph (B) unless 

13 the parties agree to an extension of such period. 

14 (E) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA15 TIONS.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

17 (ii), there is authorized to be appropriated 

18 to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation 

19 Service, such sums as may be necessary for 

20 each fiscal year to carry out this subpara21 graph. 

22 (ii) MEDIATION.—Notwithstanding 

23 any other provision of law, the Director of 

24 the Federal Mediation and Conciliation 

25 Service is authorized— 


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1 (I) to conduct the mediation or 

2 other dispute resolution activities from 

3 any other account containing amounts 

4 available to the Director; and 

5 (II) to reimburse such account 

6 with amounts appropriated pursuant 

7 to clause (i). 

8 (F) PRIVATE MEDIATION.—If all parties 

9 agree, a private mediator may be employed as 

10 an alternative to the Federal Mediation and 

11 Conciliation Service. 

12 (c) FARM LABOR CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 (1) SURETY BONDS.— 

14 (A) REQUIREMENT.—Section 101 of the 

15 Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Pro16 tection Act (29 U.S.C. 1811), is amended by 

17 adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(e) A farm labor contractor shall maintain a surety 

19 bond in an amount determined by the Secretary to be suf20 ficient for ensuring the ability of the farm labor contractor 

21 to discharge its financial obligations, including payment 

22 of wages and benefits to employees. Such a bond shall be 

23 available to satisfy any amounts ordered to be paid by the 

24 Secretary or by court order for failure to comply with the 

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1 ally publish in the Federal Register a schedule of required 

2 bond amounts that are determined by such Secretary to 

3 be sufficient for farm labor contractors to discharge finan4 cial obligations based on the number of workers to be cov5 ered.’’. 

6 (B) REGISTRATION DETERMINATIONS.— 

7 Section 103(a) of the Migrant and Seasonal Ag8 ricultural Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 

9 1813(a)), is amended— 

10 (i) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

11 at the end; 

12 (ii) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking 

13 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

14 (iii) in paragraph (6), by striking the 

15 period at the end and inserting ‘‘;’’ ; and 

16 (iv) by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(7) has failed to maintain a surety bond in 

19 compliance with section 101(e); or 

20 ‘‘(8) has been disqualified by the Secretary of 

21 Labor from importing nonimmigrants described in 

22 section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii) of the Immigration and 

23 Nationality Act.’’. 

24 (2) SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST.— 


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1 (A) DECLARATION.—Section 102 of the 

2 Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Pro3 tection Act (29 U.S.C. 1812), is amended— 

4 (i) in paragraph (4), by striking 

5 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

6 (ii) in paragraph (5), by striking the 

7 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

8 and 

9 (iii) by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(6) a declaration, subscribed and sworn to by 

12 the applicant, stating whether the applicant has a 

13 familial, contractual, or employment relationship 

14 with, or shares vehicles, facilities, property, or em15 ployees with, a person who has been refused 

16 issuance or renewal of a certificate, or has had a 

17 certificate suspended or revoked, pursuant to section 

18 103.’’. 

19 (B) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.—Section 

20 103 of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural 

21 Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1813), as 

22 amended by this Act, is further amended by in23 serting after subsection (a) the following new 

24 subsection (and by redesignating the subse25 quent subsections accordingly): 


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1 ‘‘(b)(1) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that 

2 an applicant for issuance or renewal of a certificate is not 

3 the real party in interest in the application if the appli4 cant— 

5 ‘‘(A) is the immediate family member of any 

6 person who has been refused issuance or renewal of 

7 a certificate, or has had a certificate suspended or 

8 revoked; and 

9 ‘‘(B) identifies a vehicle, facility, or real prop10 erty under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 102 that 

11 has been previously listed by a person who has been 

12 refused issuance or renewal of a certificate, or has 

13 had a certificate suspended or revoked. 

14 ‘‘(2) An applicant described in paragraph (1) bears 

15 the burden of demonstrating to the Secretary’s satisfac16 tion that the applicant is the real party in interest in the 

17 application.’’. 

18 SEC. 205. REPORT ON WAGE PROTECTIONS. 

19 (a) Not later than 3 years after the date of the enact20 ment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the Sec21 retary of Labor and Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare 

22 and transmit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the 

23 House of Representatives and Senate, a report that ad24 dresses— 


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1 (1) whether, and the manner in which, the em2 ployment of H–2A workers in the United States has 

3 impacted the wages, working conditions, or job op4 portunities of United States farm workers; 

5 (2) whether, and the manner in which, the ad6 verse effect wage rate increases or decreases wages 

7 on United States farms, broken down by geographic 

8 region and farm size; 

9 (3) whether any potential impact of the adverse 

10 effect wage rate varies based on the percentage of 

11 workers in a geographic region that are H–2A work12 ers; 

13 (4) the degree to which the adverse effect wage 

14 rate is affected by the inclusion in wage surveys of 

15 piece rate compensation, bonus payments, and other 

16 pay incentives, and whether such forms of incentive 

17 compensation should be surveyed and reported sepa18 rately from hourly base rates; 

19 (5) whether, and the manner in which, other 

20 factors may artificially affect the adverse effect wage 

21 rate, including factors that may be specific to a re22 gion, State, or region within a State; 

23 (6) whether, and the manner in which, the H– 

24 2A program affects the ability of United States 


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1 farms to compete with agricultural commodities im2 ported from outside the United States; 

3 (7) the number and percentage of farmworkers 

4 in the United States whose incomes are below the 

5 poverty line; 

6 (8) whether alternative wage standards would 

7 be sufficient to prevent wages in occupations in 

8 which H–2A workers are employed from falling 

9 below the wage level that would have prevailed in the 

10 absence of the H–2A program; 

11 (9) whether any changes are warranted in the 

12 current methodologies for calculating the adverse ef13 fect wage rate and the prevailing wage; and 

14 (10) recommendations for future wage protec15 tion under this section. 

16 (b) In preparing the report described in subsection 

17 (a), the Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Agriculture 

18 shall engage with equal numbers of representatives of ag19 ricultural employers and agricultural workers, both locally 

20 and nationally. 

21 SEC. 206. PORTABLE H–2A VISA PILOT PROGRAM. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAM.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec25 retary of Homeland Security, in consultation with 


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1 the Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Agriculture, 

2 shall establish through regulation a 6-year pilot pro3 gram to facilitate the free movement and employ4 ment of temporary or seasonal H–2A workers to 

5 perform agricultural labor or services for agricul6 tural employers registered with the Secretary of Ag7 riculture. Notwithstanding the requirements of sec8 tion 218 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

9 such regulation shall establish the requirements for 

10 the pilot program, consistent with subsection (b). 

11 For purposes of this section, such a worker shall be 

12 referred to as a portable H–2A worker, and status 

13 as such a worker shall be referred to as portable H– 

14 2A status. 

15 (2) ONLINE PLATFORM.—The Secretary of 

16 Homeland Security, in consultation with the Sec17 retary of Labor and the Secretary of Agriculture, 

18 shall maintain an online electronic platform to con19 nect portable H–2A workers with registered agricul20 tural employers seeking workers to perform tem21 porary or seasonal agricultural labor or services. 

22 Employers shall post on the platform available job 

23 opportunities, including a description of the nature 

24 and location of the work to be performed, the antici25 pated period or periods of need, and the terms and 


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1 conditions of employment. Such platform shall allow 

2 portable H–2A workers to search for available job 

3 opportunities using relevant criteria, including the 

4 types of jobs needed to be filled and the dates and 

5 locations of need. 

6 (3) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding the 

7 issuance of the regulation described in paragraph 

8 (1), the Secretary of State may not issue a portable 

9 H–2A visa and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

10 may not confer portable H–2A status on any alien 

11 until the Secretary of Homeland Security, in con12 sultation with the Secretary of Labor and Secretary 

13 of Agriculture, has determined that a sufficient 

14 number of employers have been designated as reg15 istered agricultural employers under subsection 

16 (b)(1) and that such employers have sufficient job 

17 opportunities to employ a reasonable number of 

18 portable H–2A workers to initiate the pilot program. 

19 (b) PILOT PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The pilot program 

20 in subsection (a) shall contain the following elements: 

21 (1) REGISTERED AGRICULTURAL EMPLOY22 ERS.— 

23 (A) DESIGNATION.—Agricultural employ24 ers shall be provided the ability to seek designa25 tion as registered agricultural employers. ReaVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00123 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5038.RFS H5038

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1 sonable fees may be assessed commensurate 

2 with the cost of processing applications for des3 ignation. A designation shall be valid for a pe4 riod of up to 3 years unless revoked for failure 

5 to comply with program requirements. Reg6 istered employers that comply with program re7 quirements may apply to renew such designa8 tion for additional periods of up to 3 years for 

9 the duration of the pilot program. 

10 (B) LIMITATIONS.—Registered agricultural 

11 employers may employ aliens with portable H– 

12 2A status without filing a petition. Such em13 ployers shall pay such aliens at least the wage 

14 required under section 218(d) of the Immigra15 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(d)). 

16 (C) WORKERS’ COMPENSATION.—If a job 

17 opportunity is not covered by or is exempt from 

18 the State workers’ compensation law, a reg19 istered agricultural employer shall provide, at 

20 no cost to the worker, insurance covering injury 

21 and disease arising out of, and in the course of, 

22 the worker’s employment, which will provide 

23 benefits at least equal to those provided under 

24 the State workers’ compensation law. 

25 (2) DESIGNATED WORKERS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Individuals who have 

2 been previously admitted to the United States 

3 in H–2A status, and maintained such status 

4 during the period of admission, shall be pro5 vided the opportunity to apply for portable H– 

6 2A status. Portable H–2A workers shall be sub7 ject to the provisions on visa validity and peri8 ods of authorized stay and admission for H–2A 

9 workers described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of 

10 section 218(j) of the Immigration and Nation11 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(j)(2) and (3)). 

12 (B) LIMITATIONS ON AVAILABILITY OF

13 PORTABLE H–2A STATUS.— 

14 (i) INITIAL OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT

15 REQUIRED.—No alien may be granted 

16 portable H–2A status without an initial 

17 valid offer of employment to perform tem18 porary or agricultural labor or services 

19 from a registered agricultural employer. 

20 (ii) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.—The 

21 total number of aliens who may hold valid 

22 portable H–2A status at any one time may 

23 not exceed 10,000. Notwithstanding such 

24 limitation, the Secretary of Homeland Se25 curity may further limit the number of 


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1 aliens with valid portable H–2A status if 

2 the Secretary determines that there are an 

3 insufficient number of registered agricul4 tural employers or job opportunities to 

5 support the employment of all such port6 able H–2A workers. 

7 (C) SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT.—During the 

8 period of admission, a portable H–2A worker 

9 may perform temporary or seasonal agricultural 

10 labor or services for any employer in the United 

11 States that is designated as a registered agri12 cultural employer pursuant to paragraph (1). 

13 An employment arrangement under this section 

14 may be terminated by either the portable H–2A 

15 worker or the registered agricultural employer 

16 at any time. 

17 (D) TRANSFER TO NEW EMPLOYMENT.— 

18 At the cessation of employment with a reg19 istered agricultural employer, a portable H–2A 

20 worker shall have 60 days to secure new em21 ployment with a registered agricultural em22 ployer. 

23 (E) MAINTENANCE OF STATUS.—A port24 able H–2A worker who does not secure new em25 ployment with a registered agricultural emVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00126 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5038.RFS H5038

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1 ployer within 60 days shall be considered to 

2 have failed to maintain such status and shall 

3 depart the United States or be subject to re4 moval under section 237(a)(1)(C)(i) of the Im5 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

6 1188(a)(1)(C)(i)). 

7 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary of Labor 

8 shall be responsible for conducting investigations 

9 and random audits of employers to ensure compli10 ance with the employment-related requirements of 

11 this section, consistent with section 218(m) of the 

12 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

13 1188(m)). The Secretary of Labor shall have the au14 thority to collect reasonable civil penalties for viola15 tions, which shall be utilized by the Secretary for the 

16 administration and enforcement of the provisions of 

17 this section. 

18 (4) ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES.—Section 305 

19 of Public Law 99–603 (100 Stat. 3434) is amended 

20 by striking ‘‘other employment rights as provided in 

21 the worker’s specific contract under which the non22 immigrant was admitted’’ and inserting ‘‘employ23 ment-related rights’’. 

24 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months before the 

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1 retary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Sec2 retary of Labor and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall 

3 prepare and submit to the Committees on the Judiciary 

4 of the House of Representatives and the Senate, a report 

5 that provides— 

6 (1) the number of employers designated as reg7 istered agricultural employers, broken down by geo8 graphic region, farm size, and the number of job op9 portunities offered by such employers; 

10 (2) the number of employers whose designation 

11 as a registered agricultural employer was revoked; 

12 (3) the number of individuals granted portable 

13 H–2A status in each fiscal year, along with the 

14 number of such individuals who maintained portable 

15 H–2A status during all or a portion of the 3-year 

16 period of the pilot program; 

17 (4) an assessment of the impact of the pilot 

18 program on the wages and working conditions of 

19 United States farm workers; 

20 (5) the results of a survey of individuals grant21 ed portable H–2A status, detailing their experiences 

22 with and feedback on the pilot program; 

23 (6) the results of a survey of registered agricul24 tural employers, detailing their experiences with and 

25 feedback on the pilot program; 


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1 (7) an assessment as to whether the program 

2 should be continued and if so, any recommendations 

3 for improving the program; and 

4 (8) findings and recommendations regarding ef5 fective recruitment mechanisms, including use of 

6 new technology to match workers with employers 

7 and ensure compliance with applicable labor and em8 ployment laws and regulations. 

9 SEC. 207. IMPROVING ACCESS TO PERMANENT RESIDENCE. 

10 (a) WORLDWIDE LEVEL.—Section 201(d)(1)(A) of 

11 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

12 1151(d)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘140,000’’ and in13 serting ‘‘180,000’’. 

14 (b) VISAS FOR FARMWORKERS.—Section 203(b) of 

15 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) 

16 is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘28.6 percent 

18 of such worldwide level’’ and inserting ‘‘40,040’’; 

19 (2) in paragraph (2)(A) by striking ‘‘28.6 per20 cent of such worldwide level’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘40,040’’; 

22 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (i) in the matter before clause (i), by 

2 striking ‘‘28.6 percent of such worldwide 

3 level’’ and inserting ‘‘80,040’’; and 

4 (ii) by amending clause (iii) to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘(iii) OTHER WORKERS.—Other quali7 fied immigrants who, at the time of peti8 tioning for classification under this para9 graph— 

10 ‘‘(I) are capable of performing 

11 unskilled labor, not of a temporary or 

12 seasonal nature, for which qualified 

13 workers are not available in the 

14 United States; or 

15 ‘‘(II) can demonstrate employ16 ment in the United States as an H– 

17 2A nonimmigrant worker for at least 

18 100 days in each of at least 10 

19 years.’’; 

20 (B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

21 as follows: 

22 ‘‘(B) VISAS ALLOCATED FOR OTHER

23 WORKERS.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro25 vided in clauses (ii) and (iii), 50,000 of the 


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1 visas made available under this paragraph 

2 shall be reserved for qualified immigrants 

3 described in subparagraph (A)(iii). 

4 ‘‘(ii) PREFERENCE FOR AGRICUL5 TURAL WORKERS.—Subject to clause (iii), 

6 not less than four-fifths of the visas de7 scribed in clause (i) shall be reserved for— 

8 ‘‘(I) qualified immigrants de9 scribed in subparagraph (A)(iii)(I) 

10 who will be performing agricultural 

11 labor or services in the United States; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(II) qualified immigrants de14 scribed in subparagraph (A)(iii)(II). 

15 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTION.—If because of the 

16 application of clause (ii), the total number 

17 of visas available under this paragraph for 

18 a calendar quarter exceeds the number of 

19 qualified immigrants who otherwise may be 

20 issued such a visa, clause (ii) shall not 

21 apply to visas under this paragraph during 

22 the remainder of such calendar quarter. 

23 ‘‘(iv) NO PER COUNTRY LIMITS.— 

24 Visas described under clause (ii) shall be 


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1 issued without regard to the numerical lim2 itation under section 202(a)(2).’’; and 

3 (C) by amending subparagraph (C) by 

4 striking ‘‘An immigrant visa’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘Except for qualified immigrants petitioning for 

6 classification under subparagraph (A)(iii)(II), 

7 an immigrant visa’’; 

8 (4) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘7.1 percent 

9 of such worldwide level’’ and inserting ‘‘9,940’’; and 

10 (5) in paragraph (5)(A), in the matter before 

11 clause (i), by striking ‘‘7.1 percent of such world12 wide level’’ and inserting ‘‘9,940’’. 

13 (c) PETITIONING PROCEDURE.—Section 

14 204(a)(1)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

15 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(E)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or 

16 203(b)(3)(A)(iii)(II)’’ after ‘‘203(b)(1)(A)’’. 

17 (d) DUAL INTENT.—Section 214(b) of the Immigra18 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(b)) is amended 

19 by striking ‘‘section 101(a)(15)(H)(i) except subclause 

20 (b1) of such section’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (i), except sub21 clause (b1), or (ii)(a) of section 101(a)(15)(H)’’. 


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1 Subtitle B—Preservation and Con2 struction of Farmworker Hous3 ing 

4 SEC. 220. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Strategy and In6 vestment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2019’’. 

7 SEC. 221. PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT OF HOUSING PRES8 ERVATION AND REVITALIZATION PROGRAM. 

9 Title V of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 

10 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 

11 new section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 545. HOUSING PRESERVATION AND REVITALIZATION 

13 PROGRAM. 

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall carry 

15 out a program under this section for the preservation and 

16 revitalization of multifamily rental housing projects fi17 nanced under section 515 or both sections 514 and 516. 

18 ‘‘(b) NOTICE OF MATURING LOANS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) TO OWNERS.—On an annual basis, the 

20 Secretary shall provide written notice to each owner 

21 of a property financed under section 515 or both 

22 sections 514 and 516 that will mature within the 4- 

23 year period beginning upon the provision of such no24 tice, setting forth the options and financial incen25 tives that are available to facilitate the extension of 


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1 the loan term or the option to decouple a rental as2 sistance contract pursuant to subsection (f). 

3 ‘‘(2) TO TENANTS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each property fi5 nanced under section 515 or both sections 514 

6 and 516, not later than the date that is 2 years 

7 before the date that such loan will mature, the 

8 Secretary shall provide written notice to each 

9 household residing in such property that in10 forms them of the date of the loan maturity, 

11 the possible actions that may happen with re12 spect to the property upon such maturity, and 

13 how to protect their right to reside in Federally 

14 assisted housing after such maturity. 

15 ‘‘(B) LANGUAGE.—Notice under this para16 graph shall be provided in plain English and 

17 shall be translated to other languages in the 

18 case of any property located in an area in which 

19 a significant number of residents speak such 

20 other languages. 

21 ‘‘(c) LOAN RESTRUCTURING.—Under the program 

22 under this section, the Secretary may restructure such ex23 isting housing loans, as the Secretary considers appro24 priate, for the purpose of ensuring that such projects have 

25 sufficient resources to preserve the projects to provide safe 


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1 and affordable housing for low-income residents and farm 

2 laborers, by— 

3 ‘‘(1) reducing or eliminating interest; 

4 ‘‘(2) deferring loan payments; 

5 ‘‘(3) subordinating, reducing, or reamortizing 

6 loan debt; and 

7 ‘‘(4) providing other financial assistance, in8 cluding advances, payments, and incentives (includ9 ing the ability of owners to obtain reasonable re10 turns on investment) required by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(d) RENEWAL OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—When the 

12 Secretary offers to restructure a loan pursuant to sub13 section (c), the Secretary shall offer to renew the rental 

14 assistance contract under section 521(a)(2) for a 20-year 

15 term that is subject to annual appropriations, provided 

16 that the owner agrees to bring the property up to such 

17 standards that will ensure its maintenance as decent, safe, 

18 and sanitary housing for the full term of the rental assist19 ance contract. 

20 ‘‘(e) RESTRICTIVE USE AGREEMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—As part of the preserva22 tion and revitalization agreement for a project, the 

23 Secretary shall obtain a restrictive use agreement 

24 that obligates the owner to operate the project in ac25 cordance with this title. 


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1 ‘‘(2) TERM.— 

2 ‘‘(A) NO EXTENSION OF RENTAL ASSIST3 ANCE CONTRACT.—Except when the Secretary 

4 enters into a 20-year extension of the rental as5 sistance contract for the project, the term of 

6 the restrictive use agreement for the project 

7 shall be consistent with the term of the restruc8 tured loan for the project. 

9 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE

10 CONTRACT.—If the Secretary enters into a 20- 

11 year extension of the rental assistance contract 

12 for a project, the term of the restrictive use 

13 agreement for the project shall be for 20 years. 

14 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION.—The Secretary may 

15 terminate the 20-year use restrictive use agree16 ment for a project prior to the end of its term 

17 if the 20-year rental assistance contract for the 

18 project with the owner is terminated at any 

19 time for reasons outside the owner’s control. 

20 ‘‘(f) DECOUPLING OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) RENEWAL OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE CON22 TRACT.—If the Secretary determines that a matur23 ing loan for a project cannot reasonably be restruc24 tured in accordance with subsection (c) and the 

25 project was operating with rental assistance under 


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1 section 521, the Secretary may renew the rental as2 sistance contract, notwithstanding any provision of 

3 section 521, for a term, subject to annual appropria4 tions, of at least 10 years but not more than 20 

5 years. 

6 ‘‘(2) RENTS.—Any agreement to extend the 

7 term of the rental assistance contract under section 

8 521 for a project shall obligate the owner to con9 tinue to maintain the project as decent, safe and 

10 sanitary housing and to operate the development in 

11 accordance with this title, except that rents shall be 

12 based on the lesser of— 

13 ‘‘(A) the budget-based needs of the project; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(B) the operating cost adjustment factor 

16 as a payment standard as provided under sec17 tion 524 of the Multifamily Assisted Housing 

18 Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (42 

19 U.S.C. 1437 note). 

20 ‘‘(g) MULTIFAMILY HOUSING TRANSFER TECHNICAL

21 ASSISTANCE.—Under the program under this section, the 

22 Secretary may provide grants to qualified non-profit orga23 nizations and public housing agencies to provide technical 

24 assistance, including financial and legal services, to bor25 rowers under loans under this title for multifamily housing 


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1 to facilitate the acquisition of such multifamily housing 

2 properties in areas where the Secretary determines there 

3 is a risk of loss of affordable housing. 

4 ‘‘(h) TRANSFER OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—After the 

5 loan or loans for a rental project originally financed under 

6 section 515 or both sections 514 and 516 have matured 

7 or have been prepaid and the owner has chosen not to 

8 restructure the loan pursuant to subsection (c), a tenant 

9 residing in such project shall have 18 months prior to loan 

10 maturation or prepayment to transfer the rental assist11 ance assigned to the tenant’s unit to another rental project 

12 originally financed under section 515 or both sections 514 

13 and 516, and the owner of the initial project may rent 

14 the tenant’s previous unit to a new tenant without income 

15 restrictions. 

16 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of any amounts 

17 made available for the program under this section for any 

18 fiscal year, the Secretary may use not more than 

19 $1,000,000 for administrative expenses for carrying out 

20 such program. 

21 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 is authorized to be appropriated for the program under 

23 this section $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 

24 through 2024.’’. 


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1 SEC. 222. ELIGIBILITY FOR RURAL HOUSING VOUCHERS. 

2 Section 542 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

3 1490r) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

4 subsection: 

5 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY OF HOUSEHOLDS IN SECTIONS

6 514, 515, AND 516 PROJECTS.—The Secretary may pro7 vide rural housing vouchers under this section for any low8 income household (including those not receiving rental as9 sistance) residing, for a term longer than the remaining 

10 term of their lease in effect just prior to prepayment, in 

11 a property financed with a loan made or insured under 

12 section 514 or 515 (42 U.S.C. 1484, 1485) which has 

13 been prepaid without restrictions imposed by the Secretary 

14 pursuant to section 502(c)(5)(G)(ii)(I) (42 U.S.C. 

15 1472(c)(5)(G)(ii)(I)), has been foreclosed, or has matured 

16 after September 30, 2005, or residing in a property as17 sisted under section 514 or 516 that is owned by a non18 profit organization or public agency.’’. 

19 SEC. 223. AMOUNT OF VOUCHER ASSISTANCE. 

20 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the 

21 case of any rural housing voucher provided pursuant to 

22 section 542 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

23 1490r), the amount of the monthly assistance payment for 

24 the household on whose behalf such assistance is provided 

25 shall be determined as provided in subsection (a) of such 

26 section 542. 


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1 SEC. 224. RENTAL ASSISTANCE CONTRACT AUTHORITY. 

2 Subsection (d) of section 521 of the Housing Act of 

3 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490a(d)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting after sub5 paragraph (A) the following new subparagraph (and 

6 by redesignating the subsequent subparagraphs ac7 cordingly): 

8 ‘‘(B) upon request of an owner of a project fi9 nanced under section 514 or 515, the Secretary is 

10 authorized to enter into renewal of such agreements 

11 for a period of 20 years or the term of the loan, 

12 whichever is shorter, subject to amounts made avail13 able in appropriations Acts;’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

15 paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(3) In the case of any rental assistance contract au17 thority that becomes available because of the termination 

18 of assistance on behalf of an assisted family— 

19 ‘‘(A) at the option of the owner of the rental 

20 project, the Secretary shall provide the owner a pe21 riod of 6 months before such assistance is made 

22 available pursuant to subparagraph (B) during 

23 which the owner may use such assistance authority 

24 to provide assistance of behalf of an eligible unas25 sisted family that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is residing in the same rental project 

2 that the assisted family resided in prior to such 

3 termination; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) newly occupies a dwelling unit in such 

5 rental project during such period; and 

6 ‘‘(B) except for assistance used as provided in 

7 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall use such re8 maining authority to provide such assistance on be9 half of eligible families residing in other rental 

10 projects originally financed under section 515 or 

11 both sections 514 and 516 of this Act.’’. 

12 SEC. 225. FUNDING FOR MULTIFAMILY TECHNICAL IM13 PROVEMENTS. 

14 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec15 retary of Agriculture $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 for 

16 improving the technology of the Department of Agri17 culture used to process loans for multifamily housing and 

18 otherwise managing such housing. Such improvements 

19 shall be made within the 5-year period beginning upon the 

20 appropriation of such amounts and such amount shall re21 main available until the expiration of such 5-year period. 

22 SEC. 226. PLAN FOR PRESERVING AFFORDABILITY OF 

23 RENTAL PROJECTS. 

24 (a) PLAN.—The Secretary of Agriculture (in this sec25 tion referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall submit a written 


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1 plan to the Congress, not later than the expiration of the 

2 6-month period beginning on the date of the enactment 

3 of this Act, for preserving the affordability for low-income 

4 families of rental projects for which loans were made 

5 under section 515 or made to nonprofit or public agencies 

6 under section 514 and avoiding the displacement of tenant 

7 households, which shall— 

8 (1) set forth specific performance goals and 

9 measures; 

10 (2) set forth the specific actions and mecha11 nisms by which such goals will be achieved; 

12 (3) set forth specific measurements by which 

13 progress towards achievement of each goal can be 

14 measured; 

15 (4) provide for detailed reporting on outcomes; 

16 and 

17 (5) include any legislative recommendations to 

18 assist in achievement of the goals under the plan. 

19 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

20 (1) ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE.—The Sec21 retary shall establish an advisory committee whose 

22 purpose shall be to assist the Secretary in preserving 

23 section 515 properties and section 514 properties 

24 owned by nonprofit or public agencies through the 

25 multifamily housing preservation and revitalization 


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1 program under section 545 and in implementing the 

2 plan required under subsection (a). 

3 (2) MEMBER.—The advisory committee shall 

4 consist of 16 members, appointed by the Secretary, 

5 as follows: 

6 (A) A State Director of Rural Develop7 ment for the Department of Agriculture. 

8 (B) The Administrator for Rural Housing 

9 Service of the Department of Agriculture. 

10 (C) Two representatives of for-profit devel11 opers or owners of multifamily rural rental 

12 housing. 

13 (D) Two representatives of non-profit de14 velopers or owners of multifamily rural rental 

15 housing. 

16 (E) Two representatives of State housing 

17 finance agencies. 

18 (F) Two representatives of tenants of mul19 tifamily rural rental housing. 

20 (G) One representative of a community de21 velopment financial institution that is involved 

22 in preserving the affordability of housing as23 sisted under sections 514, 515, and 516 of the 

24 Housing Act of 1949. 


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1 (H) One representative of a nonprofit or2 ganization that operates nationally and has ac3 tively participated in the preservation of hous4 ing assisted by the Rural Housing Service by 

5 conducting research regarding, and providing fi6 nancing and technical assistance for, preserving 

7 the affordability of such housing. 

8 (I) One representative of low-income hous9 ing tax credit investors. 

10 (J) One representative of regulated finan11 cial institutions that finance affordable multi12 family rural rental housing developments. 

13 (K) Two representatives from non-profit 

14 organizations representing farmworkers, includ15 ing one organization representing farmworker 

16 women. 

17 (3) MEETINGS.—The advisory committee shall 

18 meet not less often than once each calendar quarter. 

19 (4) FUNCTIONS.—In providing assistance to the 

20 Secretary to carry out its purpose, the advisory com21 mittee shall carry out the following functions: 

22 (A) Assisting the Rural Housing Service of 

23 the Department of Agriculture to improve esti24 mates of the size, scope, and condition of rental 

25 housing portfolio of the Service, including the 


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1 time frames for maturity of mortgages and 

2 costs for preserving the portfolio as affordable 

3 housing. 

4 (B) Reviewing current policies and proce5 dures of the Rural Housing Service regarding 

6 preservation of affordable rental housing fi7 nanced under sections 514, 515, 516, and 538 

8 of the Housing Act of 1949, the Multifamily 

9 Preservation and Revitalization Demonstration 

10 program (MPR), and the rental assistance pro11 gram and making recommendations regarding 

12 improvements and modifications to such policies 

13 and procedures. 

14 (C) Providing ongoing review of Rural 

15 Housing Service program results. 

16 (D) Providing reports to the Congress and 

17 the public on meetings, recommendations, and 

18 other findings of the advisory committee. 

19 (5) TRAVEL COSTS.—Any amounts made avail20 able for administrative costs of the Department of 

21 Agriculture may be used for costs of travel by mem22 bers of the advisory committee to meetings of the 

23 committee. 


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1 SEC. 227. COVERED HOUSING PROGRAMS. 

2 Paragraph (3) of section 41411(a) of the Violence 

3 Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12491(a)(3)) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

6 the end; 

7 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (J) as sub8 paragraph (K); and 

9 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the fol10 lowing new subparagraph: 

11 ‘‘(J) rural development housing voucher 

12 assistance provided by the Secretary of Agri13 culture pursuant to section 542 of the Housing 

14 Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490r), without regard 

15 to subsection (b) of such section, and applicable 

16 appropriation Acts; and’’. 

17 SEC. 228. NEW FARMWORKER HOUSING. 

18 Section 513 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

19 1483) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

20 subsection: 

21 ‘‘(f) FUNDING FOR FARMWORKER HOUSING.— 

22 ‘‘(1) SECTION 514 FARMWORKER HOUSING

23 LOANS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) INSURANCE AUTHORITY.—The Sec25 retary of Agriculture may, to the extent ap26 proved in appropriation Acts, insure loans 


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1 under section 514 (42 U.S.C. 1484) during 

2 each of fiscal years 2020 through 2029 in an 

3 aggregate amount not to exceed $200,000,000. 

4 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

5 FOR COSTS.—There is authorized to be appro6 priated $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

7 2020 through 2029 for costs (as such term is 

8 defined in section 502 of the Congressional 

9 Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a)) of loans 

10 insured pursuant the authority under subpara11 graph (A). 

12 ‘‘(2) SECTION 516 GRANTS FOR FARMWORKER

13 HOUSING.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

14 $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

15 2029 for financial assistance under section 516 (42 

16 U.S.C. 1486). 

17 ‘‘(3) SECTION 521 HOUSING ASSISTANCE.— 

18 There is authorized to be appropriated 

19 $2,700,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 

20 through 2029 for rental assistance agreements en21 tered into or renewed pursuant to section 521(a)(2) 

22 (42 U.S.C. 1490a(a)(2)) or agreements entered into 

23 in lieu of debt forgiveness or payments for eligible 

24 households as authorized by section 502(c)(5)(D).’’. 


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1 SEC. 229. LOAN AND GRANT LIMITATIONS. 

2 Section 514 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

3 1484) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(j) PER PROJECT LIMITATIONS ON ASSISTANCE.— 

5 If the Secretary, in making available assistance in any 

6 area under this section or section 516 (42 U.S.C. 1486), 

7 establishes a limitation on the amount of assistance avail8 able per project, the limitation on a grant or loan award 

9 per project shall not be less than $5 million.’’. 

10 SEC. 230. OPERATING ASSISTANCE SUBSIDIES. 

11 Subsection (a)(5) of section 521 of the Housing Act 

12 of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490a(a)(5)) is amended— 

13 (1) in subparagraph (A) by inserting ‘‘or do14 mestic farm labor legally admitted to the United 

15 States and authorized to work in agriculture’’ after 

16 ‘‘migrant farmworkers’’; 

17 (2) in subparagraph (B)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘AMOUNT.—In any fiscal 

19 year’’ and inserting ‘‘AMOUNT.— 

20 ‘‘(i) HOUSING FOR MIGRANT FARM21 WORKERS.—In any fiscal year’’; 

22 (B) by inserting ‘‘providing housing for mi23 grant farmworkers’’ after ‘‘any project’’; and 

24 (C) by inserting at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(ii) HOUSING FOR OTHER FARM

26 LABOR.—In any fiscal year, the assistance 


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1 provided under this paragraph for any 

2 project providing housing for domestic 

3 farm labor legally admitted to the United 

4 States and authorized to work in agri5 culture shall not exceed an amount equal 

6 to 50 percent of the operating costs for the 

7 project for the year, as determined by the 

8 Secretary. The owner of such project shall 

9 not qualify for operating assistance unless 

10 the Secretary certifies that the project was 

11 unoccupied or underutilized before making 

12 units available to such farm labor, and 

13 that a grant under this section will not dis14 place any farm worker who is a United 

15 States worker.’’; and 

16 (3) in subparagraph (D), by adding at the end 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(iii) The term ‘domestic farm labor’ has 

19 the same meaning given such term in section 

20 514(f)(3) (42 U.S.C. 1484(f)(3)), except that 

21 subparagraph (A) of such section shall not 

22 apply for purposes this section.’’. 


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1 SEC. 231. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTIFIED WORKERS. 

2 Subsection (a) of section 214 of the Housing and 

3 Community Development Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 1436a) 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

6 end; 

7 (2) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para8 graph (8); and 

9 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(7) an alien granted certified agricultural 

12 worker or certified agricultural dependent status 

13 under title I of the Farm Workforce Modernization 

14 Act of 2019, but solely for financial assistance made 

15 available pursuant to section 521 or 542 of the 

16 Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490a, 1490r); 

17 or’’. 

18 Subtitle C—Foreign Labor 

19 Recruiter Accountability 

20 SEC. 251. REGISTRATION OF FOREIGN LABOR RECRUITERS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor, 

23 in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Sec24 retary of Homeland Security, shall establish procedures 

25 for the electronic registration of foreign labor recruiters 

26 engaged in the recruitment of nonimmigrant workers deVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00150 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5038.RFS H5038

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1 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration 

2 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)) to 

3 perform agricultural labor or services in the United States. 

4 (b) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—The procedures 

5 described in subsection (a) shall— 

6 (1) require the applicant to submit a sworn dec7 laration— 

8 (A) stating the applicant’s permanent 

9 place of residence or principal place of business, 

10 as applicable; 

11 (B) describing the foreign labor recruiting 

12 activities in which the applicant is engaged; and 

13 (C) including such other relevant informa14 tion as the Secretary of Labor and the Sec15 retary of State may require; 

16 (2) include an expeditious means to update and 

17 renew registrations; 

18 (3) include a process, which shall include the 

19 placement of personnel at each United States diplo20 matic mission in accordance with subsection (g)(2), 

21 to receive information from the public regarding for22 eign labor recruiters who have allegedly engaged in 

23 a foreign labor recruiting activity that is prohibited 

24 under this subtitle; 


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1 (4) include procedures for the receipt and proc2 essing of complaints against foreign labor recruiters 

3 and for remedies, including the revocation of a reg4 istration or the assessment of fines upon a deter5 mination by the Secretary of Labor that the foreign 

6 labor recruiter has violated the requirements of this 

7 subtitle; 

8 (5) require the applicant to post a bond in an 

9 amount sufficient to ensure the ability of the appli10 cant to discharge its responsibilities and ensure pro11 tection of workers, including payment of wages; and 

12 (6) allow the Secretary of Labor and the Sec13 retary of State to consult with other appropriate 

14 Federal agencies to determine whether any reason 

15 exists to deny registration to a foreign labor re16 cruiter or revoke such registration. 

17 (c) ATTESTATIONS.—Foreign labor recruiters reg18 istering under this subtitle shall attest and agree to abide 

19 by the following requirements: 

20 (1) PROHIBITED FEES.—The foreign labor re21 cruiter, including any agent or employee of such for22 eign labor recruiter, shall not assess any recruitment 

23 fees on a worker for any foreign labor recruiting ac24 tivity. 


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1 (2) PROHIBITION ON FALSE AND MISLEADING

2 INFORMATION.—The foreign labor recruiter shall not 

3 knowingly provide materially false or misleading in4 formation to any worker concerning any matter re5 quired to be disclosed under this subtitle. 

6 (3) REQUIRED DISCLOSURES.—The foreign 

7 labor recruiter shall ascertain and disclose to the 

8 worker in writing in English and in the primary lan9 guage of the worker at the time of the worker’s re10 cruitment, the following information: 

11 (A) The identity and address of the em12 ployer and the identity and address of the per13 son conducting the recruiting on behalf of the 

14 employer, including each subcontractor or agent 

15 involved in such recruiting. 

16 (B) A copy of the approved job order or 

17 work contract under section 218 of the Immi18 gration and Nationality Act, including all assur19 ances and terms and conditions of employment. 

20 (C) A statement, in a form specified by the 

21 Secretary— 

22 (i) describing the general terms and 

23 conditions associated with obtaining an H– 

24 2A visa and maintaining H–2A status; 


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1 (ii) affirming the prohibition on the 

2 assessment of fees described in paragraph 

3 (1), and explaining that such fees, if paid 

4 by the employer, may not be passed on to 

5 the worker; 

6 (iii) describing the protections af7 forded the worker under this subtitle, in8 cluding procedures for reporting violations 

9 to the Secretary of State, filing a com10 plaint with the Secretary of Labor, or fil11 ing a civil action; and 

12 (iv) describing the protections af13 forded the worker by section 202 of the 

14 William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims 

15 Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 

16 U.S.C. 1375b), including the telephone 

17 number for the national human trafficking 

18 resource center hotline number. 

19 (4) BOND.—The foreign labor recruiter shall 

20 agree to maintain a bond sufficient to ensure the 

21 ability of the foreign labor recruiter to discharge its 

22 responsibilities and ensure protection of workers, 

23 and to forfeit such bond in an amount determined 

24 by the Secretary under subsections (b)(1)(C)(ii) or 


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1 (c)(2)(C) of section 252 for failure to comply with 

2 the provisions of this subtitle. 

3 (5) COOPERATION IN INVESTIGATION.—The 

4 foreign labor recruiter shall agree to cooperate in 

5 any investigation under section 252 of this subtitle 

6 by the Secretary or other appropriate authorities. 

7 (6) NO RETALIATION.—The foreign labor re8 cruiter shall agree to refrain from intimidating, 

9 threatening, restraining, coercing, discharging, 

10 blacklisting or in any other manner discriminating 

11 or retaliating against any worker or their family 

12 members (including a former worker or an applicant 

13 for employment) because such worker disclosed in14 formation to any person based on a reason to believe 

15 that the foreign labor recruiter, or any agent or sub16 contractee of such foreign labor recruiter, is engag17 ing or has engaged in a foreign labor recruiting ac18 tivity that does not comply with this subtitle. 

19 (7) EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AND

20 SUBCONTRACTEES.—The foreign labor recruiter 

21 shall consent to be liable for the conduct of any 

22 agents or subcontractees of any level in relation to 

23 the foreign labor recruiting activity of the agent or 

24 subcontractee to the same extent as if the foreign 

25 labor recruiter had engaged in such conduct. 


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1 (8) ENFORCEMENT.—If the foreign labor re2 cruiter is conducting foreign labor recruiting activity 

3 wholly outside the United States, such foreign labor 

4 recruiter shall establish a registered agent in the 

5 United States who is authorized to accept service of 

6 process on behalf of the foreign labor recruiter for 

7 the purpose of any administrative proceeding under 

8 this title or any Federal court civil action, if such 

9 service is made in accordance with the appropriate 

10 Federal rules for service of process. 

11 (d) TERM OF REGISTRATION.—Unless suspended or 

12 revoked, a registration under this section shall be valid 

13 for 2 years. 

14 (e) APPLICATION FEE.—The Secretary shall require 

15 a foreign labor recruiter that submits an application for 

16 registration under this section to pay a reasonable fee, suf17 ficient to cover the full costs of carrying out the registra18 tion activities under this subtitle. 

19 (f) NOTIFICATION.— 

20 (1) EMPLOYER NOTIFICATION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently 

22 than once every year, an employer of H–2A 

23 workers shall provide the Secretary with the 

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1 cruiting activity on behalf of the employer, 

2 whether the foreign labor recruiter is to receive 

3 any economic compensation for such services, 

4 and, if so, the identity of the person or entity 

5 who is paying for the services. 

6 (B) AGREEMENT TO COOPERATE.—In ad7 dition to the requirements of subparagraph (A), 

8 the employer shall— 

9 (i) provide to the Secretary the iden10 tity of any foreign labor recruiter whom 

11 the employer has reason to believe is en12 gaging in foreign labor recruiting activities 

13 that do not comply with this subtitle; and 

14 (ii) promptly respond to any request 

15 by the Secretary for information regarding 

16 the identity of a foreign labor recruiter 

17 with whom the employer has a contract or 

18 other agreement. 

19 (2) FOREIGN LABOR RECRUITER NOTIFICA20 TION.—A registered foreign labor recruiter shall no21 tify the Secretary, not less frequently than once 

22 every year, of the identity of any subcontractee, 

23 agent, or foreign labor recruiter employee involved in 

24 any foreign labor recruiting activity for, or on behalf 

25 of, the foreign labor recruiter. 


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1 (g) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SEC2 RETARY OF STATE.— 

3 (1) LISTS.—The Secretary of State, in con4 sultation with the Secretary of Labor shall maintain 

5 and make publicly available in written form and on 

6 the websites of United States embassies in the offi7 cial language of that country, and on websites main8 tained by the Secretary of Labor, regularly updated 

9 lists— 

10 (A) of foreign labor recruiters who hold 

11 valid registrations under this section, includ12 ing— 

13 (i) the name and address of the for14 eign labor recruiter; 

15 (ii) the countries in which such re16 cruiters conduct recruitment; 

17 (iii) the employers for whom recruit18 ing is conducted; 

19 (iv) the occupations that are the sub20 ject of recruitment; 

21 (v) the States where recruited workers 

22 are employed; and 

23 (vi) the name and address of the reg24 istered agent in the United States who is 


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1 authorized to accept service of process on 

2 behalf of the foreign labor recruiter; and 

3 (B) of foreign labor recruiters whose reg4 istration the Secretary has revoked. 

5 (2) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary of State shall 

6 ensure that each United States diplomatic mission is 

7 staffed with a person who shall be responsible for re8 ceiving information from members of the public re9 garding potential violations of the requirements ap10 plicable to registered foreign labor recruiters and en11 suring that such information is conveyed to the Sec12 retary of Labor for evaluation and initiation of an 

13 enforcement action, if appropriate. 

14 (3) VISA APPLICATION PROCEDURES.—The Sec15 retary shall ensure that consular officers issuing 

16 visas to nonimmigrants under section 

17 101(a)(1)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration and Nation18 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 11001(a)(1)(H)(ii)(a))— 

19 (A) provide to and review with the appli20 cant, in the applicant’s language (or a language 

21 the applicant understands), a copy of the infor22 mation and resources pamphlet required by sec23 tion 202 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking 

24 Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 

25 (8 U.S.C. 1375b); 


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1 (B) ensure that the applicant has a copy of 

2 the approved job offer or work contract; 

3 (C) note in the visa application file wheth4 er the foreign labor recruiter has a valid reg5 istration under this section; and 

6 (D) if the foreign labor recruiter holds a 

7 valid registration, review and include in the visa 

8 application file, the foreign labor recruiter’s dis9 closures required by subsection (c)(3). 

10 (4) DATA.—The Secretary of State shall make 

11 publicly available online, on an annual basis, data 

12 disclosing the gender, country of origin (and State, 

13 county, or province, if available), age, wage, level of 

14 training, and occupational classification, 

15 disaggregated by State, of nonimmigrant workers 

16 described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Im17 migration and Nationality Act. 

18 SEC. 252. ENFORCEMENT. 

19 (a) DENIAL OR REVOCATION OF REGISTRATION.— 

20 (1) GROUNDS FOR DENIAL OR REVOCATION.— 

21 The Secretary shall deny an application for registra22 tion, or revoke a registration, if the Secretary deter23 mines that the foreign labor recruiter, or any agent 

24 or subcontractee of such foreign labor recruiter— 


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1 (A) knowingly made a material misrepre2 sentation in the registration application; 

3 (B) materially failed to comply with one or 

4 more of the attestations provided under section 

5 251(c); or 

6 (C) is not the real party in interest. 

7 (2) NOTICE.—Prior to denying an application 

8 for registration or revoking a registration under this 

9 subsection, the Secretary shall provide written notice 

10 of the intent to deny or revoke the registration to 

11 the foreign labor recruiter. Such notice shall— 

12 (A) articulate with specificity all grounds 

13 for denial or revocation; and 

14 (B) provide the foreign labor recruiter with 

15 not less than 60 days to respond. 

16 (3) RE-REGISTRATION.—A foreign labor re17 cruiter whose registration was revoked under sub18 section (a) may re-register if the foreign labor re19 cruiter demonstrates to the Secretary’s satisfaction 

20 that the foreign labor recruiter has not violated this 

21 subtitle in the 5 years preceding the date an applica22 tion for registration is filed and has taken sufficient 

23 steps to prevent future violations of this subtitle. 

24 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT.— 

25 (1) COMPLAINT PROCESS.— 


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1 (A) FILING.—A complaint may be filed 

2 with the Secretary of Labor, in accordance with 

3 the procedures established under section 

4 251(b)(4) not later than 2 years after the ear5 lier of— 

6 (i) the date of the last action which 

7 constituted the conduct that is the subject 

8 of the complaint took place; or 

9 (ii) the date on which the aggrieved 

10 party had actual knowledge of such con11 duct. 

12 (B) DECISION AND PENALTIES.—If the 

13 Secretary of Labor finds, after notice and an 

14 opportunity for a hearing, that a foreign labor 

15 recruiter failed to comply with any of the re16 quirements of this subtitle, the Secretary of 

17 Labor may— 

18 (i) levy a fine against the foreign 

19 labor recruiter in an amount not more 

20 than— 

21 (I) $10,000 per violation; and 

22 (II) $25,000 per violation, upon 

23 the third violation; 

24 (ii) order the forfeiture (or partial for25 feiture) of the bond and release of as much 


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1 of the bond as the Secretary determines is 

2 necessary for the worker to recover prohib3 ited recruitment fees; 

4 (iii) refuse to issue or renew a reg5 istration, or revoke a registration; or 

6 (iv) disqualify the foreign labor re7 cruiter from registration for a period of up 

8 to 5 years, or in the case of a subsequent 

9 finding involving willful or multiple mate10 rial violations, permanently disqualify the 

11 foreign labor recruiter from registration. 

12 (2) AUTHORITY TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE.—The 

13 Secretary of Labor is authorized to take other such 

14 actions, including issuing subpoenas and seeking ap15 propriate injunctive relief, as may be necessary to 

16 assure compliance with the terms and conditions of 

17 this subtitle. 

18 (3) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

19 this subsection may be construed as limiting the au20 thority of the Secretary of Labor to conduct an in21 vestigation— 

22 (A) under any other law, including any law 

23 affecting migrant and seasonal agricultural 

24 workers; or 

25 (B) in the absence of a complaint. 


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1 (c) CIVIL ACTION.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor or 

3 any person aggrieved by a violation of this subtitle 

4 may bring a civil action against any foreign labor re5 cruiter, or any employer that does not meet the re6 quirements under subsection (d)(1), in any court of 

7 competent jurisdiction— 

8 (A) to seek remedial action, including in9 junctive relief; and 

10 (B) for damages in accordance with the 

11 provisions of this subsection. 

12 (2) AWARD FOR CIVIL ACTION FILED BY AN IN13 DIVIDUAL.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the court finds in a 

15 civil action filed by an individual under this sec16 tion that the defendant has violated any provi17 sion of this subtitle, the court may award— 

18 (i) damages, up to and including an 

19 amount equal to the amount of actual 

20 damages, and statutory damages of up to 

21 $1,000 per plaintiff per violation, or other 

22 equitable relief, except that with respect to 

23 statutory damages— 

24 (I) multiple infractions of a sin25 gle provision of this subtitle (or of a 


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1 regulation under this subtitle) shall 

2 constitute only one violation for pur3 poses of this subsection to determine 

4 the amount of statutory damages due 

5 a plaintiff; and 

6 (II) if such complaint is certified 

7 as a class action the court may 

8 award— 

9 (aa) damages up to an 

10 amount equal to the amount of 

11 actual damages; and 

12 (bb) statutory damages of 

13 not more than the lesser of up to 

14 $1,000 per class member per vio15 lation, or up to $500,000; and 

16 other equitable relief; 

17 (ii) reasonable attorneys’ fees and 

18 costs; and 

19 (iii) such other and further relief as 

20 necessary to effectuate the purposes of this 

21 subtitle. 

22 (B) CRITERIA.—In determining the 

23 amount of statutory damages to be awarded 

24 under subparagraph (A), the court is author25 ized to consider whether an attempt was made 


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1 to resolve the issues in dispute before the resort 

2 to litigation. 

3 (C) BOND.—To satisfy the damages, fees, 

4 and costs found owing under this paragraph, 

5 the Secretary shall release as much of the bond 

6 held pursuant to section 251(c)(4) as necessary. 

7 (3) SUMS RECOVERED IN ACTIONS BY THE SEC8 RETARY OF LABOR.— 

9 (A) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.— 

10 There is established in the general fund of the 

11 Treasury a separate account, which shall be 

12 known as the ‘‘H–2A Foreign Labor Recruiter 

13 Compensation Account’’. Notwithstanding any 

14 other provisions of law, there shall be deposited 

15 as offsetting receipts into the account, all sums 

16 recovered in an action by the Secretary of 

17 Labor under this subsection. 

18 (B) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts deposited 

19 into the H–2A Foreign Labor Recruiter Com20 pensation Account and shall be paid directly to 

21 each worker affected. Any such sums not paid 

22 to a worker because of inability to do so within 

23 a period of 5 years following the date such 

24 funds are deposited into the account shall re25 main available to the Secretary until expended. 


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1 The Secretary may transfer all or a portion of 

2 such remaining sums to appropriate agencies to 

3 support the enforcement of the laws prohibiting 

4 the trafficking and exploitation of persons or 

5 programs that aid trafficking victims. 

6 (d) EMPLOYER SAFE HARBOR.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employer that hires 

8 workers referred by a foreign labor recruiter with a 

9 valid registration at the time of hiring shall not be 

10 held jointly liable for a violation committed solely by 

11 a foreign labor recruiter under this subtitle— 

12 (A) in any administrative action initiated 

13 by the Secretary concerning such violation; or 

14 (B) in any Federal or State civil court ac15 tion filed against the foreign labor recruiter by 

16 or on behalf of such workers or other aggrieved 

17 party under this subtitle. 

18 (2) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this subtitle 

19 shall be construed to prohibit an aggrieved party or 

20 parties from bringing a civil action for violations of 

21 this subtitle or any other Federal or State law 

22 against any employer who hired workers referred by 

23 a foreign labor recruiter— 

24 (A) without a valid registration at the time 

25 of hire; or 


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1 (B) with a valid registration if the em2 ployer knew or learned of the violation and 

3 failed to report such violation to the Secretary. 

4 (e) PAROLE TO PURSUE RELIEF.—If other immigra5 tion relief is not available, the Secretary of Homeland Se6 curity may grant parole to permit an individual to remain 

7 legally in the United States for time sufficient to fully and 

8 effectively participate in all legal proceedings related to 

9 any action taken pursuant to subsection (b) or (c). 

10 (f) WAIVER OF RIGHTS.—Agreements by employees 

11 purporting to waive or to modify their rights under this 

12 subtitle shall be void as contrary to public policy. 

13 (g) LIABILITY FOR AGENTS.—Foreign labor recruit14 ers shall be subject to the provisions of this section for 

15 violations committed by the foreign labor recruiter’s 

16 agents or subcontractees of any level in relation to their 

17 foreign labor recruiting activity to the same extent as if 

18 the foreign labor recruiter had committed the violation. 

19 SEC. 253. APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as 

21 may be necessary for the Secretary of Labor and Secretary 

22 of State to carry out the provisions of this subtitle. 

23 SEC. 254. DEFINITIONS. 

24 For purposes of this subtitle: 


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1 (1) FOREIGN LABOR RECRUITER.—The term 

2 ‘‘foreign labor recruiter’’ means any person who per3 forms foreign labor recruiting activity in exchange 

4 for money or other valuable consideration paid or 

5 promised to be paid, to recruit individuals to work 

6 as nonimmigrant workers described in section 

7 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration and Nation8 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)), including 

9 any person who performs foreign labor recruiting ac10 tivity wholly outside of the United States. Such term 

11 does not include any entity of the United States 

12 Government or an employer, or employee of an em13 ployer, who engages in foreign labor recruiting activ14 ity solely to find employees for that employer’s own 

15 use, and without the participation of any other for16 eign labor recruiter. 

17 (2) FOREIGN LABOR RECRUITING ACTIVITY.— 

18 The term ‘‘foreign labor recruiting activity’’ means 

19 recruiting, soliciting, or related activities with re20 spect to an individual who resides outside of the 

21 United States in furtherance of employment in the 

22 United States, including when such activity occurs 

23 wholly outside of the United States. 

24 (3) RECRUITMENT FEES.—The term ‘‘recruit25 ment fees’’ has the meaning given to such term 


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1 under section 22.1702 of title 22 of the Code of 

2 Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of en3 actment of this Act. 

4 (4) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any 

5 natural person or any corporation, company, firm, 

6 partnership, joint stock company or association or 

7 other organization or entity (whether organized 

8 under law or not), including municipal corporations. 

9 TITLE III—ELECTRONIC 

10 VERIFICATION OF EMPLOY11 MENT ELIGIBILITY 

12 SEC. 301. ELECTRONIC EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY 

13 VERIFICATION SYSTEM. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 8 of title II of the Immi15 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1321 et seq.) is 

16 amended by inserting after section 274D the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 274E. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ELECTRONIC 

18 VERIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT ELIGI19 BILITY. 

20 ‘‘(a) EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYS21 TEM.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

23 Security (referred to in this section as the ‘Sec24 retary’) shall establish and administer an electronic 

25 verification system (referred to in this section as the 


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1 ‘System’), patterned on the E–Verify Program de2 scribed in section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration 

3 Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

4 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) (as in effect on the day be5 fore the effective date described in section 303(a)(4) 

6 of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019), 

7 and using the employment eligibility confirmation 

8 system established under section 404 of such Act (8 

9 U.S.C. 1324a note) (as so in effect) as a foundation, 

10 through which the Secretary shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) respond to inquiries made by persons 

12 or entities seeking to verify the identity and em13 ployment authorization of individuals that such 

14 persons or entities seek to hire, or to recruit or 

15 refer for a fee, for employment in the United 

16 States; and 

17 ‘‘(B) maintain records of the inquiries that 

18 were made, and of verifications provided (or not 

19 provided) to such persons or entities as evidence 

20 of compliance with the requirements of this sec21 tion. 

22 ‘‘(2) INITIAL RESPONSE DEADLINE.—The Sys23 tem shall provide confirmation or a tentative non24 confirmation of an individual’s identity and employVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00171 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5038.RFS H5038

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1 ment authorization as soon as practicable, but not 

2 later than 3 calendar days after the initial inquiry. 

3 ‘‘(3) GENERAL DESIGN AND OPERATION OF

4 SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall design and operate 

5 the System— 

6 ‘‘(A) using responsive web design and 

7 other technologies to maximize its ease of use 

8 and accessibility for users on a variety of elec9 tronic devices and screen sizes, and in remote 

10 locations; 

11 ‘‘(B) to maximize the accuracy of re12 sponses to inquiries submitted by persons or en13 tities; 

14 ‘‘(C) to maximize the reliability of the Sys15 tem and to register each instance when the Sys16 tem is unable to receive inquiries; 

17 ‘‘(D) to protect the privacy and security of 

18 the personally identifiable information main19 tained by or submitted to the System; 

20 ‘‘(E) to provide direct notification of an in21 quiry to an individual with respect to whom the 

22 inquiry is made, including the results of such 

23 inquiry, and information related to the process 

24 for challenging the results, in cases in which the 

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1 scribed in paragraph (4)(B) or an electronic 

2 mail address for the individual is submitted by 

3 the person or entity at the time the inquiry is 

4 made; and 

5 ‘‘(F) to maintain appropriate administra6 tive, technical, and physical safeguards to pre7 vent misuse of the System and unfair immigra8 tion-related employment practices. 

9 ‘‘(4) MEASURES TO PREVENT IDENTITY THEFT

10 AND OTHER FORMS OF FRAUD.—To prevent identity 

11 theft and other forms of fraud, the Secretary shall 

12 design and operate the System with the following at13 tributes: 

14 ‘‘(A) PHOTO MATCHING TOOL.—The Sys15 tem shall display the digital photograph of the 

16 individual, if any, that corresponds to the docu17 ment presented by an individual to establish 

18 identity and employment authorization so that 

19 the person or entity that makes an inquiry can 

20 compare the photograph displayed by the Sys21 tem to the photograph on the document pre22 sented by the individual. 

23 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUAL MONITORING AND SUS24 PENSION OF IDENTIFYING INFORMATION.—The 

25 System shall enable individuals to establish user 


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1 accounts, after authentication of an individual’s 

2 identity, that would allow an individual to— 

3 ‘‘(i) confirm the individual’s own em4 ployment authorization; 

5 ‘‘(ii) receive electronic notification 

6 when the individual’s social security ac7 count number or other personally identi8 fying information has been submitted to 

9 the System; 

10 ‘‘(iii) monitor the use history of the 

11 individual’s personally identifying informa12 tion in the System, including the identities 

13 of all persons or entities that have sub14 mitted such identifying information to the 

15 System, the date of each query run, and 

16 the System response for each query run; 

17 ‘‘(iv) suspend or limit the use of the 

18 individual’s social security account number 

19 or other personally identifying information 

20 for purposes of the System; and 

21 ‘‘(v) provide notice to the Department 

22 of Homeland Security of any suspected 

23 identity fraud or other improper use of 

24 personally identifying information. 


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1 ‘‘(C) BLOCKING MISUSED SOCIAL SECU2 RITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in 

4 consultation with the Commissioner of So5 cial Security (referred to in this section as 

6 the ‘Commissioner’), shall develop, after 

7 publication in the Federal Register and an 

8 opportunity for public comment, a process 

9 in which social security account numbers 

10 that have been identified to be subject to 

11 unusual multiple use in the System or that 

12 are otherwise suspected or determined to 

13 have been compromised by identity fraud 

14 or other misuse, shall be blocked from use 

15 in the System unless the individual using 

16 such number is able to establish, through 

17 secure and fair procedures, that the indi18 vidual is the legitimate holder of the num19 ber. 

20 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—If the Secretary blocks 

21 or suspends a social security account num22 ber under this subparagraph, the Secretary 

23 shall provide notice to the persons or enti24 ties that have made inquiries to the Sys25 tem using such account number that the 


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1 identity and employment authorization of 

2 the individual who provided such account 

3 number must be re-verified. 

4 ‘‘(D) ADDITIONAL IDENTITY AUTHENTICA5 TION TOOL.—The Secretary shall develop, after 

6 publication in the Federal Register and an op7 portunity for public comment, additional secu8 rity measures to adequately verify the identity 

9 of an individual whose identity may not be 

10 verified using the photo tool described in sub11 paragraph (A). Such additional security meas12 ures— 

13 ‘‘(i) shall be kept up-to-date with 

14 technological advances; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) shall be designed to provide a 

16 high level of certainty with respect to iden17 tity authentication. 

18 ‘‘(E) CHILD-LOCK PILOT PROGRAM.—The 

19 Secretary, in consultation with the Commis20 sioner, shall establish a reliable, secure program 

21 through which parents or legal guardians may 

22 suspend or limit the use of the social security 

23 account number or other personally identifying 

24 information of a minor under their care for 

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1 plement the program on a limited pilot basis be2 fore making it fully available to all individuals. 

3 ‘‘(5) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COMMISSIONER

4 OF SOCIAL SECURITY.—The Commissioner, in con5 sultation with the Secretary, shall establish a reli6 able, secure method, which, within the time periods 

7 specified in paragraph (2) and subsection 

8 (b)(4)(D)(i)(II), compares the name and social secu9 rity account number provided in an inquiry against 

10 such information maintained by the Commissioner in 

11 order to validate (or not validate) the information 

12 provided by the person or entity with respect to an 

13 individual whose identity and employment authoriza14 tion the person or entity seeks to confirm, the cor15 respondence of the name and number, and whether 

16 the individual has presented a social security ac17 count number that is not valid for employment. The 

18 Commissioner shall not disclose or release social se19 curity information (other than such confirmation or 

20 nonconfirmation) under the System except as pro21 vided under this section. 

22 ‘‘(6) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF

23 HOMELAND SECURITY.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

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1 cure method, which, within the time periods 

2 specified in paragraph (2) and subsection 

3 (b)(4)(D)(i)(II), compares the name and identi4 fication or other authorization number (or any 

5 other information determined relevant by the 

6 Secretary) which are provided in an inquiry 

7 against such information maintained or 

8 accessed by the Secretary in order to validate 

9 (or not validate) the information provided, the 

10 correspondence of the name and number, and 

11 whether the individual is authorized to be em12 ployed in the United States. 

13 ‘‘(B) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall pro14 vide and regularly update training materials on 

15 the use of the System for persons and entities 

16 making inquiries. 

17 ‘‘(C) AUDIT.—The Secretary shall provide 

18 for periodic auditing of the System to detect 

19 and prevent misuse, discrimination, fraud, and 

20 identity theft, to protect privacy and assess 

21 System accuracy, and to preserve the integrity 

22 and security of the information in the System. 

23 ‘‘(D) NOTICE OF SYSTEM CHANGES.—The 

24 Secretary shall provide appropriate notification 

25 to persons and entities registered in the System 


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1 of any change made by the Secretary or the 

2 Commissioner related to permitted and prohib3 ited documents, and use of the System. 

4 ‘‘(7) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF

5 STATE.—As part of the System, the Secretary of 

6 State shall provide to the Secretary of Homeland Se7 curity access to passport and visa information as 

8 needed to confirm that a passport or passport card 

9 presented under subsection (b)(3)(A)(i) confirms the 

10 employment authorization and identity of the indi11 vidual presenting such document, and that a pass12 port, passport card, or visa photograph matches the 

13 Secretary of State’s records, and shall provide such 

14 assistance as the Secretary of Homeland Security 

15 may request in order to resolve tentative noncon16 firmations or final nonconfirmations relating to such 

17 information. 

18 ‘‘(8) UPDATING INFORMATION.—The Commis19 sioner, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the 

20 Secretary of State shall update records in their cus21 tody in a manner that promotes maximum accuracy 

22 of the System and shall provide a process for the 

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1 tion through the tentative nonconfirmation review 

2 process under subsection (b)(4)(D). 

3 ‘‘(9) MANDATORY AND VOLUNTARY SYSTEM

4 USES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) MANDATORY USERS.—Except as oth6 erwise provided under Federal or State law, 

7 such as sections 302 and 303 of the Farm 

8 Workforce Modernization Act of 2019, nothing 

9 in this section shall be construed as requiring 

10 the use of the System by any person or entity 

11 hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee, an in12 dividual for employment in the United States. 

13 ‘‘(B) VOLUNTARY USERS.—Beginning 

14 after the date that is 30 days after the date on 

15 which final rules are published under section 

16 309(a) of the Farm Workforce Modernization 

17 Act of 2019, a person or entity may use the 

18 System on a voluntary basis to seek verification 

19 of the identity and employment authorization of 

20 individuals the person or entity is hiring, re21 cruiting, or referring for a fee for employment 

22 in the United States 

23 ‘‘(C) PROCESS FOR NON-USERS.—The em24 ployment verification process for any person or 

25 entity hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee, 


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1 an individual for employment in the United 

2 States shall be governed by section 274A(b) un3 less the person or entity— 

4 ‘‘(i) is required by Federal or State 

5 law to use the System; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) has opted to use the System vol7 untarily in accordance with subparagraph 

8 (B). 

9 ‘‘(10) NO FEE FOR USE.—The Secretary may 

10 not charge a fee to an individual, person, or entity 

11 related to the use of the System. 

12 ‘‘(b) NEW HIRES, RECRUITMENT, AND REFERRAL.— 

13 Notwithstanding section 274A(b), the requirements re14 ferred to in paragraphs (1)(B) and (3) of section 274A(a) 

15 are, in the case of a person or entity that uses the System 

16 for the hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee, an indi17 vidual for employment in the United States, the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) INDIVIDUAL ATTESTATION OF EMPLOY19 MENT AUTHORIZATION.—During the period begin20 ning on the date on which an offer of employment 

21 is accepted and ending on the date of hire, the indi22 vidual shall attest, under penalty of perjury on a 

23 form designated by the Secretary, that the individual 

24 is authorized to be employed in the United States by 

25 providing on such form— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the individual’s name and date of 

2 birth; 

3 ‘‘(B) the individual’s social security ac4 count number (unless the individual has applied 

5 for and not yet been issued such a number); 

6 ‘‘(C) whether the individual is— 

7 ‘‘(i) a citizen or national of the United 

8 States; 

9 ‘‘(ii) an alien lawfully admitted for 

10 permanent residence; or 

11 ‘‘(iii) an alien who is otherwise au12 thorized by the Secretary to be hired, re13 cruited, or referred for employment in the 

14 United States; and 

15 ‘‘(D) if the individual does not attest to 

16 United States citizenship or nationality, such 

17 identification or other authorization number es18 tablished by the Department of Homeland Se19 curity for the alien as the Secretary may speci20 fy. 

21 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYER ATTESTATION AFTER EXAM22 INATION OF DOCUMENTS.—Not later than 3 busi23 ness days after the date of hire, the person or entity 

24 shall attest, under penalty of perjury on the form 

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1 graph (1), that it has verified that the individual is 

2 not an unauthorized alien by— 

3 ‘‘(A) obtaining from the individual the in4 formation described in paragraph (1) and re5 cording such information on the form; 

6 ‘‘(B) examining— 

7 ‘‘(i) a document described in para8 graph (3)(A); or 

9 ‘‘(ii) a document described in para10 graph (3)(B) and a document described in 

11 paragraph (3)(C); and 

12 ‘‘(C) attesting that the information re13 corded on the form is consistent with the docu14 ments examined. 

15 ‘‘(3) ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) DOCUMENTS ESTABLISHING EMPLOY17 MENT AUTHORIZATION AND IDENTITY.—A doc18 ument described in this subparagraph is an in19 dividual’s— 

20 ‘‘(i) United States passport or pass21 port card; 

22 ‘‘(ii) permanent resident card that 

23 contains a photograph; 

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1 dence in the form of an official I–551 (or 

2 successor) stamp from the Department of 

3 Homeland Security or a printed notation 

4 on a machine-readable immigrant visa; 

5 ‘‘(iv) unexpired employment author6 ization card that contains a photograph; 

7 ‘‘(v) in the case of a nonimmigrant 

8 alien authorized to engage in employment 

9 for a specific employer incident to status, 

10 a foreign passport with Form I–94, Form 

11 I–94A, or other documentation as des12 ignated by the Secretary specifying the 

13 alien’s nonimmigrant status as long as 

14 such status has not yet expired and the 

15 proposed employment is not in conflict 

16 with any restrictions or limitations identi17 fied in the documentation; 

18 ‘‘(vi) passport from the Federated 

19 States of Micronesia or the Republic of the 

20 Marshall Islands with Form I–94, Form I– 

21 94A, or other documentation as designated 

22 by the Secretary, indicating nonimmigrant 

23 admission under the Compact of Free As24 sociation Between the United States and 


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1 the Federated States of Micronesia or the 

2 Republic of the Marshall Islands; or 

3 ‘‘(vii) other document designated by 

4 the Secretary, by notice published in the 

5 Federal Register, if the document— 

6 ‘‘(I) contains a photograph of the 

7 individual, biometric identification 

8 data, and other personal identifying 

9 information relating to the individual; 

10 ‘‘(II) is evidence of authorization 

11 for employment in the United States; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(III) contains security features 

14 to make it resistant to tampering, 

15 counterfeiting, and fraudulent use. 

16 ‘‘(B) DOCUMENTS ESTABLISHING EMPLOY17 MENT AUTHORIZATION.—A document described 

18 in this subparagraph is— 

19 ‘‘(i) an individual’s social security ac20 count number card (other than such a card 

21 which specifies on the face that the 

22 issuance of the card does not authorize em23 ployment in the United States); or 

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1 termines, by notice published in the Fed2 eral Register, to be acceptable for purposes 

3 of this subparagraph, provided that such 

4 documentation contains security features 

5 to make it resistant to tampering, counter6 feiting, and fraudulent use. 

7 ‘‘(C) DOCUMENTS ESTABLISHING IDEN8 TITY.—A document described in this subpara9 graph is— 

10 ‘‘(i) an individual’s driver’s license or 

11 identification card if it was issued by a 

12 State or one of the outlying possessions of 

13 the United States and contains a photo14 graph and personal identifying information 

15 relating to the individual; 

16 ‘‘(ii) an individual’s unexpired United 

17 States military identification card; 

18 ‘‘(iii) an individual’s unexpired Native 

19 American tribal identification document 

20 issued by a tribal entity recognized by the 

21 Bureau of Indian Affairs; 

22 ‘‘(iv) in the case of an individual 

23 under 18 years of age, a parent or legal 

24 guardian’s attestation under penalty of law 


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1 as to the identity and age of the individual; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(v) a document establishing identity 

4 that the Secretary determines, by notice 

5 published in the Federal Register, to be ac6 ceptable for purposes of this subparagraph, 

7 if such documentation contains a photo8 graph of the individual, biometric identi9 fication data, and other personal identi10 fying information relating to the indi11 vidual, and security features to make it re12 sistant to tampering, counterfeiting, and 

13 fraudulent use. 

14 ‘‘(D) AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT USE OF

15 CERTAIN DOCUMENTS.—If the Secretary finds 

16 that any document or class of documents de17 scribed in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) does 

18 not reliably establish identity or employment 

19 authorization or is being used fraudulently to 

20 an unacceptable degree, the Secretary may, by 

21 notice published in the Federal Register, pro22 hibit or place conditions on the use of such doc23 ument or class of documents for purposes of 

24 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(4) USE OF THE SYSTEM TO SCREEN IDEN2 TITY AND EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a per4 son or entity that uses the System for the hir5 ing, recruiting, or referring for a fee an indi6 vidual for employment in the United States, 

7 during the period described in subparagraph 

8 (B), the person or entity shall submit an in9 quiry through the System described in sub10 section (a) to seek verification of the identity 

11 and employment authorization of the individual. 

12 ‘‘(B) VERIFICATION PERIOD.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro14 vided in clause (ii), and subject to sub15 section (d), the verification period shall 

16 begin on the date of hire and end on the 

17 date that is 3 business days after the date 

18 of hire, or such other reasonable period as 

19 the Secretary may prescribe. 

20 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of 

21 an alien who is authorized to be employed 

22 in the United States and who provides evi23 dence from the Social Security Administra24 tion that the alien has applied for a social 

25 security account number, the verification 


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1 period shall end 3 business days after the 

2 alien receives the social security account 

3 number. 

4 ‘‘(C) CONFIRMATION.—If a person or enti5 ty receives confirmation of an individual’s iden6 tity and employment authorization, the person 

7 or entity shall record such confirmation on the 

8 form designated by the Secretary for purposes 

9 of paragraph (1). 

10 ‘‘(D) TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMATION.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In cases of ten12 tative nonconfirmation, the Secretary shall 

13 provide, in consultation with the Commis14 sioner, a process for— 

15 ‘‘(I) an individual to contest the 

16 tentative nonconfirmation not later 

17 than 10 business days after the date 

18 of the receipt of the notice described 

19 in clause (ii); and 

20 ‘‘(II) the Secretary to issue a 

21 confirmation or final nonconfirmation 

22 of an individual’s identity and employ23 ment authorization not later than 30 

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1 ceives notice from the individual con2 testing a tentative nonconfirmation. 

3 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—If a person or entity 

4 receives a tentative nonconfirmation of an 

5 individual’s identity or employment author6 ization, the person or entity shall, not later 

7 than 3 business days after receipt, notify 

8 such individual in writing in a language 

9 understood by the individual and on a form 

10 designated by the Secretary, that shall in11 clude a description of the individual’s right 

12 to contest the tentative nonconfirmation. 

13 The person or entity shall attest, under 

14 penalty of perjury, that the person or enti15 ty provided (or attempted to provide) such 

16 notice to the individual, and the individual 

17 shall acknowledge receipt of such notice in 

18 a manner specified by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(iii) NO CONTEST.— 

20 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A tentative 

21 nonconfirmation shall become final if, 

22 upon receiving the notice described in 

23 clause (ii), the individual— 

24 ‘‘(aa) refuses to acknowledge 

25 receipt of such notice; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) acknowledges in writ2 ing, in a manner specified by the 

3 Secretary, that the individual will 

4 not contest the tentative noncon5 firmation; or 

6 ‘‘(cc) fails to contest the 

7 tentative nonconfirmation within 

8 the 10-business-day period begin9 ning on the date the individual 

10 received such notice. 

11 ‘‘(II) RECORD OF NO CON12 TEST.—The person or entity shall in13 dicate in the System that the indi14 vidual did not contest the tentative 

15 nonconfirmation and shall specify the 

16 reason the tentative nonconfirmation 

17 became final under subclause (I). 

18 ‘‘(III) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO

19 CONTEST.—An individual’s failure to 

20 contest a tentative nonconfirmation 

21 shall not be considered an admission 

22 of any fact with respect to any viola23 tion of this Act or any other provision 

24 of law. 

25 ‘‘(iv) CONTEST.— 


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1 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—An individual 

2 may contest a tentative nonconfirma3 tion by using the tentative noncon4 firmation review process under clause 

5 (i), not later than 10 business days 

6 after receiving the notice described in 

7 clause (ii). Except as provided in 

8 clause (iii), the nonconfirmation shall 

9 remain tentative until a confirmation 

10 or final nonconfirmation is provided 

11 by the System. 

12 ‘‘(II) PROHIBITION ON TERMI13 NATION.—In no case shall a person or 

14 entity terminate employment or take 

15 any adverse employment action 

16 against an individual for failure to ob17 tain confirmation of the individual’s 

18 identity and employment authoriza19 tion until the person or entity receives 

20 a notice of final nonconfirmation from 

21 the System. Nothing in this subclause 

22 shall prohibit an employer from termi23 nating the employment of the indi24 vidual for any other lawful reason. 


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1 ‘‘(III) CONFIRMATION OR FINAL

2 NONCONFIRMATION.—The Secretary, 

3 in consultation with the Commis4 sioner, shall issue notice of a con5 firmation or final nonconfirmation of 

6 the individual’s identity and employ7 ment authorization not later than 30 

8 calendar days after the date the Sec9 retary receives notice from the indi10 vidual contesting the tentative non11 confirmation. 

12 ‘‘(E) FINAL NONCONFIRMATION.— 

13 ‘‘(i) NOTICE.—If a person or entity 

14 receives a final nonconfirmation of an indi15 vidual’s identity or employment authoriza16 tion, the person or entity shall, not later 

17 than 3 business days after receipt, notify 

18 such individual of the final nonconfirma19 tion in writing, on a form designated by 

20 the Secretary, which shall include informa21 tion regarding the individual’s right to ap22 peal the final nonconfirmation as provided 

23 under subparagraph (F). The person or 

24 entity shall attest, under penalty of per25 jury, that the person or entity provided (or 


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1 attempted to provide) the notice to the in2 dividual, and the individual shall acknowl3 edge receipt of such notice in a manner 

4 designated by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(ii) TERMINATION OR NOTIFICATION

6 OF CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT.—If a per7 son or entity receives a final nonconfirma8 tion regarding an individual, the person or 

9 entity may terminate employment of the 

10 individual. If the person or entity does not 

11 terminate such employment pending appeal 

12 of the final nonconfirmation, the person or 

13 entity shall notify the Secretary of such 

14 fact through the System. Failure to notify 

15 the Secretary in accordance with this 

16 clause shall be deemed a violation of sec17 tion 274A(a)(1)(A). 

18 ‘‘(iii) PRESUMPTION OF VIOLATION

19 FOR CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT.—If a per20 son or entity continues to employ an indi21 vidual after receipt of a final nonconfirma22 tion, there shall be a rebuttable presump23 tion that the person or entity has violated 

24 paragraphs (1)(A) and (a)(2) of section 

25 274A(a). 


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1 ‘‘(F) APPEAL OF FINAL NONCONFIRMA2 TION.— 

3 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL.—The 

4 Secretary, in consultation with the Com5 missioner, shall develop a process by which 

6 an individual may seek administrative re7 view of a final nonconfirmation. Such proc8 ess shall— 

9 ‘‘(I) permit the individual to sub10 mit additional evidence establishing 

11 identity or employment authorization; 

12 ‘‘(II) ensure prompt resolution of 

13 an appeal (but in no event shall there 

14 be a failure to respond to an appeal 

15 within 30 days); and 

16 ‘‘(III) permit the Secretary to 

17 impose a civil money penalty (not to 

18 exceed $500) on an individual upon 

19 finding that an appeal was frivolous 

20 or filed for purposes of delay. 

21 ‘‘(ii) COMPENSATION FOR LOST

22 WAGES RESULTING FROM GOVERNMENT

23 ERROR OR OMISSION.— 

24 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If, upon con25 sideration of an appeal of a final nonVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00195 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5038.RFS H5038

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1 confirmation, the Secretary deter2 mines that the final nonconfirmation 

3 was issued in error, the Secretary 

4 shall further determine whether the 

5 final nonconfirmation was the result 

6 of government error or omission. If 

7 the Secretary determines that the 

8 final nonconfirmation was solely the 

9 result of government error or omission 

10 and the individual was terminated 

11 from employment, the Secretary shall 

12 compensate the individual for lost 

13 wages. 

14 ‘‘(II) CALCULATION OF LOST

15 WAGES.—Lost wages shall be cal16 culated based on the wage rate and 

17 work schedule that were in effect 

18 prior to the individual’s termination. 

19 The individual shall be compensated 

20 for lost wages beginning on the first 

21 scheduled work day after employment 

22 was terminated and ending 90 days 

23 after completion of the administrative 

24 review process described in this sub25 paragraph or the day the individual is 


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1 reinstated or obtains other employ2 ment, whichever occurs first. 

3 ‘‘(III) LIMITATION ON COM4 PENSATION.—No compensation for 

5 lost wages shall be awarded for any 

6 period during which the individual 

7 was not authorized for employment in 

8 the United States. 

9 ‘‘(IV) SOURCE OF FUNDS.— 

10 There is established in the general 

11 fund of the Treasury, a separate ac12 count which shall be known as the 

13 ‘Electronic Verification Compensation 

14 Account’. Fees collected under sub15 sections (f) and (g) shall be deposited 

16 in the Electronic Verification Com17 pensation Account and shall remain 

18 available for purposes of providing 

19 compensation for lost wages under 

20 this subclause. 

21 ‘‘(iii) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Not later 

22 than 30 days after the dismissal of an ap23 peal under this subparagraph, an indi24 vidual may seek judicial review of such dis25 missal in the United States District Court 


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1 in the jurisdiction in which the employer 

2 resides or conducts business. 

3 ‘‘(5) RETENTION OF VERIFICATION RECORDS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After completing the 

5 form designated by the Secretary in accordance 

6 with paragraphs (1) and (2), the person or enti7 ty shall retain the form in paper, microfiche, 

8 microfilm, electronic, or other format deemed 

9 acceptable by the Secretary, and make it avail10 able for inspection by officers of the Depart11 ment of Homeland Security, the Department of 

12 Justice, or the Department of Labor during the 

13 period beginning on the date the verification is 

14 completed and ending on the later of— 

15 ‘‘(i) the date that is 3 years after the 

16 date of hire; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) the date that is 1 year after the 

18 date on which the individual’s employment 

19 is terminated. 

20 ‘‘(B) COPYING OF DOCUMENTATION PER21 MITTED.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

22 of law, a person or entity may copy a document 

23 presented by an individual pursuant to this sec24 tion and may retain the copy, but only for the 


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1 purpose of complying with the requirements of 

2 this section. 

3 ‘‘(c) REVERIFICATION OF PREVIOUSLY HIRED INDI4 VIDUALS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY REVERIFICATION.—In the 

6 case of a person or entity that uses the System for 

7 the hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee an indi8 vidual for employment in the United States, the per9 son or entity shall submit an inquiry using the Sys10 tem to verify the identity and employment authoriza11 tion of— 

12 ‘‘(A) an individual with a limited period of 

13 employment authorization, within 3 business 

14 days before the date on which such employment 

15 authorization expires; and 

16 ‘‘(B) an individual, not later than 10 days 

17 after receiving a notification from the Secretary 

18 requiring the verification of such individual pur19 suant to subsection (a)(4)(C). 

20 ‘‘(2) REVERIFICATION PROCEDURES.—The 

21 verification procedures under subsection (b) shall 

22 apply to reverifications under this subsection, except 

23 that employers shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) use a form designated by the Sec25 retary for purposes of this paragraph; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) retain the form in paper, microfiche, 

2 microfilm, electronic, or other format deemed 

3 acceptable by the Secretary, and make it avail4 able for inspection by officers of the Depart5 ment of Homeland Security, the Department of 

6 Justice, or the Department of Labor during the 

7 period beginning on the date the reverification 

8 commences and ending on the later of— 

9 ‘‘(i) the date that is 3 years after the 

10 date of reverification; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) the date that is 1 year after the 

12 date on which the individual’s employment 

13 is terminated. 

14 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON REVERIFICATION.—Except 

15 as provided in paragraph (1), a person or entity may 

16 not otherwise reverify the identity and employment 

17 authorization of a current employee, including an 

18 employee continuing in employment. 

19 ‘‘(d) GOOD FAITH COMPLIANCE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro21 vided in this subsection, a person or entity that uses 

22 the System is considered to have complied with the 

23 requirements of this section notwithstanding a tech24 nical failure of the System, or other technical or pro25 cedural failure to meet such requirement if there 


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1 was a good faith attempt to comply with the require2 ment. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR FAILURE TO CORRECT

4 AFTER NOTICE.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply if— 

5 ‘‘(A) the failure is not de minimis; 

6 ‘‘(B) the Secretary has provided notice to 

7 the person or entity of the failure, including an 

8 explanation as to why it is not de minimis; 

9 ‘‘(C) the person or entity has been pro10 vided a period of not less than 30 days (begin11 ning after the date of the notice) to correct the 

12 failure; and 

13 ‘‘(D) the person or entity has not corrected 

14 the failure voluntarily within such period. 

15 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR PATTERN OR PRACTICE

16 VIOLATORS.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a 

17 person or entity that has engaged or is engaging in 

18 a pattern or practice of violations of paragraph 

19 (1)(A) or (2) of section 274A(a). 

20 ‘‘(4) DEFENSE.—In the case of a person or en21 tity that uses the System for the hiring, recruiting, 

22 or referring for a fee an individual for employment 

23 in the United States, the person or entity shall not 

24 be liable to a job applicant, an employee, the Federal 

25 Government, or a State or local government, under 


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1 Federal, State, or local criminal or civil law, for any 

2 employment-related action taken with respect to an 

3 employee in good-faith reliance on information pro4 vided by the System. Such person or entity shall be 

5 deemed to have established compliance with its obli6 gations under this section, absent a showing by the 

7 Secretary, by clear and convincing evidence, that the 

8 employer had knowledge that an employee is an un9 authorized alien. 

10 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) NO NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD.— 

12 Nothing in this section shall be construed to author13 ize, directly or indirectly, the issuance or use of na14 tional identification cards or the establishment of a 

15 national identification card. 

16 ‘‘(2) USE OF RECORDS.—Notwithstanding any 

17 other provision of law, nothing in this section shall 

18 be construed to permit or allow any department, bu19 reau, or other agency of the United States Govern20 ment to utilize any information, database, or other 

21 records assembled under this section for any purpose 

22 other than the verification of identity and employ23 ment authorization of an individual or to ensure the 

24 secure, appropriate, and non-discriminatory use of 

25 the System. 


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1 ‘‘(f) PENALTIES.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this 

3 subsection, the provisions of subsections (e) through 

4 (g) of section 274A shall apply with respect to com5 pliance with the provisions of this section and pen6 alties for non-compliance for persons or entitles that 

7 use the System. 

8 ‘‘(2) CEASE AND DESIST ORDER WITH CIVIL

9 MONEY PENALTIES FOR HIRING, RECRUITING, AND

10 REFERRAL VIOLATIONS.—Notwithstanding the civil 

11 money penalties set forth in section 274A(e)(4), with 

12 respect to a violation of paragraph (1)(A) or (2) of 

13 section 274A(a) by a person or entity that has hired, 

14 recruited, or referred for a fee, an individual for em15 ployment in the United States, a cease and desist 

16 order— 

17 ‘‘(A) shall require the person or entity to 

18 pay a civil penalty in an amount, subject to 

19 subsection (d), of— 

20 ‘‘(i) not less than $2,500 and not 

21 more than $5,000 for each unauthorized 

22 alien with respect to whom a violation of 

23 either such subsection occurred; 

24 ‘‘(ii) not less than $5,000 and not 

25 more than $10,000 for each such alien in 


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1 the case of a person or entity previously 

2 subject to one order under this paragraph; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(iii) not less than $10,000 and not 

5 more than $25,000 for each such alien in 

6 the case of a person or entity previously 

7 subject to more than one order under this 

8 paragraph; and 

9 ‘‘(B) may require the person or entity to 

10 take such other remedial action as appropriate. 

11 ‘‘(3) ORDER FOR CIVIL MONEY PENALTY FOR

12 VIOLATIONS.—With respect to a violation of section 

13 274A(a)(1)(B), the order under this paragraph shall 

14 require the person or entity to pay a civil penalty in 

15 an amount, subject to paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), 

16 of not less than $1,000 and not more than $25,000 

17 for each individual with respect to whom such viola18 tion occurred. Failure by a person or entity to utilize 

19 the System as required by law or providing informa20 tion to the System that the person or entity knows 

21 or reasonably believes to be false, shall be treated as 

22 a violation of section 274A(a)(1)(A). 

23 ‘‘(4) EXEMPTION FROM PENALTY FOR GOOD

24 FAITH VIOLATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person or entity 

2 that uses the System is presumed to have acted 

3 with knowledge for purposes of paragraphs 

4 (1)(A) and (2) of section 274A(a) if the person 

5 or entity fails to make an inquiry to verify the 

6 identity and employment authorization of the 

7 individual through the System. 

8 ‘‘(B) GOOD FAITH EXEMPTION.—In the 

9 case of imposition of a civil penalty under para10 graph (2)(A) with respect to a violation of para11 graph (1)(A) or (2) of section 274A(a) for hir12 ing or continuation of employment or recruit13 ment or referral by a person or entity, and in 

14 the case of imposition of a civil penalty under 

15 paragraph (3) for a violation of section 

16 274A(a)(1)(B) for hiring or recruitment or re17 ferral by a person or entity, the penalty other18 wise imposed may be waived or reduced if the 

19 person or entity establishes that the person or 

20 entity acted in good faith. 

21 ‘‘(5) MITIGATION ELEMENTS.—For purposes of 

22 paragraphs (2)(A) and (3), when assessing the level 

23 of civil money penalties, in addition to the good faith 

24 of the person or entity being charged, due consider25 ation shall be given to the size of the business, the 


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1 seriousness of the violation, whether or not the indi2 vidual was an unauthorized alien, and the history of 

3 previous violations. 

4 ‘‘(6) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Notwithstanding 

5 section 274A(f)(1) and the provisions of any other 

6 Federal law relating to fine levels, any person or en7 tity that is required to comply with the provisions of 

8 this section and that engages in a pattern or prac9 tice of violations of paragraph (1) or (2) of section 

10 274A(a), shall be fined not more than $5,000 for 

11 each unauthorized alien with respect to whom such 

12 a violation occurs, imprisoned for not more than 18 

13 months, or both. 

14 ‘‘(7) ELECTRONIC VERIFICATION COMPENSA15 TION ACCOUNT.—Civil money penalties collected 

16 under this subsection shall be deposited in the Elec17 tronic Verification Compensation Account for the 

18 purpose of compensating individuals for lost wages 

19 as a result of a final nonconfirmation issued by the 

20 System that was based on government error or omis21 sion, as set forth in subsection (b)(4)(F)(ii)(IV). 

22 ‘‘(8) DEBARMENT.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a person or entity 

24 is determined by the Secretary to be a repeat 

25 violator of paragraph (1)(A) or (2) of section 


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1 274A(a) or is convicted of a crime under sec2 tion 274A, such person or entity may be consid3 ered for debarment from the receipt of Federal 

4 contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements in 

5 accordance with the debarment standards and 

6 pursuant to the debarment procedures set forth 

7 in the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

8 ‘‘(B) NO CONTRACT, GRANT, AGREE9 MENT.—If the Secretary or the Attorney Gen10 eral wishes to have a person or entity consid11 ered for debarment in accordance with this 

12 paragraph, and such a person or entity does not 

13 hold a Federal contract, grant or cooperative 

14 agreement, the Secretary or Attorney General 

15 shall refer the matter to the Administrator of 

16 General Services to determine whether to list 

17 the person or entity on the List of Parties Ex18 cluded from Federal Procurement, and if so, for 

19 what duration and under what scope. 

20 ‘‘(C) CONTRACT, GRANT, AGREEMENT.—If 

21 the Secretary or the Attorney General wishes to 

22 have a person or entity considered for debar23 ment in accordance with this paragraph, and 

24 such person or entity holds a Federal contract, 

25 grant, or cooperative agreement, the Secretary 


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1 or Attorney General shall advise all agencies or 

2 departments holding a contract, grant, or coop3 erative agreement with the person or entity of 

4 the Government’s interest in having the person 

5 or entity considered for debarment, and after 

6 soliciting and considering the views of all such 

7 agencies and departments, the Secretary or At8 torney General may refer the matter to the ap9 propriate lead agency to determine whether to 

10 list the person or entity on the List of Parties 

11 Excluded from Federal Procurement, and if so, 

12 for what duration and under what scope. 

13 ‘‘(D) REVIEW.—Any decision to debar a 

14 person or entity in accordance with this sub15 section shall be reviewable pursuant to part 9.4 

16 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

17 ‘‘(9) PREEMPTION.—The provisions of this sec18 tion preempt any State or local law, ordinance, pol19 icy, or rule, including any criminal or civil fine or 

20 penalty structure, relating to the hiring, continued 

21 employment, or status verification for employment 

22 eligibility purposes, of unauthorized aliens, except 

23 that a State, locality, municipality, or political sub24 division may exercise its authority over business liVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00208 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5038.RFS H5038

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1 censing and similar laws as a penalty for failure to 

2 use the System as required under this section. 

3 ‘‘(g) UNFAIR IMMIGRATION-RELATED EMPLOYMENT

4 PRACTICES AND THE SYSTEM.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the prohibi6 tions on discrimination set forth in section 274B, it 

7 is an unfair immigration-related employment prac8 tice for a person or entity, in the course of utilizing 

9 the System— 

10 ‘‘(A) to use the System for screening an 

11 applicant prior to the date of hire; 

12 ‘‘(B) to terminate the employment of an 

13 individual or take any adverse employment ac14 tion with respect to that individual due to a 

15 tentative nonconfirmation issued by the System; 

16 ‘‘(C) to use the System to screen any indi17 vidual for any purpose other than confirmation 

18 of identity and employment authorization as 

19 provided in this section; 

20 ‘‘(D) to use the System to verify the iden21 tity and employment authorization of a current 

22 employee, including an employee continuing in 

23 employment, other than reverification author24 ized under subsection (c); 


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1 ‘‘(E) to use the System to discriminate 

2 based on national origin or citizenship status; 

3 ‘‘(F) to willfully fail to provide an indi4 vidual with any notice required under this title; 

5 ‘‘(G) to require an individual to make an 

6 inquiry under the self-verification procedures 

7 described in subsection (a)(4)(B) or to provide 

8 the results of such an inquiry as a condition of 

9 employment, or hiring, recruiting, or referring; 

10 or 

11 ‘‘(H) to terminate the employment of an 

12 individual or take any adverse employment ac13 tion with respect to that individual based upon 

14 the need to verify the identity and employment 

15 authorization of the individual as required by 

16 subsection (b). 

17 ‘‘(2) PREEMPLOYMENT SCREENING AND BACK18 GROUND CHECK.—Nothing in paragraph (1)(A) 

19 shall be construed to preclude a preemployment 

20 screening or background check that is required or 

21 permitted under any other provision of law. 

22 ‘‘(3) CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES FOR DISCRIMINA23 TORY CONDUCT.—Notwithstanding section 

24 274B(g)(2)(B)(iv), the penalties that may be im25 posed by an administrative law judge with respect to 


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1 a finding that a person or entity has engaged in an 

2 unfair immigration-related employment practice de3 scribed in paragraph (1) are— 

4 ‘‘(A) not less than $1,000 and not more 

5 than $4,000 for each individual discriminated 

6 against; 

7 ‘‘(B) in the case of a person or entity pre8 viously subject to a single order under this 

9 paragraph, not less than $4,000 and not more 

10 than $10,000 for each individual discriminated 

11 against; and 

12 ‘‘(C) in the case of a person or entity pre13 viously subject to more than one order under 

14 this paragraph, not less than $6,000 and not 

15 more than $20,000 for each individual discrimi16 nated against. 

17 ‘‘(4) ELECTRONIC VERIFICATION COMPENSA18 TION ACCOUNT.—Civil money penalties collected 

19 under this subsection shall be deposited in the Elec20 tronic Verification Compensation Account for the 

21 purpose of compensating individuals for lost wages 

22 as a result of a final nonconfirmation issued by the 

23 System that was based on government error or omis24 sion, as set forth in subsection (b)(4)(F)(ii)(IV). 


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1 ‘‘(h) CLARIFICATION.—All rights and remedies pro2 vided under any Federal, State, or local law relating to 

3 workplace rights, including but not limited to back pay, 

4 are available to an employee despite— 

5 ‘‘(1) the employee’s status as an unauthorized 

6 alien during or after the period of employment; or 

7 ‘‘(2) the employer’s or employee’s failure to 

8 comply with the requirements of this section. 

9 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘date of 

10 hire’ means the date on which employment for pay or 

11 other remuneration commences.’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con13 tents for the Immigration and Nationality Act is amended 

14 by inserting after the item relating to section 274D the 

15 following: 

‘‘Sec. 274E. Requirements for the electronic verification of employment eligibility.’’. 

16 SEC. 302. MANDATORY ELECTRONIC VERIFICATION FOR 

17 THE AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The requirements for the elec19 tronic verification of identity and employment authoriza20 tion described in section 274E of the Immigration and Na21 tionality Act, as inserted by section 301 of this Act, shall 

22 apply to a person or entity hiring, recruiting, or referring 

23 for a fee an individual for agricultural employment in the 


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1 United States in accordance with the effective dates set 

2 forth in subsection (b). 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

4 (1) HIRING.—Subsection (a) shall apply to a 

5 person or entity hiring an individual for agricultural 

6 employment in the United States as follows: 

7 (A) With respect to employers having 500 

8 or more employees in the United States on the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, on the date 

10 that is 6 months after completion of the appli11 cation period described in section 101(c). 

12 (B) With respect to employers having 100 

13 or more employees in the United States (but 

14 less than 500 such employees) on the date of 

15 the enactment of this Act, on the date that is 

16 9 months after completion of the application pe17 riod described in section 101(c). 

18 (C) With respect to employers having 20 

19 or more employees in the United States (but 

20 less than 100 such employees) on the date of 

21 the enactment of this Act, on the date that is 

22 12 months after completion of the application 

23 period described in section 101(c). 

24 (D) With respect to employers having one 

25 or more employees in the United States, (but 


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1 less than 20 such employees) on the date of the 

2 enactment of this Act, on the date that is 15 

3 months after completion of the application pe4 riod described in section 101(c). 

5 (2) RECRUITING AND REFERRING FOR A FEE.— 

6 Subsection (a) shall apply to a person or entity re7 cruiting or referring for a fee an individual for agri8 cultural employment in the United States on the 

9 date that is 12 months after completion of the appli10 cation period described in section 101(c). 

11 (3) TRANSITION RULE.—Except as required 

12 under subtitle A of title IV of the Illegal Immigra13 tion Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 

14 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) (as in effect on the day 

15 before the effective date described in section 

16 303(a)(4)), Executive Order No. 13465 (8 U.S.C. 

17 1324a note; relating to Government procurement), 

18 or any State law requiring persons or entities to use 

19 the E–Verify Program described in section 403(a) of 

20 the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Re21 sponsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) (as 

22 in effect on the day before the effective date de23 scribed in section 303(a)(4)), sections 274A and 

24 274B of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

25 U.S.C. 1324a and 1324b) shall apply to a person or 


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1 entity hiring, recruiting, or referring an individual 

2 for employment in the United States until the appli3 cable effective date under this subsection. 

4 (4) E–VERIFY VOLUNTARY USERS AND OTHERS

5 DESIRING EARLY COMPLIANCE.—Nothing in this 

6 subsection shall be construed to prohibit persons or 

7 entities, including persons or entities that have vol8 untarily elected to participate in the E–Verify Pro9 gram described in section 403(a) of the Illegal Im10 migration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act 

11 of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) (as in effect on the 

12 day before the effective date described in section 

13 303(a)(4)), from seeking early compliance on a vol14 untary basis. 

15 (c) RURAL ACCESS TO ASSISTANCE FOR TENTATIVE

16 NONCONFIRMATION REVIEW PROCESS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

18 Security shall coordinate with the Secretary of Agri19 culture, in consultation with the Commissioner of 

20 Social Security, to create a process for individuals to 

21 seek assistance in contesting a tentative noncon22 firmation as described in section 274E(b)(4)(D) of 

23 the Immigration and Nationality Act, as inserted by 

24 section 301 of this Act, at local offices or service 

25 centers of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 


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1 (2) STAFFING AND RESOURCES.—The Sec2 retary of Homeland Security and Secretary of Agri3 culture shall ensure that local offices and service 

4 centers of the U.S. Department of Agriculture are 

5 staffed appropriately and have the resources nec6 essary to provide information and support to individ7 uals seeking the assistance described in paragraph 

8 (1), including by facilitating communication between 

9 such individuals and the Department of Homeland 

10 Security or the Social Security Administration. 

11 (3) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this sub12 section shall be construed to delegate authority or 

13 transfer responsibility for reviewing and resolving 

14 tentative nonconfirmations from the Secretary of 

15 Homeland Security and the Commissioner of Social 

16 Security to the Secretary of Agriculture. 

17 (d) DOCUMENT ESTABLISHING EMPLOYMENT AU18 THORIZATION AND IDENTITY.—In accordance with section 

19 274E(b)(3)(A)(vii) of the Immigration and Nationality 

20 Act, as inserted by section 301 of this Act, and not later 

21 than 12 months after the completion of the application 

22 period described in section 101(c) of this Act, the Sec23 retary of Homeland Security shall recognize documentary 

24 evidence of certified agricultural worker status described 

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1 ment authorization and identity for purposes of section 

2 274E(b)(3)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

3 as inserted by section 301 of this Act. 

4 (e) AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT.—For purposes of 

5 this section, the term ‘‘agricultural employment’’ means 

6 agricultural labor or services, as defined by section 

7 101(a)(15)(H)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

8 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)), as amended by this Act. 

9 SEC. 303. COORDINATION WITH E–VERIFY PROGRAM. 

10 (a) REPEAL.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title IV of the 

12 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Respon13 sibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) is re14 pealed. 

15 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec16 tions, in section 1(d) of the Illegal Immigration Re17 form and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, is 

18 amended by striking the items relating to subtitle A 

19 of title IV. 

20 (3) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any Fed21 eral, State, or local law, Executive order, rule, regu22 lation, or delegation of authority, or any document 

23 of, or pertaining to, the Department of Homeland 

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1 scribed in section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration 

2 Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

3 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note), or to the employment eligi4 bility confirmation system established under section 

5 404 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi6 grant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a 

7 note), is deemed to refer to the employment eligi8 bility confirmation system established under section 

9 274E of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as in10 serted by section 301 of this Act. 

11 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection, and 

12 the amendments made by this subsection, shall take 

13 effect on the date that is 30 days after the date on 

14 which final rules are published under section 309(a). 

15 (b) FORMER E–VERIFY MANDATORY USERS, IN16 CLUDING FEDERAL CONTRACTORS.—Beginning on the ef17 fective date in subsection (a)(4), the Secretary of Home18 land Security shall require employers required to partici19 pate in the E–Verify Program described in section 403(a) 

20 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Respon21 sibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) by reason of 

22 any Federal, State, or local law, Executive order, rule, reg23 ulation, or delegation of authority, including employers re24 quired to participate in such program by reason of Federal 

25 acquisition laws (and regulations promulgated under those 


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1 laws, including the Federal Acquisition Regulation), to 

2 comply with the requirements of section 274E of the Im3 migration and Nationality Act, as inserted by section 301 

4 of this Act (and any additional requirements of such Fed5 eral acquisition laws and regulation) in lieu of any require6 ment to participate in the E–Verify Program. 

7 (c) FORMER E–VERIFY VOLUNTARY USERS.—Begin8 ning on the effective date in subsection (a)(4), the Sec9 retary of Homeland Security shall provide for the vol10 untary compliance with the requirements of section 274E 

11 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as inserted by 

12 section 301 of this Act, by employers voluntarily electing 

13 to participate in the E–Verify Program described in sec14 tion 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi15 grant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) 

16 before such date. 

17 SEC. 304. FRAUD AND MISUSE OF DOCUMENTS. 

18 Section 1546(b) of title 18, United States Code, is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘identification 

21 document,’’ and inserting ‘‘identification document 

22 or document meant to establish employment author23 ization,’’; 

24 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘identification 

25 document’’ and inserting ‘‘identification document or 


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1 document meant to establish employment authoriza2 tion,’’; and 

3 (3) in the matter following paragraph (3) by in4 serting ‘‘or section 274E(b)’’ after ‘‘section 

5 274A(b)’’. 

6 SEC. 305. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

7 (a) UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT OF ALIENS.—Section 

8 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

9 1324a) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii) of subsection (a), by 

11 striking ‘‘subsection (b).’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

12 274B.’’; and 

13 (2) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) of 

14 subsection (b), by striking ‘‘The requirements re15 ferred’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in section 

16 274E, the requirements referred’’. 

17 (b) UNFAIR IMMIGRATION-RELATED EMPLOYMENT

18 PRACTICES.—Section 274B(a)(1) of the Immigration and 

19 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(1)) is amended in the 

20 matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘includ21 ing misuse of the verification system as described in sec22 tion 274E(g)’’ after ‘‘referral for a fee,’’. 


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1 SEC. 306. PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRA2 TION PROGRAMS. 

3 (a) FUNDING UNDER AGREEMENT.—Effective for 

4 fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2019, the 

5 Commissioner and the Secretary shall ensure that an 

6 agreement is in place which shall— 

7 (1) provide funds to the Commissioner for the 

8 full costs of the responsibilities of the Commissioner 

9 with respect to employment eligibility verification, 

10 including under this title and the amendments made 

11 by this title, and including— 

12 (A) acquiring, installing, and maintaining 

13 technological equipment and systems necessary 

14 for the fulfillment of such responsibilities, but 

15 only that portion of such costs that are attrib16 utable exclusively to such responsibilities; and 

17 (B) responding to individuals who contest 

18 a tentative nonconfirmation or administratively 

19 appeal a final nonconfirmation provided with 

20 respect to employment eligibility verification; 

21 (2) provide such funds annually in advance of 

22 the applicable quarter based on an estimating meth23 odology agreed to by the Commissioner and the Sec24 retary (except in such instances where the delayed 

25 enactment of an annual appropriation may preclude 

26 such quarterly payments); and 


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1 (3) require an annual accounting and reconcili2 ation of the actual costs incurred and the funds pro3 vided under the agreement, which shall be reviewed 

4 by the Inspectors General of the Social Security Ad5 ministration and the Department of Homeland Secu6 rity. 

7 (b) CONTINUATION OF EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION

8 IN ABSENCE OF TIMELY AGREEMENT.—In any case in 

9 which the agreement required under subsection (a) for any 

10 fiscal year beginning on or after October 1, 2019, has not 

11 been reached as of October 1 of such fiscal year, the latest 

12 agreement described in such subsection shall be deemed 

13 in effect on an interim basis for such fiscal year until such 

14 time as an agreement required under subsection (a) is sub15 sequently reached, except that the terms of such interim 

16 agreement shall be modified to adjust for inflation and any 

17 increase or decrease in the volume of requests under the 

18 employment eligibility verification system. In any case in 

19 which an interim agreement applies for any fiscal year 

20 under this subsection, the Commissioner and the Sec21 retary shall, not later than October 1 of such fiscal year, 

22 notify the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee 

23 on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Appropriations 

24 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

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1 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate of the failure to 

2 reach the agreement required under subsection (a) for 

3 such fiscal year. Until such time as the agreement re4 quired under subsection (a) has been reached for such fis5 cal year, the Commissioner and the Secretary shall, not 

6 later than the end of each 90-day period after October 

7 1 of such fiscal year, notify such Committees of the status 

8 of negotiations between the Commissioner and the Sec9 retary in order to reach such an agreement. 

10 SEC. 307. REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 

11 ELECTRONIC EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION 

12 SYSTEM. 

13 Not later than 24 months after the date on which 

14 final rules are published under section 309(a), and annu15 ally thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

16 report that includes the following: 

17 (1) An assessment of the accuracy rates of the 

18 responses of the electronic employment verification 

19 system established under section 274E of the Immi20 gration and Nationality Act, as inserted by section 

21 301 of this Act (referred to in this section as the 

22 ‘‘System’’), including tentative and final noncon23 firmation notices issued to employment-authorized 

24 individuals and confirmation notices issued to indi25 viduals who are not employment-authorized. 


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1 (2) An assessment of any challenges faced by 

2 persons or entities (including small employers) in 

3 utilizing the System. 

4 (3) An assessment of any challenges faced by 

5 employment-authorized individuals who are issued 

6 tentative or final nonconfirmation notices. 

7 (4) An assessment of the incidence of unfair 

8 immigration-related employment practices, as de9 scribed in section 274E(g) of the Immigration and 

10 Nationality Act, as inserted by section 301 of this 

11 Act, related to the use of the System. 

12 (5) An assessment of the photo matching and 

13 other identity authentication tools, as described in 

14 section 274E(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nation15 ality Act, as inserted by section 301 of this Act, in16 cluding— 

17 (A) an assessment of the accuracy rates of 

18 such tools; 

19 (B) an assessment of the effectiveness of 

20 such tools at preventing identity fraud and 

21 other misuse of identifying information; 

22 (C) an assessment of any challenges faced 

23 by persons, entities, or individuals utilizing such 

24 tools; and 


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1 (D) an assessment of operation and main2 tenance costs associated with such tools. 

3 (6) A summary of the activities and findings of 

4 the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services E– 

5 Verify Monitoring and Compliance Branch, or any 

6 successor office, including— 

7 (A) the number, types and outcomes of au8 dits, investigations, and other compliance activi9 ties initiated by the Branch in the previous 

10 year; 

11 (B) the capacity of the Branch to detect 

12 and prevent violations of section 274E(g) of the 

13 Immigration and Nationality Act, as inserted by 

14 this Act; and 

15 (C) an assessment of the degree to which 

16 persons and entities misuse the System, includ17 ing— 

18 (i) use of the System before an indi19 vidual’s date of hire; 

20 (ii) failure to provide required notifi21 cations to individuals; 

22 (iii) use of the System to interfere 

23 with or otherwise impede individuals’ as24 sertions of their rights under other laws; 

25 and 


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1 (iv) use of the System for unauthor2 ized purposes; and 

3 (7) An assessment of the impact of implementa4 tion of the System in the agricultural industry and 

5 the use of the verification system in agricultural in6 dustry hiring and business practices. 

7 SEC. 308. MODERNIZING AND STREAMLINING THE EMPLOY8 MENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROCESS. 

9 Not later than 12 months after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the 

11 Commissioner, shall submit to Congress a plan to mod12 ernize and streamline the employment eligibility 

13 verification process that shall include— 

14 (1) procedures to allow persons and entities to 

15 verify the identity and employment authorization of 

16 newly hired individuals where the in-person, physical 

17 examination of identity and employment authoriza18 tion documents is not practicable; 

19 (2) a proposal to create a simplified employ20 ment verification process that allows employers that 

21 utilize the employment eligibility verification system 

22 established under section 274E of the Immigration 

23 and Nationality Act, as inserted by section 301 of 

24 this Act, to verify the identity and employment au25 thorization of individuals without also having to 


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1 complete and retain Form I–9, Employment Eligi2 bility Verification, or any subsequent replacement 

3 form; and 

4 (3) any other proposal that the Secretary deter5 mines would simplify the employment eligibility 

6 verification process without compromising the integ7 rity or security of the system. 

8 SEC. 309. RULEMAKING AND PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days prior to 

10 the end of the application period defined in section 101(c) 

11 of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Reg12 ister proposed rules implementing this title and the 

13 amendments made by this title. The Secretary shall final14 ize such rules not later than 180 days after the date of 

15 publication. 

16 (b) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements under 

18 chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, (com19 monly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act’’) 

20 shall apply to any action to implement this title or 

21 the amendments made by this title. 

22 (2) ELECTRONIC FORMS.—All forms designated 

23 or established by the Secretary that are necessary to 

24 implement this title and the amendments made by 

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1 tronic formats, and shall be designed in such a man2 ner to facilitate electronic completion, storage, and 

3 transmittal. 

4 (3) LIMITATION ON USE OF FORMS.—All forms 

5 designated or established by the Secretary that are 

6 necessary to implement this title, and the amend7 ments made by this title, and any information con8 tained in or appended to such forms, may not be 

9 used for purposes other than for enforcement of this 

10 Act and any other provision of Federal criminal law. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 11, 

2019. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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