IB 

Union Calendar No. 263 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5038 

[Report No. 116–328, Part I] 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 12, 2019 

Ms. LOFGREN (for herself, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. PETERSON, Mr. SIMPSON, 

Mr. NADLER, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. COX of California, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. COSTA, 

Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. COLE, Mr. 

BRINDISI, Mr. CURTIS, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS

of Illinois, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mrs. RODGERS of Washington, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. MITCHELL, Mr. CORREA, Mr. 

NUNES, Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico, Mr. REED, Ms. GARCIA of 

Texas, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. 

CARBAJAL, Mr. UPTON, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. YOUNG, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. 

WALDEN, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. SPANBERGER, Mr. 

VELA, Mrs. TORRES of California, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. SMUCKER, Mr. 

PETERS, Mr. TIPTON, and Mr. CROW) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the 

Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Labor, and Financial 

Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

DECEMBER 9, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Mr. STEWART, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. KING of New York, 

Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. DELGADO, Mr. KIND, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. 

THOMPSON of California, Mr. RUIZ, Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. BASS, and Mr. 

O’HALLERAN


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DECEMBER 9, 2019 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

DECEMBER 9, 2019 

Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Labor, and Financial Services discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on November 12, 2019] 

A BILL 

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. 


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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

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

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

7 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. 


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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. 

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 services 

15 in the United States for at least 1,035 hours (or 

16 180 work days) during the 2-year period pre17 ceding the date of the introduction of this Act; 

18 (B) is inadmissible or deportable from the 

19 United States on the date of the introduction of 

20 this Act; 

21 (C) subject to section 104, has been continu22 ously present in the United States since the date 

23 of the introduction of this Act and until the date 

24 on which the alien is granted certified agricul25 tural worker status; and 


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1 (D) is not otherwise ineligible for certified 

2 agricultural worker status as provided in sub3 section (b). 

4 (2) DEPENDENT SPOUSE AND CHILDREN.—The 

5 Secretary may grant certified agricultural dependent 

6 status to the spouse or child of an alien granted cer7 tified agricultural worker status under paragraph (1) 

8 if the spouse or child is not ineligible for certified ag9 ricultural dependent status as provided in subsection 

10 (b). 

11 (b) GROUNDS FOR INELIGIBILITY.— 

12 (1) GROUNDS OF INADMISSIBILITY.—Except as 

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

14 certified agricultural worker or certified agricultural 

15 dependent status if the Secretary determines that the 

16 alien is inadmissible under section 212(a) of the Im17 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)), 

18 except that in determining inadmissibility— 

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

20 such section shall not apply; 

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

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

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

24 not apply unless based on the act of unlawfully 


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1 entering the United States after the date of in2 troduction of this Act; and 

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

4 section 212(a) shall not apply unless the relevant 

5 conduct began on or after the date of filing of the 

6 application for certified agricultural worker sta7 tus. 

8 (2) ADDITIONAL CRIMINAL BARS.—Except as 

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

10 certified agricultural worker or certified agricultural 

11 dependent status if the Secretary determines that, ex12 cluding any offense under State law for which an es13 sential element is the alien’s immigration status and 

14 any minor traffic offense, the alien has been convicted 

15 of— 

16 (A) any felony offense; 

17 (B) an aggravated felony (as defined in sec18 tion 101(a)(43) of the Immigration and Nation19 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)) at the time of 

20 the conviction); 

21 (C) two misdemeanor offenses involving 

22 moral turpitude, as described in section 

23 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) of the Immigration and Na24 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(I)), unVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 less an offense is waived by the Secretary under 

2 paragraph (3)(B); or 

3 (D) three or more misdemeanor offenses not 

4 occurring on the same date, and not arising out 

5 of the same act, omission, or scheme of mis6 conduct. 

7 (3) WAIVERS FOR CERTAIN GROUNDS OF INAD8 MISSIBILITY.—For humanitarian purposes, family 

9 unity, or if otherwise in the public interest, the Sec10 retary may waive the grounds of inadmissibility 

11 under— 

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

13 section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nation14 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)); or 

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

16 212(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

17 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)), unless inadmissibility 

18 is based on a conviction that would otherwise 

19 render the alien ineligible under subparagraph 

20 (A), (B), or (D) of paragraph (2). 

21 (c) APPLICATION.— 

22 (1) APPLICATION PERIOD.—Except as provided 

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

24 applications for certified agricultural worker status 

25 during the 18-month period beginning on the date on 


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1 which the interim final rule is published in the Fed2 eral Register pursuant to section 122(a). 

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

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

5 that additional time is required to process initial ap6 plications for certified agricultural worker status or 

7 for other good cause, the Secretary may extend the pe8 riod for accepting applications for up to an addi9 tional 12 months. 

10 (3) SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS.— 

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

12 application with the Secretary under this section 

13 with the assistance of an attorney or a nonprofit 

14 religious, charitable, social service, or similar or15 ganization recognized by the Board of Immigra16 tion Appeals under section 292.2 of title 8, Code 

17 of Federal Regulations. The Secretary shall also 

18 create a procedure for accepting applications 

19 filed by qualified designated entities with the 

20 consent of the applicant. 

21 (B) FARM SERVICE AGENCY OFFICES.—The 

22 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

23 Agriculture, shall establish a process for the fil24 ing of applications under this section at Farm 


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1 Service Agency offices throughout the United 

2 States. 

3 (4) EVIDENCE OF APPLICATION FILING.—As soon 

4 as practicable after receiving an application for cer5 tified agricultural worker status, the Secretary shall 

6 provide the applicant with a document acknowledging 

7 the receipt of such application. Such document shall 

8 serve as interim proof of the alien’s authorization to 

9 accept employment in the United States and shall be 

10 accepted by an employer as evidence of employment 

11 authorization under section 274A(b)(1)(C) of the Im12 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

13 1324a(b)(1)(C)), pending a final administrative deci14 sion on the application. 

15 (5) EFFECT OF PENDING APPLICATION.—During 

16 the period beginning on the date on which an alien 

17 applies for certified agricultural worker status under 

18 this subtitle, and ending on the date on which the 

19 Secretary makes a final administrative decision re20 garding such application, the alien and any depend21 ents included in the application— 

22 (A) may apply for advance parole, which 

23 shall be granted upon demonstrating a legitimate 

24 need to travel outside the United States for a 

25 temporary purpose; 


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1 (B) may not be detained by the Secretary or 

2 removed from the United States unless the Sec3 retary makes a prima facie determination that 

4 such alien is, or has become, ineligible for cer5 tified agricultural worker status; 

6 (C) may not be considered unlawfully 

7 present under section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Immi8 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

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

10 (D) may not be considered an unauthorized 

11 alien (as defined in section 274A(h)(3) of the 

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

13 1324a(h)(3))). 

14 (6) WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATION.—The Sec15 retary shall, upon receipt of a request from the appli16 cant to withdraw an application for certified agricul17 tural worker status under this subtitle, cease proc18 essing of the application, and close the case. With19 drawal of the application shall not prejudice any fu20 ture application filed by the applicant for any immi21 gration benefit under this Act or under the Immigra22 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 

23 (d) ADJUDICATION AND DECISION.— 

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

25 Secretary shall render a decision on an application 


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1 for certified agricultural worker status not later than 

2 180 days after the date the application is filed. 

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

4 for certified agricultural worker status, the Secretary 

5 shall provide the alien with— 

6 (A) written notice that describes the basis 

7 for ineligibility or the deficiencies in the evidence 

8 submitted; and 

9 (B) at least 90 days to contest ineligibility 

10 or submit additional evidence. 

11 (3) AMENDED APPLICATION.—An alien whose 

12 application for certified agricultural worker status is 

13 denied under this section may submit an amended 

14 application for such status to the Secretary if the 

15 amended application is submitted within the applica16 tion period described in subsection (c) and contains 

17 all the required information and fees that were miss18 ing from the initial application. 

19 (e) ALTERNATIVE H-2A STATUS.—An alien who has 

20 not met the required period of agricultural labor or services 

21 under subsection (a)(1)(A), but is otherwise eligible for cer22 tified agricultural worker status under such subsection, 

23 shall be eligible for classification as a nonimmigrant de24 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration 

25 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)) upon 


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1 approval of a petition submitted by a sponsoring employer, 

2 if the alien has performed at least 575 hours (or 100 work 

3 days) of agricultural labor or services during the 3-year pe4 riod preceding the date of the introduction of this Act. The 

5 Secretary shall create a procedure to provide for such classi6 fication without requiring the alien to depart the United 

7 States and obtain a visa abroad. 

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

9 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

10 (1) APPROVAL.—Upon approval of an applica11 tion for certified agricultural worker status, or an ex12 tension of such status pursuant to section 103, the 

13 Secretary shall issue— 

14 (A) documentary evidence of such status to 

15 the applicant; and 

16 (B) documentary evidence of certified agri17 cultural dependent status to any qualified de18 pendent included on such application. 

19 (2) DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE.—In addition to 

20 any other features and information as the Secretary 

21 may prescribe, the documentary evidence described in 

22 paragraph (1)— 

23 (A) shall be machine-readable and tamper24 resistant; 

25 (B) shall contain a digitized photograph; 


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

2 document for purposes of applying for admission 

3 to the United States; and 

4 (D) shall be accepted during the period of 

5 its validity by an employer as evidence of em6 ployment authorization and identity under sec7 tion 274A(b)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Na8 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)(B)). 

9 (3) VALIDITY PERIOD.—Certified agricultural 

10 worker and certified agricultural dependent status 

11 shall be valid for five and one-half years beginning on 

12 the date of approval. 

13 (4) TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION.—An alien with 

14 certified agricultural worker or certified agricultural 

15 dependent status may— 

16 (A) travel within and outside of the United 

17 States, including commuting to the United 

18 States from a residence in a foreign country; and 

19 (B) be admitted to the United States upon 

20 return from travel abroad without first obtaining 

21 a visa if the alien is in possession of— 

22 (i) valid, unexpired documentary evi23 dence of certified agricultural worker or cer24 tified agricultural worker dependent status 

25 as described in subsection (a); or 


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1 (ii) a travel document that has been 

2 approved by the Secretary and was issued 

3 to the alien after the alien’s original docu4 mentary evidence was lost, stolen, or de5 stroyed. 

6 (b) ABILITY TO CHANGE STATUS.— 

7 (1) CHANGE TO CERTIFIED AGRICULTURAL

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

9 an alien with valid certified agricultural dependent 

10 status may apply to change to certified agricultural 

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

12 (A) submits a completed application, in13 cluding the required processing fees; and 

14 (B) is not ineligible for certified agricul15 tural worker status under section 101(b). 

16 (2) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this title pro17 hibits an alien granted certified agricultural worker 

18 or certified agricultural dependent status from chang19 ing status to any other nonimmigrant classification 

20 for which the alien may be eligible. 

21 (c) PROHIBITION ON PUBLIC BENEFITS, TAX BENE22 FITS, AND HEALTH CARE SUBSIDIES.—Aliens granted cer23 tified agricultural worker or certified agricultural depend24 ent status shall be considered lawfully present in the United 


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1 States for all purposes for the duration of their status, ex2 cept that such aliens— 

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

4 public benefits to the same extent as other individuals 

5 who are not qualified aliens under section 431 of the 

6 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Rec7 onciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641); 

8 (2) are not entitled to the premium assistance 

9 tax credit authorized under section 36B of the Inter10 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 36B), and shall 

11 be subject to the rules applicable to individuals who 

12 are not lawfully present set forth in subsection (e) of 

13 such section; 

14 (3) shall be subject to the rules applicable to in15 dividuals who are not lawfully present set forth in 

16 section 1402(e) of the Patient Protection and Afford17 able Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18071(e)); and 

18 (4) shall be subject to the rules applicable to in19 dividuals not lawfully present set forth in section 

20 5000A(d)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 

21 U.S.C. 5000A(d)(3)). 

22 (d) REVOCATION OF STATUS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may revoke cer24 tified agricultural worker or certified agricultural de25 pendent status if, after providing notice to the alien 


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1 and the opportunity to provide evidence to contest the 

2 proposed revocation, the Secretary determines that the 

3 alien no longer meets the eligibility requirements for 

4 such status under section 101(b). 

5 (2) INVALIDATION OF DOCUMENTATION.—Upon 

6 the Secretary’s final determination to revoke an 

7 alien’s certified agricultural worker or certified agri8 cultural dependent status, any documentation issued 

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

10 shall automatically be rendered invalid for any pur11 pose except for departure from the United States. 

12 SEC. 103. EXTENSIONS OF CERTIFIED STATUS. 

13 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR EXTENSIONS OF STATUS.— 

14 (1) PRINCIPAL ALIENS.—The Secretary may ex15 tend certified agricultural worker status for addi16 tional periods of five and one-half years to an alien 

17 who submits a completed application, including the 

18 required processing fees, within the 120-day period 

19 beginning 60 days before the expiration of the fifth 

20 year of the immediately preceding grant of certified 

21 agricultural worker status, if the alien— 

22 (A) except as provided in subsection (b), has 

23 performed agricultural labor or services in the 

24 United States for at least 575 hours (or 100 

25 work days) for each of the prior five years in 


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1 which the alien held certified agricultural worker 

2 status; and 

3 (B) has not become ineligible for certified 

4 agricultural worker status under section 101(b). 

5 (2) DEPENDENT SPOUSE AND CHILDREN.—The 

6 Secretary may grant or extend certified agricultural 

7 dependent status to the spouse or child of an alien 

8 granted an extension of certified agricultural worker 

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

10 not ineligible for certified agricultural dependent sta11 tus under section 101(b). 

12 (3) WAIVER FOR LATE FILINGS.—The Secretary 

13 may waive an alien’s failure to timely file before the 

14 expiration of the 120-day period described in para15 graph (1) if the alien demonstrates that the delay was 

16 due to extraordinary circumstances beyond the alien’s 

17 control or for other good cause. 

18 (b) STATUS FOR WORKERS WITH PENDING APPLICA19 TIONS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Certified agricultural worker 

21 status of an alien who timely files an application to 

22 extend such status under subsection (a) (and the sta23 tus of the alien’s dependents) shall be automatically 

24 extended through the date on which the Secretary 


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1 makes a final administrative decision regarding such 

2 application. 

3 (2) DOCUMENTATION OF EMPLOYMENT AUTHOR4 IZATION.—As soon as practicable after receipt of an 

5 application to extend certified agricultural worker 

6 status under subsection (a), the Secretary shall issue 

7 a document to the alien acknowledging the receipt of 

8 such application. An employer of the worker may not 

9 refuse to accept such document as evidence of employ10 ment authorization under section 274A(b)(1)(C) of the 

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

12 1324a(b)(1)(C)), pending a final administrative deci13 sion on the application. 

14 (c) NOTICE.—Prior to denying an application to ex15 tend certified agricultural worker status, the Secretary shall 

16 provide the alien with— 

17 (1) written notice that describes the basis for in18 eligibility or the deficiencies of the evidence submitted; 

19 and 

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

21 submit additional evidence. 

22 SEC. 104. DETERMINATION OF CONTINUOUS PRESENCE. 

23 (a) EFFECT OF NOTICE TO APPEAR.—The continuous 

24 presence in the United States of an applicant for certified 

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1 minate when the alien is served a notice to appear under 

2 section 239(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

3 U.S.C. 1229(a)). 

4 (b) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN BREAKS IN PRESENCE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graphs (2) and (3), an alien shall be considered to 

7 have failed to maintain continuous presence in the 

8 United States under this subtitle if the alien departed 

9 the United States for any period exceeding 90 days, 

10 or for any periods, in the aggregate, exceeding 180 

11 days. 

12 (2) EXTENSIONS FOR EXTENUATING CIR13 CUMSTANCES.—The Secretary may extend the time 

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

15 demonstrates that the failure to timely return to the 

16 United States was due to extenuating circumstances 

17 beyond the alien’s control, including the serious ill18 ness of the alien, or death or serious illness of a 

19 spouse, parent, son or daughter, grandparent, or sib20 ling of the alien. 

21 (3) TRAVEL AUTHORIZED BY THE SECRETARY.— 

22 Any period of travel outside of the United States by 

23 an alien that was authorized by the Secretary shall 

24 not be counted toward any period of departure from 

25 the United States under paragraph (1). 


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1 SEC. 105. EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS. 

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

3 alien in certified agricultural worker status shall provide 

4 such alien with a written record of employment each year 

5 during which the alien provides agricultural labor or serv6 ices to such employer as a certified agricultural worker. 

7 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

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

9 after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, that 

10 an employer of an alien with certified agricultural 

11 worker status has knowingly failed to provide the 

12 record of employment required under subsection (a), 

13 or has provided a false statement of material fact in 

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

15 penalty in an amount not to exceed $500 per viola16 tion. 

17 (2) LIMITATION.—The penalty under paragraph 

18 (1) for failure to provide employment records shall 

19 not apply unless the alien has provided the employer 

20 with evidence of employment authorization described 

21 in section 102 or 103. 

22 (3) DEPOSIT OF CIVIL PENALTIES.—Civil pen23 alties collected under this paragraph shall be depos24 ited into the Immigration Examinations Fee Account 

25 under section 286(m) of the Immigration and Nation26 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(m)). 


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1 SEC. 106. ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

2 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 

3 establish a process by which an applicant may seek admin4 istrative review of a denial of an application for certified 

5 agricultural worker status under this subtitle, an applica6 tion to extend such status, or a revocation of such status. 

7 (b) ADMISSIBILITY IN IMMIGRATION COURT.—Each 

8 record of an alien’s application for certified agricultural 

9 worker status under this subtitle, application to extend such 

10 status, revocation of such status, and each record created 

11 pursuant to the administrative review process under sub12 section (a) is admissible in immigration court, and shall 

13 be included in the administrative record. 

14 (c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Notwithstanding any other 

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

16 to deny an application for certified agricultural worker sta17 tus, an application to extend such status, or the decision 

18 to revoke such status, shall be limited to the review of an 

19 order of removal under section 242 of the Immigration and 

20 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252). 

21 Subtitle B—Optional Earned 

22 Residence for Long-term Workers 

23 SEC. 111. OPTIONAL ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR LONG24 TERM AGRICULTURAL WORKERS. 

25 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.— 


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1 (1) PRINCIPAL ALIENS.—The Secretary may ad2 just the status of an alien from that of a certified ag3 ricultural worker to that of a lawful permanent resi4 dent if the alien submits a completed application, in5 cluding the required processing and penalty fees, and 

6 the Secretary determines that— 

7 (A) except as provided in section 126(c), the 

8 alien performed agricultural labor or services for 

9 not less than 575 hours (or 100 work days) each 

10 year— 

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

12 date of the enactment of this Act and for at 

13 least 4 years in certified agricultural work14 er status; or 

15 (ii) for fewer than 10 years prior to 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act and for 

17 at least 8 years in certified agricultural 

18 worker status; and 

19 (B) the alien has not become ineligible for 

20 certified agricultural worker status under section 

21 101(b). 

22 (2) DEPENDENT ALIENS.— 

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

24 child of an alien described in paragraph (1) 

25 whose status has been adjusted to that of a lawVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 ful permanent resident may be granted lawful 

2 permanent residence under this subtitle if— 

3 (i) the qualifying relationship to the 

4 principal alien existed on the date on which 

5 such alien was granted adjustment of status 

6 under this subtitle; and 

7 (ii) the spouse or child is not ineligible 

8 for certified agricultural worker dependent 

9 status under section 101(b). 

10 (B) PROTECTIONS FOR SPOUSES AND CHIL11 DREN.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

12 shall establish procedures to allow the spouse or 

13 child of a certified agricultural worker to self-pe14 tition for lawful permanent residence under this 

15 subtitle in cases involving— 

16 (i) the death of the certified agricul17 tural worker, so long as the spouse or child 

18 submits a petition not later than 2 years 

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

20 (ii) the spouse or a child being battered 

21 or subjected to extreme cruelty by the cer22 tified agricultural worker. 

23 (3) DOCUMENTATION OF WORK HISTORY.—An 

24 applicant for adjustment of status under this section 

25 shall not be required to resubmit evidence of work hisVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 tory that has been previously submitted to the Sec2 retary in connection with an approved extension of 

3 certified agricultural worker status. 

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

5 that the Secretary may assess in accordance with section 

6 122(b), a principal alien seeking adjustment of status under 

7 this subtitle shall pay a $1,000 penalty fee, which shall be 

8 deposited into the Immigration Examinations Fee Account 

9 pursuant to section 286(m) of the Immigration and Nation10 ality Act (8 U.S.C.1356(m)). 

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

12 period beginning on the date on which an alien applies for 

13 adjustment of status under this subtitle, and ending on the 

14 date on which the Secretary makes a final administrative 

15 decision regarding such application, the alien and any de16 pendents included on the application— 

17 (1) may apply for advance parole, which shall be 

18 granted upon demonstrating a legitimate need to 

19 travel outside the United States for a temporary pur20 pose; 

21 (2) may not be detained by the Secretary or re22 moved from the United States unless the Secretary 

23 makes a prima facie determination that such alien is, 

24 or has become, ineligible for adjustment of status 

25 under subsection (a); 


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1 (3) may not be considered unlawfully present 

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

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

4 (4) may not be considered an unauthorized alien 

5 (as defined in section 274A(h)(3) of the Immigration 

6 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)(3))). 

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

8 practicable after receiving an application for adjustment of 

9 status under this subtitle, the Secretary shall provide the 

10 applicant with a document acknowledging the receipt of 

11 such application. Such document shall serve as interim 

12 proof of the alien’s authorization to accept employment in 

13 the United States and shall be accepted by an employer as 

14 evidence of employment authorization under section 

15 274A(b)(1)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

16 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)(C)), pending a final administrative de17 cision on the application. 

18 (e) WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATION.—The Secretary 

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

20 for adjustment of status under this subtitle, cease processing 

21 of the application, and close the case. Withdrawal of the 

22 application shall not prejudice any future application filed 

23 by the applicant for any immigration benefit under this 

24 Act or under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

25 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 compli6 ance with subsection (a) by submitting such documentation 

7 as the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the 

8 Treasury, may require by regulation. 

9 SEC. 113. ADJUDICATION AND DECISION; REVIEW. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the requirements of sec11 tion 123, the Secretary shall render a decision on an appli12 cation for adjustment of status under this subtitle not later 

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

14 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 in19 eligibility or the deficiencies of the evidence submitted; 

20 and 

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

22 submit additional evidence. 

23 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—The Secretary shall es24 tablish a process by which an applicant may seek adminis25 trative review of a denial of an application for adjustment 

26 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 this 

4 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 provided, 

9 any term used in this title that is used in the immi10 gration laws shall have the meaning given such term 

11 in the immigration laws (as such term is defined in 

12 section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

13 (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 


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1 U.S.C. 1802), without regard to whether the spe2 cific service or activity is temporary or seasonal. 

3 (3) APPLICABLE FEDERAL TAX LIABILITY.—The 

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

5 Federal income taxes assessed in accordance with sec6 tion 6203 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 begin7 ning on the date on which the applicant was author8 ized to work in the United States as a certified agri9 cultural 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 dis14 trict court with jurisdiction over the alien’s principal 

15 place of residence. 

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

17 given such term in section 101(b)(1) of the Immigra18 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)). 

19 (6) CONVICTED OR CONVICTION.—The term ‘‘con20 victed’’ or ‘‘conviction’’ does not include a judgment 

21 that has been expunged or set aside, that resulted in 

22 a rehabilitative disposition, or the equivalent. 

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

24 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 term 

4 ‘‘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 des9 ignates as having substantial experience, dem10 onstrated competence, and a history of long-term 

11 involvement in the preparation and submission 

12 of application for adjustment of status under 

13 title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

14 (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 publish 

23 in the Federal Register, an interim final rule implementing 

24 this title. Notwithstanding section 553 of title 5, United 

25 States Code, the rule shall be effective, on an interim basis, 


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1 immediately upon publication, but may be subject to change 

2 and revision after public notice and opportunity for com3 ment. The Secretary shall finalize such rule not later than 

4 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

5 (b) FEES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may require an 

7 alien applying for any benefit under this title to pay 

8 a reasonable fee that is commensurate with the cost 

9 of processing the application. 

10 (2) FEE WAIVER; INSTALLMENTS.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es12 tablish procedures to allow an alien to— 

13 (i) request a waiver of any fee that the 

14 Secretary may assess under this title if the 

15 alien demonstrates to the satisfaction of the 

16 Secretary that the alien is unable to pay the 

17 prescribed fee; or 

18 (ii) pay any fee or penalty that the 

19 Secretary may assess under this title in in20 stallments. 

21 (B) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this sec22 tion shall be read to prohibit an employer from 

23 paying any fee or penalty that the Secretary 

24 may assess under this title on behalf of an alien 

25 and the alien’s spouse or children. 


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1 SEC. 123. BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

2 (a) SUBMISSION OF BIOMETRIC AND BIOGRAPHIC

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

4 agricultural worker or certified agricultural dependent sta5 tus under subtitle A, or grant adjustment of status to that 

6 of a lawful permanent resident under subtitle B, unless the 

7 alien submits biometric and biographic data, in accordance 

8 with procedures established by the Secretary. The Secretary 

9 shall provide an alternative procedure for aliens who cannot 

10 provide all required biometric or biographic data because 

11 of a physical impairment. 

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

13 biometric, biographic, and other data that the Secretary de14 termines appropriate to conduct security and law enforce15 ment background checks and to determine whether there is 

16 any criminal, national security, or other factor that would 

17 render the alien ineligible for status under this title. An 

18 alien may not be granted any such status under this title 

19 unless security and law enforcement background checks are 

20 completed to the satisfaction of the Secretary. 

21 SEC. 124. PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN. 

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

23 (b), for purposes of eligibility for certified agricultural de24 pendent status or lawful permanent resident status under 

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

26 shall be made using the age of the alien on the date on which 


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1 the initial application for certified agricultural worker sta2 tus is filed with the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

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

4 more than 10 years after the date on which the initial ap5 plication for certified agricultural worker status is filed 

6 with the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

7 SEC. 125. LIMITATION ON REMOVAL. 

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

9 facie eligible for status under this title shall be given a rea10 sonable opportunity to apply for such status and shall not 

11 be placed in removal proceedings or removed from the 

12 United States until a final administrative decision estab13 lishing ineligibility for such status is rendered. 

14 (b) ALIENS IN REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Notwith15 standing any other provision of the law, the Attorney Gen16 eral shall (upon motion by the Secretary with the consent 

17 of the alien, or motion by the alien) terminate removal pro18 ceedings, without prejudice, against an alien who appears 

19 to be prima facie eligible for status under this title, and 

20 provide such alien a reasonable opportunity to apply for 

21 such status. 

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

23 the United States who has been ordered removed or has been 

24 permitted to depart voluntarily from the United States 

25 may, notwithstanding such order or permission to depart, 


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1 apply for status under this title. Such alien shall not be 

2 required to file a separate motion to reopen, reconsider, or 

3 vacate the order of removal. If the Secretary approves the 

4 application, the Secretary shall notify the Attorney General 

5 of such approval, and the Attorney General shall cancel the 

6 order of removal. If the Secretary renders a final adminis7 trative decision to deny the application, the order of re8 moval or permission to depart shall be effective and enforce9 able to the same extent as if the application had not been 

10 made, only after all available administrative and judicial 

11 remedies have been exhausted. 

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

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

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

15 (1) with advance permission to return to the 

16 United States granted by the Secretary under this 

17 title; or 

18 (2) after having been granted certified agricul19 tural worker status or lawful permanent resident sta20 tus under this title. 

21 SEC. 126. DOCUMENTATION OF AGRICULTURAL WORK HIS22 TORY. 

23 (a) BURDEN OF PROOF.—An alien applying for cer24 tified agricultural worker status under subtitle A or adjust25 ment of status under subtitle B shall provide evidence that 


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1 the alien has worked the requisite number of hours or days 

2 required under section 101, 103, or 111, as applicable. The 

3 Secretary shall establish special procedures to properly 

4 credit work in cases in which an alien was employed under 

5 an assumed name. 

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

7 proof under subsection (a) by producing sufficient evidence 

8 to show the extent of such employment as a matter of just 

9 and reasonable inference. Such evidence may include— 

10 (1) an annual record of certified agricultural 

11 worker employment as described in section 105(a), or 

12 other employment records from employers; 

13 (2) employment records maintained by collective 

14 bargaining associations; 

15 (3) tax records or other government records; 

16 (4) sworn affidavits from individuals who have 

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

18 (5) any other documentation designated by the 

19 Secretary for such purpose. 

20 (c) EXCEPTION FOR EXTRAORDINARY CIR21 CUMSTANCES.— 

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

23 alien has met the requirement under section 

24 103(a)(1)(A) or 111(a)(1)(A), the Secretary may cred25 it the alien with not more than 575 hours (or 100 


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1 work days) of agricultural labor or services in the 

2 United States if the alien was unable to perform the 

3 required agricultural labor or services due to— 

4 (A) pregnancy, illness, disease, disabling in5 jury, or physical limitation of the alien; 

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

7 needs of the alien’s child or spouse; 

8 (C) severe weather conditions that prevented 

9 the alien from engaging in agricultural labor or 

10 services; or 

11 (D) termination from agricultural employ12 ment, if the Secretary determines that— 

13 (i) the termination was without just 

14 cause; and 

15 (ii) the alien was unable to find alter16 native agricultural employment after a rea17 sonable job search. 

18 (2) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION.—A determina19 tion under paragraph (1)(D) shall not be conclusive, 

20 binding, or admissible in a separate or subsequent ju21 dicial or administrative action or proceeding between 

22 the alien and a current or prior employer of the alien 

23 or any other party. 


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1 SEC. 127. EMPLOYER PROTECTIONS. 

2 (a) CONTINUING EMPLOYMENT.—An employer that 

3 continues to employ an alien knowing that the alien intends 

4 to apply for certified agricultural worker status under sub5 title A shall not violate section 274A(a)(2) of the Immigra6 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(a)(2)) by con7 tinuing to employ the alien for the duration of the applica8 tion period under section 101(c), and with respect to an 

9 alien who applies for certified agricultural status, for the 

10 duration of the period during which the alien’s application 

11 is pending final determination. 

12 (b) USE OF EMPLOYMENT RECORDS.—Copies of em13 ployment records or other evidence of employment provided 

14 by an alien or by an alien’s employer in support of an 

15 alien’s application for certified agricultural worker or ad16 justment of status under this title may not be used in a 

17 civil or criminal prosecution or investigation of that em18 ployer under section 274A of the Immigration and Nation19 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) or the Internal Revenue Code 

20 of 1986 for the prior unlawful employment of that alien 

21 regardless of the outcome of such application. 

22 (c) ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS.—Employers that pro23 vide unauthorized aliens with copies of employment records 

24 or other evidence of employment in support of an applica25 tion for certified agricultural worker status or adjustment 

26 of status under this title shall not be subject to civil and 


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1 criminal liability pursuant to such section 274A for em2 ploying such unauthorized aliens. Records or other evidence 

3 of employment provided by employers in response to a re4 quest for such records for the purpose of establishing eligi5 bility for status under this title may not be used for any 

6 purpose other than establishing such eligibility. 

7 (d) LIMITATION ON PROTECTION.—The protections for 

8 employers under this section shall not apply if the employer 

9 provides employment records to the alien that are deter10 mined to be fraudulent. 

11 SEC. 128. CORRECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY RECORDS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(e)(1) of the Social Se13 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 408(e)(1)) is amended— 

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

15 the end; 

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

17 the end; 

18 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(D) who is granted certified agricultural worker 

21 status, certified agricultural dependent status, or law22 ful permanent resident status under title I of the 

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

24 (4) in the undesignated matter following sub25 paragraph (D), as added by paragraph (3), by strikVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 ing ‘‘1990.’’ and inserting ‘‘1990, or in the case of an 

2 alien described in subparagraph (D), if such conduct 

3 is alleged to have occurred before the date on which 

4 the alien was granted status under title I of the Farm 

5 Work Modernization Act of 2019.’’. 

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub7 section (a) shall take effect on the first day of the seventh 

8 month that begins after the date of the enactment of this 

9 Act. 

10 SEC. 129. DISCLOSURES AND PRIVACY. 

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

12 use information provided in an application for certified ag13 ricultural worker status or adjustment of status under this 

14 title (including information provided during administra15 tive or judicial review) for the purpose of immigration en16 forcement. 

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

18 solely on information provided in an application for cer19 tified agricultural worker status or adjustment of status 

20 under this title (including information provided during ad21 ministrative or judicial review), may not refer an applicant 

22 to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Cus23 toms and Border Protection, or any designee of either such 

24 entity. 


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

2 and (b), information provided in an application for cer3 tified agricultural worker status or adjustment of status 

4 under this title may be shared with Federal security and 

5 law enforcement agencies— 

6 (1) for assistance in the consideration of an ap7 plication under this title; 

8 (2) to identify or prevent fraudulent claims or 

9 schemes; 

10 (3) for national security purposes; or 

11 (4) for the investigation or prosecution of any 

12 felony not related to immigration status. 

13 (d) PENALTY.—Any person who knowingly uses, pub14 lishes, or permits information to be examined in violation 

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

16 (e) PRIVACY.—The Secretary shall ensure that appro17 priate administrative and physical safeguards are in place 

18 to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of per19 sonally identifiable information collected, maintained, and 

20 disseminated pursuant to this title. 

21 SEC. 130. PENALTIES FOR FALSE STATEMENTS IN APPLICA22 TIONS. 

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

24 (1) files an application for certified agricultural 

25 worker status or adjustment of status under this title 


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1 and knowingly falsifies, conceals, or covers up a ma2 terial fact or makes any false, fictitious, or fraudulent 

3 statements or representations, or makes or uses any 

4 false writing or document knowing the same to con5 tain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or 

6 entry; or 

7 (2) creates or supplies a false writing or docu8 ment for use in making such an application, 

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

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

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

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

13 United States under section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immi14 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(C)(i)). 

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

16 shall be deposited into the Immigration Examinations Fee 

17 Account pursuant to section 286(m) of the Immigration and 

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

19 SEC. 131. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION. 

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

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

22 (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security, in co23 operation with qualified designated entities, shall 

24 broadly disseminate information described in sub25 section (b); and 


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1 (2) the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation 

2 with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall dis3 seminate to agricultural employers a document con4 taining the information described in subsection (b) for 

5 posting at employer worksites. 

6 (b) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The information de7 scribed in this subsection shall include— 

8 (1) the benefits that aliens may receive under 

9 this title; and 

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

11 receive such benefits. 

12 SEC. 132. EXEMPTION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS. 

13 The numerical limitations under title II of the Immi14 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.) shall 

15 not apply to the adjustment of aliens to lawful permanent 

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

17 be counted toward any such numerical limitation. 

18 SEC. 133. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

19 Not later than 180 days after the publication of the 

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

21 the following 10 years, the Secretary shall submit a report 

22 to Congress that identifies, for the previous fiscal year— 

23 (1) the number of principal aliens who applied 

24 for certified agricultural worker status under subtitle 


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1 A, and the number of dependent spouses and children 

2 included in such applications; 

3 (2) the number of principal aliens who were 

4 granted certified agricultural worker status under 

5 subtitle A, and the number of dependent spouses and 

6 children who were granted certified agricultural de7 pendent status; 

8 (3) the number of principal aliens who applied 

9 for an extension of their certified agricultural worker 

10 status under subtitle A, and the number of dependent 

11 spouses and children included in such applications; 

12 (4) the number of principal aliens who were 

13 granted an extension of certified agricultural worker 

14 status under subtitle A, and the number of dependent 

15 spouses and children who were granted certified agri16 cultural dependent status under such an extension; 

17 (5) the number of principal aliens who applied 

18 for adjustment of status under subtitle B, and the 

19 number of dependent spouses and children included in 

20 such applications; 

21 (6) the number of principal aliens who were 

22 granted lawful permanent resident status under sub23 title B, and the number of spouses and children who 

24 were granted such status as dependents; 


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1 (7) the number of principal aliens included in 

2 petitions described in section 101(e), and the number 

3 of dependent spouses and children included in such 

4 applications; and 

5 (8) the number of principal aliens who were 

6 granted H–2A status pursuant to petitions described 

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

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

9 SEC. 134. GRANT PROGRAM TO ASSIST ELIGIBLE APPLI10 CANTS. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish a 

12 program to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 

13 nonprofit organizations to assist eligible applicants under 

14 this title by providing them with the services described in 

15 subsection (c). 

16 (b) ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—For pur17 poses of this section, the term ‘‘eligible nonprofit organiza18 tion’’ means an organization described in section 501(c)(3) 

19 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (excluding a recipient 

20 of funds under title X of the Economic Opportunity Act 

21 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2996 et seq.)) that has demonstrated 

22 qualifications, experience, and expertise in providing qual23 ity services to farm workers or aliens. 


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

2 section may be used for the design and implementation of 

3 programs that provide— 

4 (1) information to the public regarding the eligi5 bility and benefits of certified agricultural worker sta6 tus authorized under this title; and 

7 (2) assistance, within the scope of authorized 

8 practice of immigration law, to individuals submit9 ting applications for certified agricultural worker sta10 tus or adjustment of status under this title, includ11 ing— 

12 (A) screening prospective applicants to as13 sess their eligibility for such status; 

14 (B) completing applications, including pro15 viding assistance in obtaining necessary docu16 ments and supporting evidence; and 

17 (C) providing any other assistance that the 

18 Secretary determines useful to assist aliens in 

19 applying for certified agricultural worker status 

20 or adjustment of status under this title. 

21 (d) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—In addition to any funds ap22 propriated to carry out this section, the Secretary may use 

23 up to $10,000,000 from the Immigration Examinations Fee 

24 Account under section 286(m) of the Immigration and Na25 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(m)) to carry out this section. 


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

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

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

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

5 2996 et seq.) from providing legal assistance directly related 

6 to an application for status under this title or to an alien 

7 granted such status. 

8 SEC. 135. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec10 retary, such sums as may be necessary to implement this 

11 title, including any amounts needed for costs associated 

12 with the initiation of such implementation, for each of fiscal 

13 years 2020 through 2022. 

14 TITLE II—ENSURING AN AGRI15 CULTURAL WORKFORCE FOR 

16 THE FUTURE 

17 Subtitle A—Reforming the H–2A 

18 Temporary Worker Program 

19 SEC. 201. COMPREHENSIVE AND STREAMLINED ELEC20 TRONIC H-2A PLATFORM. 

21 (a) STREAMLINED H-2A PLATFORM.— 

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

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec24 retary of Homeland Security, in consultation with 

25 the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Agriculture, 


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1 the Secretary of State, and United States Digital 

2 Service, shall ensure the establishment of an electronic 

3 platform through which a petition for an H–2A work4 er may be filed. Such platform shall— 

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

6 employer to input all information and sup7 porting documentation required for obtaining 

8 labor certification from the Secretary of Labor 

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

10 Secretary of Homeland Security; 

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

12 Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of 

13 Labor, and State workforce agencies to concur14 rently perform their respective review and adju15 dicatory responsibilities in the H–2A process; 

16 (C) facilitate communication between em17 ployers and agency adjudicators, including by 

18 allowing employers to— 

19 (i) receive and respond to notices of de20 ficiency and requests for information; 

21 (ii) submit requests for inspections and 

22 licensing; 

23 (iii) receive notices of approval and de24 nial; and 


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1 (iv) request reconsideration or appeal 

2 of agency decisions; and 

3 (D) provide information to the Secretary of 

4 State and U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

5 necessary for the efficient and secure processing 

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

7 (2) OBJECTIVES.—In developing the platform de8 scribed in paragraph (1), the Secretary of Homeland 

9 Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, 

10 the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of State, 

11 and United States Digital Service, shall streamline 

12 and improve the H–2A process, including by— 

13 (A) eliminating the need for employers to 

14 submit duplicate information and documenta15 tion to multiple agencies; 

16 (B) eliminating redundant processes, where 

17 a single matter in a petition is adjudicated by 

18 more than one agency; 

19 (C) reducing the occurrence of common peti20 tion errors, and otherwise improving and expe21 diting the processing of H–2A petitions; and 

22 (D) ensuring compliance with H–2A pro23 gram requirements and the protection of the 

24 wages and working conditions of workers. 


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

2 shall maintain a national, publicly-accessible online job 

3 registry and database of all job orders submitted by H–2A 

4 employers. The registry and database shall— 

5 (1) be searchable using relevant criteria, includ6 ing the types of jobs needed to be filled, the date(s) 

7 and location(s) of need, and the employer(s) named in 

8 the job order; 

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

10 Spanish, and any other language that the Secretary 

11 of Labor determines to be appropriate; and 

12 (3) provide for public access of job orders ap13 proved under section 218(h)(2) of the Immigration 

14 and Nationality Act. 

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

16 Section 218 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

17 (8 U.S.C. 1188) is amended to read as follows: 

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

19 ‘‘(a) LABOR CERTIFICATION CONDITIONS.—The Sec20 retary of Homeland Security may not approve a petition 

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

22 has certified that— 

23 ‘‘(1) there are not sufficient United States work24 ers who are able, willing and qualified, and who will 

25 be available at the time and place needed, to perform 


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1 the agricultural labor or services described in the peti2 tion; and 

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

4 labor or services will not adversely affect the wages 

5 and working conditions of workers in the United 

6 States who are similarly employed. 

7 ‘‘(b) H–2A PETITION REQUIREMENTS.—An employer 

8 filing a petition for an H–2A worker to perform agricul9 tural labor or services shall attest to and demonstrate com10 pliance, as and when appropriate, with all applicable re11 quirements under this section, including the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) NEED FOR LABOR OR SERVICES.—The em13 ployer has described the need for agricultural labor or 

14 services in a job order that includes a description of 

15 the nature and location of the work to be performed, 

16 the anticipated period or periods (expected start and 

17 end dates) for which the workers will be needed, and 

18 the number of job opportunities in which the em19 ployer seeks to employ the workers. 

20 ‘‘(2) NONDISPLACEMENT OF UNITED STATES

21 WORKERS.—The employer has not and will not dis22 place United States workers employed by the em23 ployer during the period of employment of the H–2A 

24 worker and during the 60-day period immediately 

25 preceding such period of employment in the job for 


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1 which the employer seeks approval to employ the H– 

2 2A worker. 

3 ‘‘(3) STRIKE OR LOCKOUT.—Each place of em4 ployment described in the petition is not, at the time 

5 of filing the petition and until the petition is ap6 proved, subject to a strike or lockout in the course of 

7 a labor dispute. 

8 ‘‘(4) RECRUITMENT OF UNITED STATES WORK9 ERS.—The employer shall engage in the recruitment 

10 of United States workers as described in subsection 

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

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

13 and place needed, to perform the agricultural labor or 

14 services described in the petition. The employer may 

15 reject a United States worker only for lawful, job-re16 lated reasons. 

17 ‘‘(5) WAGES, BENEFITS, AND WORKING CONDI18 TIONS.—The employer shall offer and provide, at a 

19 minimum, the wages, benefits, and working condi20 tions required by this section to the H–2A worker and 

21 all United States workers who are similarly em22 ployed. The employer— 

23 ‘‘(A) shall offer such United States workers 

24 not less than the same benefits, wages, and workVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 ing conditions that the employer is offering or 

2 will provide to the H–2A worker; and 

3 ‘‘(B) may not impose on such United States 

4 workers any restrictions or obligations that will 

5 not be imposed on the H–2A worker. 

6 ‘‘(6) WORKERS’ COMPENSATION.—If the job op7 portunity is not covered by or is exempt from the 

8 State workers’ compensation law, the employer shall 

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

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

11 of, the worker’s employment which will provide bene12 fits at least equal to those provided under the State 

13 workers’ compensation law. 

14 ‘‘(7) COMPLIANCE WITH LABOR AND EMPLOY15 MENT LAWS.—The employer shall comply with all ap16 plicable Federal, State and local employment-related 

17 laws and regulations. 

18 ‘‘(c) RECRUITING REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

20 the recruitment requirement described in subsection 

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

22 ‘‘(A) JOB ORDER.—As provided in sub23 section (h)(1), the employer shall complete a job 

24 order for posting on the electronic job registry 

25 maintained by the Secretary of Labor and for 


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1 distribution by the appropriate State workforce 

2 agency. Such posting shall remain on the job 

3 registry as an active job order through the period 

4 described in paragraph (2)(B). 

5 ‘‘(B) FORMER WORKERS.—At least 45 days 

6 before each start date identified in the petition, 

7 the employer shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) make reasonable efforts to contact 

9 any United States worker the employer em10 ployed in the previous year in the same oc11 cupation and area of intended employment 

12 for which an H–2A worker is sought (ex13 cluding workers who were terminated for 

14 cause or abandoned the worksite); and 

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

16 conspicuous location or locations at the 

17 place of employment. 

18 ‘‘(C) POSITIVE RECRUITMENT.—During the 

19 period of recruitment, the employer shall com20 plete any other positive recruitment steps within 

21 a multi-State region of traditional or expected 

22 labor supply where the Secretary of Labor finds 

23 that there are a significant number of qualified 

24 United States workers who, if recruited, would be 


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1 willing to make themselves available for work at 

2 the time and place needed. 

3 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF RECRUITMENT.— 

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

5 subsection, the period of recruitment begins on 

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

7 online job registry and ends on the date that H– 

8 2A workers depart for the employer’s place of 

9 employment. For a petition involving more than 

10 1 start date under subsection (h)(1)(C), the end 

11 of the period of recruitment shall be determined 

12 by the date of departure of the H–2A workers for 

13 the final start date identified in the petition. 

14 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT TO HIRE US WORK15 ERS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

17 the limitations of subparagraph (A), the 

18 employer will provide employment to any 

19 qualified United States worker who applies 

20 to the employer for any job opportunity in21 cluded in the petition until the later of— 

22 ‘‘(I) the date that is 30 days after 

23 the date on which work begins; or 

24 ‘‘(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 the 

6 work contract for the job oppor7 tunity has elapsed. 

8 ‘‘(ii) STAGGERED ENTRY.—For a peti9 tion involving more than 1 start date under 

10 subsection (h)(1)(C), each start date des11 ignated in the petition shall establish a sep12 arate 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 1 job opportunity included in the 

16 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. The 

7 employer shall retain the recruitment report, and 

8 all associated recruitment documentation, for a 

9 period of 3 years from the date of certification. 

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

11 asserts that any eligible individual who has ap12 plied or been referred is not able, willing or 

13 qualified, the employer bears the burden of proof 

14 to establish that the individual is not able, will15 ing or qualified because of a lawful, employment16 related reason. 

17 ‘‘(d) WAGE REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

19 section will offer the worker, during the period of au20 thorized employment, wages that are at least the 

21 greatest of— 

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

23 wage; 

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

25 successor wage established under paragraph (7)); 


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

2 piece rate); or 

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

4 ‘‘(2) ADVERSE EFFECT WAGE RATE DETERMINA5 TIONS.— 

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

7 under subparagraph (B), the applicable adverse 

8 effect wage rate for each State and occupational 

9 classification for a calendar year shall be as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(i) The annual average hourly wage 

12 for the occupational classification in the 

13 State or region as reported by the Secretary 

14 of Agriculture based on a wage survey con15 ducted by such Secretary. 

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

17 is not reported, the national annual average 

18 hourly wage for the occupational classifica19 tion as reported by the Secretary of Agri20 culture based on a wage survey conducted 

21 by such Secretary. 

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

23 or (ii) is not reported, the Statewide annual 

24 average hourly wage for the standard occu25 pational classification as reported by the 


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1 Secretary of Labor based on a wage survey 

2 conducted by such Secretary. 

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

4 (ii), or (iii) is not reported, the national 

5 average hourly wage for the occupational 

6 classification as reported by the Secretary of 

7 Labor based on a wage survey conducted by 

8 such Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS ON WAGE FLUCTUA10 TIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(i) WAGE FREEZE FOR CALENDAR

12 YEAR 2020.—For calendar year 2020, the 

13 adverse effect wage rate for each State and 

14 occupational classification under this sub15 section shall be the adverse effect wage rate 

16 that was in effect for H–2A workers in the 

17 applicable State in calendar year 2019. 

18 ‘‘(ii) CALENDAR YEARS 2021 THROUGH

19 2029.—For each of calendar years 2021 

20 through 2029, the adverse effect wage rate 

21 for each State and occupational classifica22 tion under this subsection shall be the wage 

23 calculated under subparagraph (A), except 

24 that such wage may not— 


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1 ‘‘(I) be more than 1.5 percent 

2 lower than the wage in effect for H–2A 

3 workers in the applicable State and oc4 cupational classification in the imme5 diately preceding calendar year; 

6 ‘‘(II) except as provided in clause 

7 (III), be more than 3.25 percent higher 

8 than the wage in effect for H–2A work9 ers in the applicable State and occupa10 tional classification in the immediately 

11 preceding calendar year; and 

12 ‘‘(III) if the application of clause 

13 (II) results in a wage that is lower 

14 than 110 percent of the applicable Fed15 eral or State minimum wage, be more 

16 than 4.25 percent higher than the wage 

17 in effect for H–2A workers in the ap18 plicable State and occupational classi19 fication in the immediately preceding 

20 calendar year. 

21 ‘‘(iii) CALENDAR YEARS AFTER 2029.— 

22 For any calendar year after 2029, the ap23 plicable wage rate described in paragraph 

24 (1)(B) shall be the wage rate established 

25 pursuant to paragraph (7)(D). Until such 


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1 wage rate is effective, the adverse effect wage 

2 rate for each State and occupational classi3 fication under this subsection shall be the 

4 wage calculated under subparagraph (A), 

5 except that such wage may not be more 

6 than 1.5 percent lower or 3.25 percent high7 er than the wage in effect for H–2A workers 

8 in the applicable State and occupational 

9 classification in the immediately preceding 

10 calendar year. 

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

12 job duties for the job opportunity described in the pe13 tition do not fall within a single occupational classi14 fication, the applicable wage rates under subpara15 graphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (1) for the job op16 portunity shall be based on the highest such wage 

17 rates for all applicable occupational classifications. 

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

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

20 each calendar year, the Secretary of Labor shall 

21 publish the applicable adverse effect wage rate 

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

23 wage if available, for each State and occupa24 tional classification through notice in the Fed25 eral Register. 


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

2 provided in subparagraph (C), publication by 

3 the Secretary of Labor of an updated adverse ef4 fect wage rate or prevailing wage for a State and 

5 occupational classification shall not affect the 

6 wage rate guaranteed in any approved job order 

7 for which recruitment efforts have commenced at 

8 the time of publication. 

9 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION FOR YEAR-ROUND JOBS.— 

10 If the Secretary of Labor publishes an updated 

11 adverse effect wage rate or prevailing wage for a 

12 State and occupational classification concerning 

13 a petition described in subsection (i), and the 

14 updated wage is higher than the wage rate guar15 anteed in the work contract, the employer shall 

16 pay the updated wage not later than 14 days 

17 after publication of the updated wage in the Fed18 eral Register. 

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

20 OTHER INCENTIVE BASIS.—If an employer pays by 

21 the piece rate or other incentive method and requires 

22 1 or more minimum productivity standards as a con23 dition of job retention, such standards shall be speci24 fied in the job order and shall be no more than those 

25 normally required (at the time of the first petition for 


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1 H–2A workers) by other employers for the activity in 

2 the area of intended employment, unless the Secretary 

3 of Labor approves a higher minimum standard re4 sulting from material changes in production methods. 

5 ‘‘(6) GUARANTEE OF EMPLOYMENT.— 

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

7 shall guarantee the worker employment for the 

8 hourly equivalent of at least three-fourths of the 

9 work days of the total period of employment, be10 ginning with the first work day after the arrival 

11 of the worker at the place of employment and 

12 ending on the date specified in the job offer. For 

13 purposes of this subparagraph, the hourly equiv14 alent means the number of hours in the work 

15 days as stated in the job offer and shall exclude 

16 the worker’s Sabbath and Federal holidays. If the 

17 employer affords the worker less employment 

18 than that required under this paragraph, the em19 ployer shall pay the worker the amount which 

20 the worker would have earned had the worker, in 

21 fact, worked for the guaranteed number of hours. 

22 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO WORK.—Any hours which 

23 the worker fails to work, up to a maximum of 

24 the number of hours specified in the job offer for 

25 a work day, when the worker has been offered an 


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1 opportunity to do so, and all hours of work actu2 ally performed (including voluntary work in ex3 cess of the number of hours specified in the job 

4 offer in a work day, on the worker’s Sabbath, or 

5 on Federal holidays) may be counted by the em6 ployer in calculating whether the period of guar7 anteed employment has been met. 

8 ‘‘(C) ABANDONMENT OF EMPLOYMENT; TER9 MINATION FOR CAUSE.—If the worker voluntarily 

10 abandons employment without good cause before 

11 the end of the contract period, or is terminated 

12 for cause, the worker is not entitled to the guar13 antee of employment described in subparagraph 

14 (A). 

15 ‘‘(D) CONTRACT IMPOSSIBILITY.—If, before 

16 the expiration of the period of employment speci17 fied in the job offer, the services of the worker are 

18 no longer required for reasons beyond the control 

19 of the employer due to any form of natural dis20 aster before the guarantee in subparagraph (A) 

21 is fulfilled, the employer may terminate the 

22 worker’s employment. In the event of such termi23 nation, the employer shall fulfill the employment 

24 guarantee in subparagraph (A) for the work 

25 days that have elapsed from the first work day 


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1 after the arrival of the worker to the termination 

2 of employment. The employer shall make efforts 

3 to transfer a United States worker to other com4 parable employment acceptable to the worker. If 

5 such transfer is not affected, the employer shall 

6 provide the return transportation required in 

7 subsection (f)(2). 

8 ‘‘(7) WAGE STANDARDS AFTER 2029.— 

9 ‘‘(A) STUDY OF ADVERSE EFFECT WAGE

10 RATE.—Beginning in fiscal year 2026, the Sec11 retary of Agriculture and Secretary of Labor 

12 shall jointly conduct a study that addresses— 

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

14 workers has depressed the wages of United 

15 States farm workers; 

16 ‘‘(ii) whether an adverse effect wage 

17 rate is necessary to protect the wages of 

18 United States farm workers in occupations 

19 in which H–2A workers are employed; 

20 ‘‘(iii) whether alternative wage stand21 ards would be sufficient to prevent wages in 

22 occupations in which H–2A workers are 

23 employed from falling below the wage level 

24 that would have prevailed in the absence of 

25 H–2A employment; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) whether any changes are war2 ranted in the current methodologies for cal3 culating the adverse effect wage rate and the 

4 prevailing wage rate; and 

5 ‘‘(v) recommendations for future wage 

6 protection under this section. 

7 ‘‘(B) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than Octo8 ber 1, 2027, the Secretary of Agriculture and 

9 Secretary of Labor shall jointly prepare and sub10 mit a report to the Congress setting forth the 

11 findings of the study conducted under subpara12 graph (A) and recommendations for future wage 

13 protections under this section. 

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

15 study under subparagraph (A) and preparing 

16 the report under subparagraph (B), the Sec17 retary of Agriculture and Secretary of Labor 

18 shall consult with representatives of agricultural 

19 employers and an equal number of representa20 tives of agricultural workers, at the national, 

21 State and local level. 

22 ‘‘(D) WAGE DETERMINATION AFTER 2029.— 

23 Upon publication of the report described in sub24 paragraph (B), the Secretary of Labor, in con25 sultation with and the approval of the Secretary 


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1 of Agriculture, shall make a rule to establish a 

2 process for annually determining the wage rate 

3 for purposes of paragraph (1)(B) for fiscal years 

4 after 2029. Such process shall be designed to en5 sure that the employment of H-2A workers does 

6 not undermine the wages and working conditions 

7 of similarly employed United States workers. 

8 ‘‘(e) HOUSING REQUIREMENTS.—Employers shall fur9 nish housing in accordance with regulations established by 

10 the Secretary of Labor. Such regulations shall be consistent 

11 with the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The employer shall be per13 mitted at the employer’s option to provide housing 

14 meeting applicable Federal standards for temporary 

15 labor camps or to secure housing which meets the 

16 local standards for rental and/or public accommoda17 tions or other substantially similar class of habi18 tation: Provided, That in the absence of applicable 

19 local standards, State standards for rental and/or 

20 public accommodations or other substantially similar 

21 class of habitation shall be met: Provided further, 

22 That in the absence of applicable local or State stand23 ards, Federal temporary labor camp standards shall 

24 apply. 


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

2 provided in subsection (i)(5), the employer shall pro3 vide family housing to workers with families who re4 quest it when it is the prevailing practice in the area 

5 and occupation of intended employment to provide 

6 family housing. 

7 ‘‘(3) UNITED STATES WORKERS.—Notwith8 standing paragraphs (1) and (2), an employer is not 

9 required to provide housing to United States workers 

10 who are reasonably able to return to their residence 

11 within the same day. 

12 ‘‘(4) TIMING OF INSPECTION.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor 

14 or designee shall make a determination as to 

15 whether the housing furnished by an employer 

16 for a worker meets the requirements imposed by 

17 this subsection prior to the date on which the 

18 Secretary of Labor is required to make a certifi19 cation with respect to a petition for the admis20 sion of such worker. 

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

22 of Labor shall provide a process for— 

23 ‘‘(i) an employer to request inspection 

24 of housing up to 60 days before the date on 


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1 which the employer will file a petition 

2 under this section; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) annual inspection of housing for 

4 workers who are engaged in agricultural 

5 employment that is not of a seasonal or 

6 temporary nature. 

7 ‘‘(f) TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

9 worker who completes 50 percent of the period of em10 ployment specified in the job order shall be reim11 bursed by the employer for the cost of the worker’s 

12 transportation and subsistence from the place from 

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

14 place of last employment, if the worker traveled from 

15 such place) to the place of employment. 

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

17 For a worker who completes the period of employment 

18 specified in the job order or who is terminated with19 out cause, the employer shall provide or pay for the 

20 worker’s transportation and subsistence from the 

21 place of employment to the place from which the 

22 worker, disregarding intervening employment, came 

23 to work for the employer, or to the place of next em24 ployment, if the worker has contracted with a subse25 quent employer who has not agreed to provide or pay 


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1 for the worker’s transportation and subsistence to 

2 such subsequent employer’s place of employment. 

3 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) AMOUNT OF REIMBURSEMENT.—Ex5 cept as provided in subparagraph (B), the 

6 amount of reimbursement provided under para7 graph (1) or (2) to a worker need not exceed the 

8 lesser of— 

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

10 transportation and subsistence involved; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) the most economical and reason12 able common carrier transportation charges 

13 and subsistence costs for the distance in14 volved. 

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

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

17 distance between the worker’s home and the rel18 evant consulate is 50 miles or less, reimburse19 ment for transportation and subsistence may be 

20 based on transportation to or from the consulate. 

21 ‘‘(g) HEAT ILLNESS PREVENTION PLAN.—The em22 ployer shall maintain a reasonable plan that describes the 

23 employer’s procedures for the prevention of heat illness, in24 cluding appropriate training, access to water and shade, 


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1 the provision of breaks, and the protocols for emergency re2 sponse. Such plan shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) be in writing in English and, to the extent 

4 necessary, any language common to a significant por5 tion of the workers if they are not fluent in English; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(2) be posted at a conspicuous location at the 

8 worksite and provided to employees prior to the com9 mencement of labor or services. 

10 ‘‘(h) H–2A PETITION PROCEDURES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF PETITION AND JOB

12 ORDER.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The employer shall sub14 mit information required for the adjudication of 

15 the H–2A petition, including a job order, 

16 through the electronic platform no more than 75 

17 calendar days and no fewer than 60 calendar 

18 days before the employer’s first date of need spec19 ified in the petition. 

20 ‘‘(B) FILING BY AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIA21 TIONS.—An association of agricultural producers 

22 that use agricultural services may file an H–2A 

23 petition under subparagraph (A). If an associa24 tion is a joint or sole employer of workers who 

25 perform agricultural labor or services, H–2A 


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1 workers may be used for the approved job oppor2 tunities of any of the association’s producer 

3 members and such workers may be transferred 

4 among its producer members to perform the agri5 cultural labor or services for which the petition 

6 was approved. 

7 ‘‘(C) PETITIONS INVOLVING STAGGERED

8 ENTRY.— 

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

10 in clause (ii), an employer may file a peti11 tion involving employment in the same oc12 cupational classification and same area of 

13 intended employment with multiple start 

14 dates if— 

15 ‘‘(I) the petition involves tem16 porary or seasonal employment and no 

17 more than 10 start dates; 

18 ‘‘(II) the multiple start dates 

19 share a common end date that is no 

20 longer than 1 year after the first start 

21 date; 

22 ‘‘(III) no more than 120 days sep23 arate the first start date and the final 

24 start date listed in the petition; and 


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1 ‘‘(IV) the need for multiple start 

2 dates arises from variations in labor 

3 needs associated with the job oppor4 tunity identified in the petition. 

5 ‘‘(ii) LABOR CONTRACTORS.—A labor 

6 contractor may not file a petition described 

7 in clause (i) unless the labor contractor— 

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

9 with its contractees, or is operating in 

10 a State in which joint employment 

11 and liability between the labor con12 tractor and its contractees is otherwise 

13 established; or 

14 ‘‘(II) has posted and is maintain15 ing a premium surety bond as de16 scribed in subsection (l)(1). 

17 ‘‘(2) LABOR CERTIFICATION.— 

18 ‘‘(A) REVIEW OF JOB ORDER.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

20 Labor, in consultation with the relevant 

21 State workforce agency, shall review the job 

22 order for compliance with this section and 

23 notify the employer through the electronic 

24 platform of any deficiencies not later than 

25 7 business days from the date the employer 


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1 submits the necessary information required 

2 under paragraph (1)(A). The employer shall 

3 be provided 5 business days to respond to 

4 any such notice of deficiency. 

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

6 include all material terms and conditions of 

7 employment, including the requirements of 

8 this section, and must be otherwise con9 sistent with the minimum standards pro10 vided under Federal, State or local law. In 

11 considering the question of whether a spe12 cific qualification is appropriate in a job 

13 order, the Secretary of Labor shall apply 

14 the normal and accepted qualification re15 quired by non-H–2A employers in the same 

16 or comparable occupations and crops. 

17 ‘‘(iii) EMERGENCY PROCEDURES.—The 

18 Secretary of Labor shall establish emergency 

19 procedures for the curing of deficiencies that 

20 cannot be resolved during the period de21 scribed in clause (i). 

22 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL OF JOB ORDER.— 

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

24 the job order, the Secretary of Labor shall 

25 immediately place for public examination a 


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1 copy of the job order on the online job reg2 istry, and the State workforce agency serv3 ing the area of intended employment shall 

4 commence the recruitment of United States 

5 workers. 

6 ‘‘(ii) REFERRAL OF UNITED STATES

7 WORKERS.—The Secretary of Labor and 

8 State workforce agency shall keep the job 

9 order active until the end of the period de10 scribed in subsection (c)(2) and shall refer 

11 to the employer each United States worker 

12 who applies for the job opportunity. 

13 ‘‘(C) REVIEW OF INFORMATION FOR DEFI14 CIENCIES.—Within 7 business days of the ap15 proval of the job order, the Secretary of Labor 

16 shall review the information necessary to make a 

17 labor certification and notify the employer 

18 through the electronic platform if such informa19 tion does not meet the standards for approval. 

20 Such notification shall include a description of 

21 any deficiency, and the employer shall be pro22 vided 5 business days to cure such deficiency. 

23 ‘‘(D) CERTIFICATION AND AUTHORIZATION

24 OF WORKERS.—Not later than 30 days before the 

25 date that labor or services are first required to 


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1 be performed, the Secretary of Labor shall issue 

2 the requested labor certification if the Secretary 

3 determines that the requirements for certification 

4 set forth in this section have been met. 

5 ‘‘(E) EXPEDITED ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS

6 OF CERTAIN DETERMINATIONS.—The Secretary 

7 of Labor shall by regulation establish a proce8 dure for an employer to request the expedited re9 view of a denial of a labor certification under 

10 this section, or the revocation of such a certifi11 cation. Such procedure shall require the Sec12 retary to expeditiously, but no later than 72 

13 hours after expedited review is requested, issue a 

14 de novo determination on a labor certification 

15 that was denied in whole or in part because of 

16 the availability of able, willing and qualified 

17 workers if the employer demonstrates, consistent 

18 with subsection (c)(3)(B), that such workers are 

19 not actually available at the time or place such 

20 labor or services are required. 

21 ‘‘(3) PETITION DECISION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 7 busi23 ness days after the Secretary of Labor issues the 

24 certification, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

25 shall issue a decision on the petition and shall 


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1 transmit a notice of action to the petitioner via 

2 the electronic platform. 

3 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL.—Upon approval of a peti4 tion under this section, the Secretary of Home5 land Security shall ensure that such approval is 

6 noted in the electronic platform and is available 

7 to the Secretary of State and U.S. Customs and 

8 Border Protection, as necessary, to facilitate visa 

9 issuance and admission. 

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

11 multiple named beneficiaries may be partially 

12 approved with respect to eligible beneficiaries 

13 notwithstanding the ineligibility, or potential in14 eligibility, of one or more other beneficiaries. 

15 ‘‘(D) POST-CERTIFICATION AMENDMENTS.— 

16 The Secretary of Labor shall provide a process 

17 for amending a request for labor certification in 

18 conjunction with an H–2A petition, subsequent 

19 to certification by the Secretary of Labor, in 

20 cases in which the requested amendment does not 

21 materially change the petition (including the job 

22 order). 

23 ‘‘(4) ROLES OF AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) MEMBER’S VIOLATION DOES NOT NEC25 ESSARILY DISQUALIFY ASSOCIATION OR OTHER


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1 MEMBERS.—If an individual producer member 

2 of a joint employer association is determined to 

3 have committed an act that results in the denial 

4 of a petition with respect to the member, the de5 nial shall apply only to that member of the asso6 ciation unless the Secretary of Labor determines 

7 that the association or other member partici8 pated in, had knowledge of, or reason to know of, 

9 the violation. 

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

11 NECESSARILY DISQUALIFY MEMBERS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) If an association representing ag13 ricultural producers as a joint employer is 

14 determined to have committed an act that 

15 results in the denial of a petition with re16 spect to the association, the denial shall 

17 apply only to the association and does not 

18 apply to any individual producer member 

19 of the association unless the Secretary of 

20 Labor determines that the member partici21 pated in, had knowledge of, or reason to 

22 know of, the violation. 

23 ‘‘(ii) If an association of agricultural 

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1 sults in the denial of a petition with respect 

2 to the association, no individual producer 

3 member of such association may be the ben4 eficiary of the services of H–2A workers in 

5 the commodity and occupation in which 

6 such aliens were employed by the associa7 tion which was denied during the period 

8 such denial is in force, unless such producer 

9 member employs such aliens in the com10 modity and occupation in question directly 

11 or through an association which is a joint 

12 employer of such workers with the producer 

13 member. 

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

15 Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Agri16 culture and Secretary of Homeland Security, may by 

17 regulation establish alternate procedures that reason18 ably modify program requirements under this section, 

19 when the Secretary determines that such modifica20 tions are required due to the unique nature of the 

21 work involved. 

22 ‘‘(6) CONSTRUCTION OCCUPATIONS.—An em23 ployer may not file a petition under this section on 

24 behalf of a worker if the majority of the worker’s duVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 ties will fall within a construction or extraction occu2 pational classification. 

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

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the require5 ment in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) that the agricul6 tural labor or services performed by an H–2A worker 

7 be of a temporary or seasonal nature, the Secretary 

8 of Homeland Security may, consistent with the provi9 sions of this subsection, approve a petition for an H– 

10 2A worker to perform agricultural services or labor 

11 that is not of a temporary or seasonal nature. 

12 ‘‘(2) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 

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

14 number of aliens who may be issued visas or oth15 erwise provided H–2A nonimmigrant status 

16 under paragraph (1) for the first fiscal year dur17 ing which the first visa is issued under such 

18 paragraph and for each of the following two fis19 cal years may not exceed 20,000. 

20 ‘‘(B) FISCAL YEARS 4 THROUGH 10.— 

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

22 of aliens who may be issued visas or other23 wise provided H–2A nonimmigrant status 

24 under paragraph (1) for the first fiscal year 

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1 paragraph (A) and for each of the following 

2 six fiscal years may not exceed a numerical 

3 limitation jointly imposed by the Secretary 

4 of Agriculture and Secretary of Labor in 

5 accordance with clause (ii). 

6 ‘‘(ii) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS.—For 

7 each fiscal year referred to in clause (i), the 

8 Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of 

9 Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of 

10 Homeland Security, shall establish a nu11 merical limitation for purposes of clause (i). 

12 Such numerical limitation may not be 

13 lower 20,000 and may not vary by more 

14 than 12.5 percent compared to the numer15 ical limitation applicable to the imme16 diately preceding fiscal year. In establishing 

17 such numerical limitation, the Secretaries 

18 shall consider appropriate factors, includ19 ing— 

20 ‘‘(I) a demonstrated shortage of 

21 agricultural workers; 

22 ‘‘(II) the level of unemployment 

23 and underemployment of agricultural 

24 workers during the preceding fiscal 

25 year; 


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1 ‘‘(III) the number of H–2A work2 ers sought by employers during the 

3 preceding fiscal year to engage in agri4 cultural labor or services not of a tem5 porary or seasonal nature; 

6 ‘‘(IV) the number of such H–2A 

7 workers issued a visa in the most re8 cent fiscal year who remain in the 

9 United States in compliance with the 

10 terms of such visa; 

11 ‘‘(V) the estimated number of 

12 United States workers, including work13 ers who obtained certified agricultural 

14 worker status under title I of the Farm 

15 Workforce Modernization Act of 2019, 

16 who worked during the preceding fiscal 

17 year in agricultural labor or services 

18 not of a temporary or seasonal nature; 

19 ‘‘(VI) the number of such United 

20 States workers who accepted jobs of21 fered by employers using the online job 

22 registry during the preceding fiscal 

23 year; 

24 ‘‘(VII) any growth or contraction 

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1 dustry that has increased or decreased 

2 the demand for agricultural workers; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(VIII) any changes in the real 

5 wages paid to agricultural workers in 

6 the United States as an indication of 

7 a shortage or surplus of agricultural 

8 labor. 

9 ‘‘(C) SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS.—For 

10 each fiscal year following the fiscal years referred 

11 to in subparagraph (B), the Secretary of Agri12 culture and Secretary of Labor shall jointly de13 termine, in consultation with the Secretary of 

14 Homeland Security, and after considering ap15 propriate factors, including those factors listed 

16 in subclauses (I) through (VIII) of subparagraph 

17 (B)(ii), whether to establish a numerical limita18 tion for that fiscal year. If a numerical limita19 tion is so established— 

20 ‘‘(i) such numerical limitation may 

21 not be lower than highest number of aliens 

22 admitted under this subsection in any of the 

23 three fiscal years immediately preceding the 

24 fiscal year for which the numerical limita25 tion is to be established; and 


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

2 may be issued visas or otherwise provided 

3 H–2A nonimmigrant status under para4 graph (1) for that fiscal year may not ex5 ceed such numerical limitation. 

6 ‘‘(D) EMERGENCY PROCEDURES.—The Sec7 retary of Agriculture and Secretary of Labor, in 

8 consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Se9 curity, shall jointly establish by regulation pro10 cedures for immediately adjusting a numerical 

11 limitation imposed under subparagraph (B) or 

12 (C) to account for significant labor shortages. 

13 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION OF VISAS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) BI-ANNUAL ALLOCATION.—The annual 

15 allocation of visas described in paragraph (2) 

16 shall be evenly allocated between two halves of 

17 the fiscal year unless the Secretary of Homeland 

18 Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 

19 Agriculture and Secretary of Labor, determines 

20 that an alternative allocation would better ac21 commodate demand for visas. Any unused visas 

22 in the first half of the fiscal year shall be added 

23 to the allocation for the subsequent half of the 

24 same fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(B) RESERVE FOR DAIRY LABOR OR SERV2 ICES.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Of the visa num4 bers made available in each half of the fiscal 

5 year pursuant to subparagraph (A), 50 per6 cent of such visas shall be reserved for em7 ployers filing petitions seeking H–2A work8 ers to engage in agricultural labor or serv9 ices in the dairy industry. 

10 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—If, after four 

11 months have elapsed in one half of the fiscal 

12 year, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

13 determines that application of clause (i) 

14 will result in visas going unused during 

15 that half of the fiscal year, clause (i) shall 

16 not apply to visas under this paragraph 

17 during the remainder of such calendar half. 

18 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL ROUND TRIP HOME.— 

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

20 requirements of this section, an employer shall 

21 provide H–2A workers employed under this sub22 section, at no cost to such workers, with annual 

23 round trip travel, including transportation and 

24 subsistence during travel, to their homes in their 

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1 vide such travel within 14 months of the initi2 ation of the worker’s employment, and no more 

3 than 14 months can elapse between each required 

4 period of travel. 

5 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The cost of travel under 

6 subparagraph (A) need not exceed the lesser of— 

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

8 transportation and subsistence involved; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) the most economical and reason10 able common carrier transportation charges 

11 and subsistence costs for the distance in12 volved. 

13 ‘‘(5) FAMILY HOUSING.—An employer seeking to 

14 employ an H–2A worker pursuant to this subsection 

15 shall offer family housing to workers with families if 

16 such workers are engaged in agricultural employment 

17 that is not of a seasonal or temporary nature. The 

18 worker may reject such an offer. The employer may 

19 not charge the worker for the worker’s housing, except 

20 that if the worker accepts family housing, a prorated 

21 rent based on the fair market value for such housing 

22 may be charged for the worker’s family members. 

23 ‘‘(6) WORKPLACE SAFETY PLAN FOR DAIRY EM24 PLOYEES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an employer is seek2 ing to employ a worker in agricultural labor or 

3 services in the dairy industry pursuant to this 

4 subsection, the employer must report incidents 

5 consistent with the requirements under section 

6 1904.39 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, 

7 and maintain an effective worksite safety and 

8 compliance plan to prevent workplace accidents 

9 and otherwise ensure safety. Such plan shall— 

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

11 the extent necessary, any language common 

12 to a significant portion of the workers if 

13 they are not fluent in English; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) be posted at a conspicuous loca15 tion at the worksite and provided to em16 ployees prior to the commencement of labor 

17 or services. 

18 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The Secretary of 

19 Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Ag20 riculture, shall establish by regulation the min21 imum requirements for the plan described in 

22 subparagraph (A). Such plan shall include meas23 ures to— 

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

25 employer’s family members) whose positions 


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1 require contact with animals to complete 

2 animal care training, including animal 

3 handling and job-specific animal care; 

4 ‘‘(ii) protect against sexual harassment 

5 and violence, resolve complaints involving 

6 harassment or violence, and protect against 

7 retaliation against workers reporting har8 assment or violence; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) contain other provisions nec10 essary for ensuring workplace safety, as de11 termined by the Secretary of Labor, in con12 sultation with the Secretary of Agriculture. 

13 ‘‘(j) ELIGIBILITY FOR H-2A STATUS AND ADMISSION

14 TO THE UNITED STATES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) DISQUALIFICATION.—An alien shall be in16 eligible for admission to the United States as an H– 

17 2A worker pursuant to a petition filed under this sec18 tion if the alien was admitted to the United States 

19 as an H–2A worker within the past 5 years of the 

20 date the petition was filed and— 

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

22 section, including the requirement to promptly 

23 depart the United States when the alien’s au24 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–2A 

5 worker. 

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

7 worker shall be valid for three years and shall allow 

8 for multiple entries during the approved period of ad9 mission. 

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 au22 thorized stay (including any extensions) has ex23 pired, 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 least 

2 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 such 

10 a deduction, and provides clear and convincing 

11 proof that the alien qualifies for such a deduc12 tion. Such proof shall consist of evidence includ13 ing, but not limited to, arrival and departure 

14 records, copies of tax returns, and records of em15 ployment 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 of 

22 employment and 45 days at the end of the period 

23 of employment for the purpose of traveling home 

24 or seeking an extension of status based on a sub25 sequent offer of employment if the worker has not 


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1 reached the maximum continuous period of au2 thorized stay under subparagraph (A) (subject to 

3 the exceptions in subparagraph (C)). 

4 ‘‘(4) CONTINUING H-2A WORKERS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) SUCCESSIVE EMPLOYMENT.—An H–2A 

6 worker is authorized to start new or concurrent 

7 employment upon the filing of a nonfrivolous H– 

8 2A petition, or as of the requested start date, 

9 whichever is later if— 

10 ‘‘(i) the petition to start new or con11 current employment was filed prior to the 

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

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

14 and 

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

16 employed without authorization in the 

17 United States from the time of last admis18 sion to the United States in H–2A status 

19 through the filing of the petition for new 

20 employment. 

21 ‘‘(B) PROTECTION DUE TO IMMIGRANT VISA

22 BACKLOGS.—Notwithstanding the limitations on 

23 the period of authorized stay described in para24 graph (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) or 

3 (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 de14 cision 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 the 

20 worker’s authorized stay, without good cause, 

21 shall be considered to have failed to maintain 

22 H–2A status and shall depart the United States 

23 or be subject to removal under section 

24 237(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 authorized 

9 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 disclosures 

15 and rights under this section (or in the absence of 

16 such a contract, a copy of the job order and proof of 

17 the certification described in subparagraphs (B) and 

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

19 from one H–2A employer to a subsequent H–2A em20 ployer shall be provided with a copy of the new em21 ployment contract no later than the time an offer of 

22 employment is made by the subsequent employer. 

23 ‘‘(2) HOURS AND EARNINGS STATEMENTS.—The 

24 employer shall furnish to H–2A workers, on or before 

25 each payday, in 1 or more written statements— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the worker’s total earnings for the pay 

2 period; 

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

4 rate of pay, or both; 

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

6 worker and the hours of employment actually 

7 worked; 

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

9 units produced daily; 

10 ‘‘(E) an itemization of the deductions made 

11 from the worker’s wages; and 

12 ‘‘(F) any other information required by 

13 Federal, State or local law. 

14 ‘‘(3) NOTICE OF WORKER RIGHTS.—The em15 ployer must post and maintain in a conspicuous lo16 cation at the place of employment, a poster provided 

17 by the Secretary of Labor in English, and, to the ex18 tent necessary, any language common to a significant 

19 portion of the workers if they are not fluent in 

20 English, which sets out the rights and protections for 

21 workers employed pursuant to this section. 

22 ‘‘(l) LABOR CONTRACTORS; FOREIGN LABOR RECRUIT23 ERS; PROHIBITION ON FEES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) LABOR CONTRACTORS.— 


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

2 labor contractor who seeks to employ H–2A 

3 workers shall maintain a surety bond in an 

4 amount required under subparagraph (B). Such 

5 bond shall be payable to the Secretary of Labor 

6 or pursuant to the resolution of a civil or crimi7 nal proceeding, for the payment of wages and 

8 benefits, including any assessment of interest, 

9 owed to an H-2A worker or a similarly em10 ployed United States worker, or a United States 

11 worker who has been rejected or displaced in vio12 lation of this section. 

13 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF BOND.—The Secretary of 

14 Labor shall annually publish in the Federal Reg15 ister a schedule of required bond amounts that 

16 are determined by such Secretary to be sufficient 

17 for labor contractors to discharge financial obli18 gations under this section based on the number 

19 of workers the labor contractor seeks to employ 

20 and the wages such workers are required to be 

21 paid. 

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

23 seeking to file a petition involving more than 1 

24 start date under subsection (h)(1)(C) shall main25 tain a surety bond that is at least 15 percent 


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1 higher than the applicable bond amount deter2 mined by the Secretary under subparagraph (B). 

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

4 the Secretary under subparagraph (A) that are 

5 not paid to a worker because of the inability to 

6 do so within a period of 5 years following the 

7 date of a violation giving rise to the obligation 

8 to pay shall remain available to the Secretary 

9 without further appropriation until expended to 

10 support the enforcement of this section. 

11 ‘‘(2) FOREIGN LABOR RECRUITING.—If the em12 ployer has retained the services of a foreign labor re13 cruiter, the employer shall use a foreign labor re14 cruiter registered under section 251 of the Farm 

15 Workforce Modernization Act of 2019. 

16 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION AGAINST EMPLOYEES PAYING

17 FEES.—Neither the employer nor its agents shall seek 

18 or receive payment of any kind from any worker for 

19 any activity related to the H–2A process, including 

20 payment of the employer’s attorneys’ fees, application 

21 fees, or recruitment costs. An employer and its agents 

22 may receive reimbursement for costs that are the re23 sponsibility and primarily for the benefit of the work24 er, such as government-required passport fees. 


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1 ‘‘(4) THIRD PARTY CONTRACTS.—The contract 

2 between an employer and any labor contractor or any 

3 foreign labor recruiter (or any agent of such labor 

4 contractor or foreign labor recruiter) whom the em5 ployer engages shall include a term providing for the 

6 termination of such contract for cause if the con7 tractor or recruiter, either directly or indirectly, in 

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

9 or receives payments or other compensation from pro10 spective employees. Upon learning that a labor con11 tractor or foreign labor recruiter has sought or col12 lected such payments, the employer shall so terminate 

13 any contracts with such contractor or recruiter. 

14 ‘‘(m) ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY.— 

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

16 authorized to take such actions against employers, in17 cluding imposing appropriate penalties and seeking 

18 monetary and injunctive relief and specific perform19 ance of contractual obligations, as may be necessary 

20 to ensure compliance with the requirements of this 

21 section and with the applicable terms and conditions 

22 of employment. 

23 ‘‘(2) COMPLAINT PROCESS.— 

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

25 shall establish a process for the receipt, investigaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00096 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 tion, and disposition of complaints alleging fail2 ure of an employer to comply with the require3 ments under this section and with the applicable 

4 terms and conditions of employment. 

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

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

7 years after the date of the conduct that is the 

8 subject of the complaint. 

9 ‘‘(C) COMPLAINT NOT EXCLUSIVE.—A com10 plaint filed under this paragraph is not an ex11 clusive remedy and the filing of such a com12 plaint does not waive any rights or remedies of 

13 the aggrieved party under this law or other laws. 

14 ‘‘(D) DECISION AND REMEDIES.—If the Sec15 retary of Labor finds, after notice and oppor16 tunity for a hearing, that the employer failed to 

17 comply with the requirements of this section or 

18 the terms and conditions of employment, the Sec19 retary of Labor may require payment of unpaid 

20 wages, unpaid benefits, fees assessed in violation 

21 of this section, damages, and civil money pen22 alties. The Secretary is also authorized to impose 

23 other administrative remedies, including dis24 qualification of the employer from utilizing the 

25 H–2A program for a period of up to 5 years in 


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1 the event of willful or multiple material viola2 tions. The Secretary is authorized to perma3 nently disqualify an employer from utilizing the 

4 H–2A program upon a subsequent finding in5 volving willful or multiple material violations. 

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

7 penalties collected under this paragraph shall be 

8 deposited into the H–2A Labor Certification Fee 

9 Account established under section 203 of the 

10 Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019. 

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

12 this subsection may be construed as limiting the au13 thority of the Secretary of Labor to conduct an inves14 tigation— 

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

16 law affecting migrant and seasonal agricultural 

17 workers; or 

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

19 ‘‘(4) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.—It is a viola20 tion of this subsection for any person who has filed 

21 a petition under this section to intimidate, threaten, 

22 restrain, coerce, blacklist, discharge, or in any other 

23 manner discriminate against, or to cause any person 

24 to intimidate, threaten, restrain, coerce, blacklist, or 

25 in any manner discriminate against, an employee, 


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1 including a former employee or an applicant for em2 ployment, because the employee— 

3 ‘‘(A) has disclosed information to the em4 ployer, or to any other person, that the employee 

5 reasonably believes evidences a violation under 

6 this section, or any rule or regulation relating to 

7 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 Sec23 retary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of 

24 Homeland Security, Secretary of State and the Equal 

25 Employment Opportunity Commission, shall establish 


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1 mechanisms by which the agencies and their compo2 nents share information, including by public elec3 tronic means, regarding complaints, studies, inves4 tigations, findings and remedies regarding compli5 ance by employers with the requirements of the H–2A 

6 program and other employment-related laws and reg7 ulations. 

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 occu12 pation and area of intended employment for the job 

13 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 con19 ditions of employment, including obligations and as20 surances required under this section or any other law. 

21 ‘‘(4) ONLINE JOB REGISTRY.—The term ‘online 

22 job registry’ means the online job registry of the Sec23 retary of Labor required under section 201(b) of the 

24 Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019 (or simi25 lar successor registry). 


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1 ‘‘(5) SIMILARLY EMPLOYED.—The term ‘simi2 larly employed’, in the case of a worker, means a 

3 worker in the same occupational classification as the 

4 classification or classifications for which the H–2A 

5 worker is sought. 

6 ‘‘(6) UNITED STATES WORKER.—The term 

7 ‘United States worker’ means any worker who is— 

8 ‘‘(A) a citizen or national of the United 

9 States; 

10 ‘‘(B) an alien who is lawfully admitted for 

11 permanent residence, is admitted as a refugee 

12 under section 207, is granted asylum under sec13 tion 208, or is an immigrant otherwise author14 ized to be employed in the United States; 

15 ‘‘(C) an alien granted certified agricultural 

16 worker status under title I of the Farm Work17 force Modernization Act of 2019; or 

18 ‘‘(D) an individual who is not an unau19 thorized alien (as defined in section 274A(h)(3)) 

20 with respect to the employment in which the 

21 worker is engaging. 

22 ‘‘(o) FEES; AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) FEES.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Home25 land Security shall impose a fee to process petiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00101 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 tions under this section. Such fee shall be set at 

2 a level that is sufficient to recover the reasonable 

3 costs of processing the petition, including the 

4 reasonable costs of providing labor certification 

5 by the Secretary of Labor. 

6 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION.—Fees collected under 

7 subparagraph (A) shall be deposited as offsetting 

8 receipts into the immigration examinations fee 

9 account in section 286(m), except that the por10 tion of fees assessed for the Secretary of Labor 

11 shall be deposited into the H–2A Labor Certifi12 cation Fee Account established pursuant to sec13 tion 203(c) of the Farm Workforce Modernization 

14 Act of 2019 . 

15 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to 

16 be appropriated for each fiscal year such sums as nec17 essary for the purposes of— 

18 ‘‘(A) recruiting United States workers for 

19 labor or services which might otherwise be per20 formed by H–2A workers, including by ensuring 

21 that State workforce agencies are sufficiently 

22 funded to fulfill their functions under this sec23 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 duties 

10 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 to— 

16 (A) review and process job orders; 

17 (B) facilitate the recruitment and referral of 

18 able, willing and qualified United States workers 

19 who will be available at the time and place need20 ed; 

21 (C) determine prevailing wages and prac22 tices; and 

23 (D) conduct timely inspections to ensure 

24 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(a) of the Immigration and Na6 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(a)); 

7 (3) determining, in consultation with the Sec8 retary of Agriculture, whether a job opportunity is of 

9 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 and 

13 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)); and 

17 (6) ensuring that guidance to State workforce 

18 agencies to conduct wage surveys is regularly up19 dated. 

20 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF HOME21 LAND SECURITY.—With respect to the administration of the 

22 H–2A program, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

23 be responsible for— 

24 (1) adjudicating petitions for the admission of 

25 H–2A workers, which shall include an assessment as 


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1 to whether each beneficiary will be employed in ac2 cordance with the terms and conditions of the certifi3 cation and whether any named beneficiaries qualify 

4 for such employment; 

5 (2) transmitting a copy of the final decision on 

6 the petition to the employer, and in the case of ap7 proved petitions, ensuring that the petition approval 

8 is reflected in the electronic platform to facilitate the 

9 prompt issuance of a visa by the Department of State 

10 (if required) and the admission of the H–2A workers 

11 to the United States; and 

12 (3) establishing a reliable and secure method 

13 through which H–2A workers can access information 

14 about their H–2A visa status, including information 

15 on pending, approved, or denied petitions to extend 

16 such status. 

17 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT AND USE OF

18 FUNDS.— 

19 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.—There is es20 tablished in the general fund of the Treasury a sepa21 rate account, which shall be known as the ‘‘H–2A 

22 Labor Certification Fee Account’’. Notwithstanding 

23 any other provisions of law, there shall be deposited 

24 as offsetting receipts into the account all amounts— 


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1 (A) collected as a civil penalty under sec2 tion 218(m)(2)(E)of the Immigration and Na3 tionality Act; and 

4 (B) collected as a fee under section 

5 218(o)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Nation6 ality Act. 

7 (2) USE OF FEES.—Amounts deposited into the 

8 H–2A Labor Certification Fee Account shall be avail9 able (except as otherwise provided in this paragraph) 

10 without fiscal year limitation and without the re11 quirement for specification in appropriations Acts to 

12 the Secretary of Labor for use, directly or through 

13 grants, contracts, or other arrangements, in such 

14 amounts as the Secretary of Labor determines are 

15 necessary for the costs of Federal and State adminis16 tration in carrying out activities in connection with 

17 labor certification under section 218 of the Immigra18 tion and Nationality Act. Such costs may include 

19 personnel salaries and benefits, equipment and infra20 structure for adjudication and customer service proc21 esses, the operation and maintenance of an on-line job 

22 registry, and program integrity activities. The Sec23 retary, in determining what amounts to transfer to 

24 States for State administration in carrying out ac25 tivities in connection with labor certification under 


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1 section 218 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

2 shall consider the number of H–2A workers employed 

3 in that State and shall adjust the amount transferred 

4 to that State accordingly. In addition, 10 percent of 

5 the amounts deposited into the H–2A Labor Certifi6 cation Fee Account shall be available to the Office of 

7 Inspector General of the Department of Labor to con8 duct audits and criminal investigations relating to 

9 such foreign labor certification programs. 

10 (3) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—Amounts available 

11 under paragraph (1) shall be available in addition to 

12 any other funds appropriated or made available to 

13 the Department of Labor under other laws, including 

14 section 218(o)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

15 Act. 

16 SEC. 204. WORKER PROTECTION AND COMPLIANCE. 

17 (a) EQUALITY OF TREATMENT.—H–2A workers shall 

18 not be denied any right or remedy under any Federal, 

19 State, or local labor or employment law applicable to 

20 United States workers engaged in agricultural employment. 

21 (b) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.— 

22 (1) MIGRANT AND SEASONAL AGRICULTURAL

23 WORKER PROTECTION ACT.—H–2A workers shall be 

24 considered migrant agricultural workers for purposes 


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1 of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker 

2 Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

3 (2) WAIVER OF RIGHTS PROHIBITED.—Agree4 ments by H–2A workers to waive or modify any 

5 rights or protections under this Act or section 218 of 

6 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188) 

7 shall be considered void or contrary to public policy 

8 except as provided in a collective bargaining agree9 ment with a bona fide labor organization. 

10 (3) MEDIATION.— 

11 (A) FREE MEDIATION SERVICES.—The Fed12 eral Mediation and Conciliation Service shall be 

13 available to assist in resolving disputes arising 

14 under this section between H–2A workers and 

15 agricultural employers without charge to the 

16 parties. 

17 (B) COMPLAINT.—If an H–2A worker files 

18 a civil lawsuit alleging one or more violations of 

19 section 218 of the Immigration and Nationality 

20 Act (8 U.S.C. 1188), the Fair Labor Standards 

21 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), or the Mi22 grant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protec23 tion Act (29 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), not later than 

24 60 days after the filing of proof of service of the 

25 complaint, a party to the lawsuit may file a reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00108 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 quest with the Federal Mediation and Concilia2 tion Service to assist the parties in reaching a 

3 satisfactory resolution of all issues involving all 

4 parties to the dispute. 

5 (C) NOTICE.—Upon filing a request under 

6 subparagraph (B) and giving of notice to the 

7 parties, the parties shall attempt mediation 

8 within the period specified in subparagraph (D), 

9 except that nothing in this paragraph shall limit 

10 the ability of a court to order preliminary in11 junctive relief to protect health and safety. 

12 (D) 90-DAY LIMIT.—The Federal Mediation 

13 and Conciliation Service may conduct mediation 

14 or other nonbinding dispute resolution activities 

15 for a period not to exceed 90 days beginning on 

16 the date on which the Federal Mediation and 

17 Conciliation Service receives a request for assist18 ance under subparagraph (B) unless the parties 

19 agree to an extension of such period. 

20 (E) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA21 TIONS.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

23 (ii), there is authorized to be appropriated 

24 to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation 


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1 Service, $500,000 for each fiscal year to 

2 carry out this subparagraph. 

3 (ii) MEDIATION.—Notwithstanding 

4 any other provision of law, the Director of 

5 the Federal Mediation and Conciliation 

6 Service is authorized— 

7 (I) to conduct the mediation or 

8 other dispute resolution activities from 

9 any other account containing amounts 

10 available to the Director; and 

11 (II) to reimburse such account 

12 with amounts appropriated pursuant 

13 to clause (i). 

14 (F) PRIVATE MEDIATION.—If all parties 

15 agree, a private mediator may be employed as 

16 an alternative to the Federal Mediation and 

17 Conciliation Service. 

18 (c) FARM LABOR CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 (1) SURETY BONDS.— 

20 (A) REQUIREMENT.—Section 101 of the Mi21 grant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protec22 tion Act (29 U.S.C. 1811), is amended by adding 

23 at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(e) A farm labor contractor shall maintain a surety 

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1 cient for ensuring the ability of the farm labor contractor 

2 to discharge its financial obligations, including payment 

3 of wages and benefits to employees. Such a bond shall be 

4 available to satisfy any amounts ordered to be paid by the 

5 Secretary or by court order for failure to comply with the 

6 obligations of this Act. The Secretary of Labor shall annu7 ally publish in the Federal Register a schedule of required 

8 bond amounts that are determined by such Secretary to be 

9 sufficient for farm labor contractors to discharge financial 

10 obligations based on the number of workers to be covered.’’. 

11 (B) REGISTRATION DETERMINATIONS.—Sec12 tion 103(a) of the Migrant and Seasonal Agri13 cultural Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 

14 1813(a)), is amended— 

15 (i) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

16 at the end; 

17 (ii) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking 

18 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

19 (iii) in paragraph (6), by striking the 

20 period at the end and inserting ‘‘;’’ ; and 

21 (iv) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(7) has failed to maintain a surety bond in 

23 compliance with section 101(e); or 

24 ‘‘(8) has been disqualified by the Secretary of 

25 Labor from importing nonimmigrants described in 


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1 section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii) of the Immigration and Na2 tionality Act.’’. 

3 (2) SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST.— 

4 (A) DECLARATION.—Section 102 of the Mi5 grant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protec6 tion Act (29 U.S.C. 1812), is amended— 

7 (i) in paragraph (4), by striking 

8 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

9 (ii) in paragraph (5), by striking the 

10 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

11 and 

12 (iii) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(6) a declaration, subscribed and sworn to by 

15 the applicant, stating whether the applicant has a fa16 milial, contractual, or employment relationship with, 

17 or shares vehicles, facilities, property, or employees 

18 with, a person who has been refused issuance or re19 newal of a certificate, or has had a certificate sus20 pended or revoked, pursuant to section 103.’’. 

21 (B) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.—Section 

22 103 of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural 

23 Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1813), as 

24 amended by this Act, is further amended by in25 serting after subsection (a) the following new 


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1 subsection (and by redesignating the subsequent 

2 subsections accordingly): 

3 ‘‘(b)(1) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that 

4 an applicant for issuance or renewal of a certificate is not 

5 the real party in interest in the application if the appli6 cant— 

7 ‘‘(A) is the immediate family member of any 

8 person who has been refused issuance or renewal of a 

9 certificate, or has had a certificate suspended or re10 voked; and 

11 ‘‘(B) identifies a vehicle, facility, or real prop12 erty under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 102 that 

13 has been previously listed by a person who has been 

14 refused issuance or renewal of a certificate, or has 

15 had a certificate suspended or revoked. 

16 ‘‘(2) An applicant described in paragraph (1) bears 

17 the burden of demonstrating to the Secretary’s satisfaction 

18 that the applicant is the real party in interest in the appli19 cation.’’. 

20 SEC. 205. REPORT ON WAGE PROTECTIONS. 

21 (a) Not later than 3 years after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary 

23 of Labor and Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare and 

24 transmit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House 

25 of Representatives and Senate, a report that addresses— 


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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 oppor4 tunities of United States farm workers; 

5 (2) whether, and the manner in which, the ad6 verse effect wage rate increases or decreases wages on 

7 United States farms, broken down by geographic re8 gion 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 fac20 tors 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 farms 


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1 to compete with agricultural commodities imported 

2 from outside the United States; 

3 (7) the number and percentage of farmworkers in 

4 the United States whose incomes are below the pov5 erty line; 

6 (8) whether alternative wage standards would be 

7 sufficient to prevent wages in occupations in which 

8 H–2A workers are employed from falling below the 

9 wage level that would have prevailed in the absence 

10 of the H–2A program; 

11 (9) whether any changes are warranted in the 

12 current methodologies for calculating the adverse effect 

13 wage rate and the prevailing wage; and 

14 (10) recommendations for future wage protection 

15 under this section. 

16 (b) In preparing the report described in subsection (a), 

17 the Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Agriculture shall 

18 engage with equal numbers of representatives of agricul19 tural employers and agricultural workers, both locally and 

20 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 employment 

4 of temporary or seasonal H–2A workers to perform 

5 agricultural labor or services for agricultural employ6 ers registered with the Secretary of Agriculture. Not7 withstanding the requirements of section 218 of the 

8 Immigration and Nationality Act, such regulation 

9 shall establish the requirements for the pilot program, 

10 consistent with subsection (b). For purposes of this 

11 section, such a worker shall be referred to as a port12 able H–2A worker, and status as such a worker shall 

13 be referred to as portable H–2A status. 

14 (2) ONLINE PLATFORM.—The Secretary of 

15 Homeland Security, in consultation with the Sec16 retary of Labor and the Secretary of Agriculture, 

17 shall maintain an online electronic platform to con18 nect portable H–2A workers with registered agricul19 tural employers seeking workers to perform temporary 

20 or seasonal agricultural labor or services. Employers 

21 shall post on the platform available job opportunities, 

22 including a description of the nature and location of 

23 the work to be performed, the anticipated period or 

24 periods of need, and the terms and conditions of em25 ployment. Such platform shall allow portable H–2A 


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1 workers to search for available job opportunities using 

2 relevant criteria, including the types of jobs needed to 

3 be filled and the dates and locations of need. 

4 (3) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding the issuance 

5 of the regulation described in paragraph (1), the Sec6 retary of State may not issue a portable H–2A visa 

7 and the Secretary of Homeland Security may not 

8 confer portable H–2A status on any alien until the 

9 Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with 

10 the Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Agriculture, 

11 has determined that a sufficient number of employers 

12 have been designated as registered agricultural em13 ployers under subsection (b)(1) and that such employ14 ers have sufficient job opportunities to employ a rea15 sonable number of portable H–2A workers to initiate 

16 the pilot program. 

17 (b) PILOT PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The pilot program 

18 in subsection (a) shall contain the following elements: 

19 (1) REGISTERED AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYERS.— 

20 (A) DESIGNATION.—Agricultural employers 

21 shall be provided the ability to seek designation 

22 as registered agricultural employers. Reasonable 

23 fees may be assessed commensurate with the cost 

24 of processing applications for designation. A des25 ignation shall be valid for a period of up to 3 


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1 years unless revoked for failure to comply with 

2 program requirements. Registered employers that 

3 comply with program requirements may apply 

4 to renew such designation for additional periods 

5 of up to 3 years for the duration of the pilot pro6 gram. 

7 (B) LIMITATIONS.—Registered agricultural 

8 employers may employ aliens with portable H– 

9 2A status without filing a petition. Such em10 ployers shall pay such aliens at least the wage 

11 required under section 218(d) of the Immigra12 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(d)). 

13 (C) WORKERS’ COMPENSATION.—If a job 

14 opportunity is not covered by or is exempt from 

15 the State workers’ compensation law, a registered 

16 agricultural employer shall provide, at no cost to 

17 the worker, insurance covering injury and dis18 ease arising out of, and in the course of, the 

19 worker’s employment, which will provide benefits 

20 at least equal to those provided under the State 

21 workers’ compensation law. 

22 (2) DESIGNATED WORKERS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Individuals who have 

24 been previously admitted to the United States in 

25 H–2A status, and maintained such status during 


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1 the period of admission, shall be provided the op2 portunity to apply for portable H–2A status. 

3 Portable H–2A workers shall be subject to the 

4 provisions on visa validity and periods of au5 thorized stay and admission for H–2A workers 

6 described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 

7 218(j) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

8 (8 U.S.C. 1188(j)(2) and (3)). 

9 (B) LIMITATIONS ON AVAILABILITY OF

10 PORTABLE H–2A STATUS.— 

11 (i) INITIAL OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT

12 REQUIRED.—No alien may be granted port13 able H–2A status without an initial valid 

14 offer of employment to perform temporary 

15 or agricultural labor or services from a reg16 istered agricultural employer. 

17 (ii) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.—The 

18 total number of aliens who may hold valid 

19 portable H–2A status at any one time may 

20 not exceed 10,000. Notwithstanding such 

21 limitation, the Secretary of Homeland Se22 curity may further limit the number of 

23 aliens with valid portable H–2A status if 

24 the Secretary determines that there are an 

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1 tural employers or job opportunities to sup2 port the employment of all such portable H– 

3 2A workers. 

4 (C) SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT.—During the 

5 period of admission, a portable H–2A worker 

6 may perform temporary or seasonal agricultural 

7 labor or services for any employer in the United 

8 States that is designated as a registered agricul9 tural employer pursuant to paragraph (1). An 

10 employment arrangement under this section may 

11 be terminated by either the portable H–2A work12 er or the registered agricultural employer at any 

13 time. 

14 (D) TRANSFER TO NEW EMPLOYMENT.—At 

15 the cessation of employment with a registered ag16 ricultural employer, a portable H–2A worker 

17 shall have 60 days to secure new employment 

18 with a registered agricultural employer. 

19 (E) MAINTENANCE OF STATUS.—A portable 

20 H–2A worker who does not secure new employ21 ment with a registered agricultural employer 

22 within 60 days shall be considered to have failed 

23 to maintain such status and shall depart the 

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1 tion 237(a)(1)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Na2 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(a)(1)(C)(i)). 

3 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary of Labor 

4 shall be responsible for conducting investigations and 

5 random audits of employers to ensure compliance 

6 with the employment-related requirements of this sec7 tion, consistent with section 218(m) of the Immigra8 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(m)). The 

9 Secretary of Labor shall have the authority to collect 

10 reasonable civil penalties for violations, which shall 

11 be utilized by the Secretary for the administration 

12 and enforcement of the provisions of this section. 

13 (4) ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES.—Section 305 of 

14 Public Law 99–603 (100 Stat. 3434) is amended by 

15 striking ‘‘other employment rights as provided in the 

16 worker’s specific contract under which the non17 immigrant was admitted’’ and inserting ‘‘employ18 ment-related rights’’. 

19 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months before the end 

20 of the third fiscal year of the pilot program, the Secretary 

21 of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary 

22 of Labor and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall prepare 

23 and submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House 

24 of Representatives and the Senate, a report that provides— 


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1 (1) the number of employers designated as reg2 istered agricultural employers, broken down by geo3 graphic region, farm size, and the number of job op4 portunities offered by such employers; 

5 (2) the number of employers whose designation 

6 as a registered agricultural employer was revoked; 

7 (3) the number of individuals granted portable 

8 H–2A status in each fiscal year, along with the num9 ber of such individuals who maintained portable H– 

10 2A status during all or a portion of the 3-year period 

11 of the pilot program; 

12 (4) an assessment of the impact of the pilot pro13 gram on the wages and working conditions of United 

14 States farm workers; 

15 (5) the results of a survey of individuals granted 

16 portable H–2A status, detailing their experiences with 

17 and feedback on the pilot program; 

18 (6) the results of a survey of registered agricul19 tural employers, detailing their experiences with and 

20 feedback on the pilot program; 

21 (7) an assessment as to whether the program 

22 should be continued and if so, any recommendations 

23 for improving the program; and 

24 (8) findings and recommendations regarding ef25 fective recruitment mechanisms, including use of new 


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1 technology to match workers with employers and en2 sure compliance with applicable labor and employ3 ment laws and regulations. 

4 SEC. 207. IMPROVING ACCESS TO PERMANENT RESIDENCE. 

5 (a) WORLDWIDE LEVEL.—Section 201(d)(1)(A) of the 

6 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(d)(1)(A)) 

7 is amended by striking ‘‘140,000’’ and inserting ‘‘180,000’’. 

8 (b) VISAS FOR FARMWORKERS.—Section 203(b) of the 

9 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘28.6 percent 

12 of such worldwide level’’ and inserting ‘‘40,040’’; 

13 (2) in paragraph (2)(A) by striking ‘‘28.6 per14 cent of such worldwide level’’ and inserting ‘‘40,040’’; 

15 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

16 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

17 (i) in the matter before clause (i), by 

18 striking ‘‘28.6 percent of such worldwide 

19 level’’ and inserting ‘‘80,040’’; and 

20 (ii) by amending clause (iii) to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(iii) OTHER WORKERS.—Other quali23 fied immigrants who, at the time of peti24 tioning for classification under this para25 graph— 


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1 ‘‘(I) are capable of performing un2 skilled labor, not of a temporary or 

3 seasonal nature, for which qualified 

4 workers are not available in the United 

5 States; or 

6 ‘‘(II) can demonstrate employ7 ment in the United States as an H–2A 

8 nonimmigrant worker for at least 100 

9 days in each of at least 10 years.’’; 

10 (B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘(B) VISAS ALLOCATED FOR OTHER WORK13 ERS.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

15 in clauses (ii) and (iii), 50,000 of the visas 

16 made available under this paragraph shall 

17 be reserved for qualified immigrants de18 scribed in subparagraph (A)(iii). 

19 ‘‘(ii) PREFERENCE FOR AGRICULTURAL

20 WORKERS.—Subject to clause (iii), not less 

21 than four-fifths of the visas described in 

22 clause (i) shall be reserved for— 

23 ‘‘(I) qualified immigrants de24 scribed in subparagraph (A)(iii)(I) 

25 who will be performing agricultural 


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1 labor or services in the United States; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(II) qualified immigrants de4 scribed in subparagraph (A)(iii)(II). 

5 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTION.—If because of the 

6 application of clause (ii), the total number 

7 of visas available under this paragraph for 

8 a calendar quarter exceeds the number of 

9 qualified immigrants who otherwise may be 

10 issued such a visa, clause (ii) shall not 

11 apply to visas under this paragraph during 

12 the remainder of such calendar quarter. 

13 ‘‘(iv) NO PER COUNTRY LIMITS.—Visas 

14 described under clause (ii) shall be issued 

15 without regard to the numerical limitation 

16 under section 202(a)(2).’’; and 

17 (C) by amending subparagraph (C) by 

18 striking ‘‘An immigrant visa’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘Except for qualified immigrants petitioning for 

20 classification under subparagraph (A)(iii)(II), 

21 an immigrant visa’’; 

22 (4) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘7.1 percent of 

23 such worldwide level’’ and inserting ‘‘9,940’’; and 


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1 (5) in paragraph (5)(A), in the matter before 

2 clause (i), by striking ‘‘7.1 percent of such worldwide 

3 level’’ and inserting ‘‘9,940’’. 

4 (c) PETITIONING PROCEDURE.—Section 204(a)(1)(E) 

5 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

6 1154(a)(1)(E)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or 

7 203(b)(3)(A)(iii)(II)’’ after ‘‘203(b)(1)(A)’’. 

8 (d) DUAL INTENT.—Section 214(b) of the Immigration 

9 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(b)) is amended by 

10 striking ‘‘section 101(a)(15)(H)(i) except subclause (b1) of 

11 such section’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (i), except subclause 

12 (b1), or (ii)(a) of section 101(a)(15)(H)’’. 

13 Subtitle B—Preservation and Con14 struction of Farmworker Hous15 ing 

16 SEC. 220. SHORT TITLE. 

17 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Strategy and Invest18 ment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2019’’. 

19 SEC. 221. PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT OF HOUSING PRES20 ERVATION AND REVITALIZATION PROGRAM. 

21 Title V of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 

22 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

23 section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 545. HOUSING PRESERVATION AND REVITALIZATION 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall carry out 

4 a program under this section for the preservation and revi5 talization of multifamily rental housing projects financed 

6 under section 515 or both sections 514 and 516. 

7 ‘‘(b) NOTICE OF MATURING LOANS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) TO OWNERS.—On an annual basis, the Sec9 retary shall provide written notice to each owner of 

10 a property financed under section 515 or both sec11 tions 514 and 516 that will mature within the 4-year 

12 period beginning upon the provision of such notice, 

13 setting forth the options and financial incentives that 

14 are available to facilitate the extension of the loan 

15 term or the option to decouple a rental assistance con16 tract pursuant to subsection (f). 

17 ‘‘(2) TO TENANTS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each property fi19 nanced under section 515 or both sections 514 

20 and 516, not later than the date that is 2 years 

21 before the date that such loan will mature, the 

22 Secretary shall provide written notice to each 

23 household residing in such property that informs 

24 them of the date of the loan maturity, the pos25 sible actions that may happen with respect to the 

26 property upon such maturity, and how to protect 


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1 their right to reside in Federally assisted housing 

2 after such maturity. 

3 ‘‘(B) LANGUAGE.—Notice under this para4 graph shall be provided in plain English and 

5 shall be translated to other languages in the case 

6 of any property located in an area in which a 

7 significant number of residents speak such other 

8 languages. 

9 ‘‘(c) LOAN RESTRUCTURING.—Under the program 

10 under this section, the Secretary may restructure such exist11 ing housing loans, as the Secretary considers appropriate, 

12 for the purpose of ensuring that such projects have sufficient 

13 resources to preserve the projects to provide safe and afford14 able housing for low-income residents and farm laborers, 

15 by— 

16 ‘‘(1) reducing or eliminating interest; 

17 ‘‘(2) deferring loan payments; 

18 ‘‘(3) subordinating, reducing, or reamortizing 

19 loan debt; and 

20 ‘‘(4) providing other financial assistance, includ21 ing advances, payments, and incentives (including 

22 the ability of owners to obtain reasonable returns on 

23 investment) required by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(d) RENEWAL OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—When the 

25 Secretary offers to restructure a loan pursuant to subsection 


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1 (c), the Secretary shall offer to renew the rental assistance 

2 contract under section 521(a)(2) for a 20-year term that 

3 is subject to annual appropriations, provided that the 

4 owner agrees to bring the property up to such standards 

5 that will ensure its maintenance as decent, safe, and sani6 tary housing for the full term of the rental assistance con7 tract. 

8 ‘‘(e) RESTRICTIVE USE AGREEMENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—As part of the preserva10 tion and revitalization agreement for a project, the 

11 Secretary shall obtain a restrictive use agreement that 

12 obligates the owner to operate the project in accord13 ance with this title. 

14 ‘‘(2) TERM.— 

15 ‘‘(A) NO EXTENSION OF RENTAL ASSIST16 ANCE CONTRACT.—Except when the Secretary 

17 enters into a 20-year extension of the rental as18 sistance contract for the project, the term of the 

19 restrictive use agreement for the project shall be 

20 consistent with the term of the restructured loan 

21 for the project. 

22 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE

23 CONTRACT.—If the Secretary enters into a 20- 

24 year extension of the rental assistance contract 


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1 for a project, the term of the restrictive use agree2 ment for the project shall be for 20 years. 

3 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION.—The Secretary may 

4 terminate the 20-year use restrictive use agree5 ment for a project prior to the end of its term 

6 if the 20-year rental assistance contract for the 

7 project with the owner is terminated at any time 

8 for reasons outside the owner’s control. 

9 ‘‘(f) DECOUPLING OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) RENEWAL OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE CON11 TRACT.—If the Secretary determines that a maturing 

12 loan for a project cannot reasonably be restructured 

13 in accordance with subsection (c) and the project was 

14 operating with rental assistance under section 521, 

15 the Secretary may renew the rental assistance con16 tract, notwithstanding any provision of section 521, 

17 for a term, subject to annual appropriations, of at 

18 least 10 years but not more than 20 years. 

19 ‘‘(2) RENTS.—Any agreement to extend the term 

20 of the rental assistance contract under section 521 for 

21 a project shall obligate the owner to continue to main22 tain the project as decent, safe and sanitary housing 

23 and to operate the development in accordance with 

24 this title, except that rents shall be based on the lesser 

25 of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the budget-based needs of the project; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(B) the operating cost adjustment factor as 

4 a payment standard as provided under section 

5 524 of the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform 

6 and Affordability Act of 1997 (42 U.S.C. 1437 

7 note). 

8 ‘‘(g) MULTIFAMILY HOUSING TRANSFER TECHNICAL

9 ASSISTANCE.—Under the program under this section, the 

10 Secretary may provide grants to qualified non-profit orga11 nizations and public housing agencies to provide technical 

12 assistance, including financial and legal services, to bor13 rowers under loans under this title for multifamily housing 

14 to facilitate the acquisition of such multifamily housing 

15 properties in areas where the Secretary determines there is 

16 a risk of loss of affordable housing. 

17 ‘‘(h) TRANSFER OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—After the 

18 loan or loans for a rental project originally financed under 

19 section 515 or both sections 514 and 516 have matured or 

20 have been prepaid and the owner has chosen not to restruc21 ture the loan pursuant to subsection (c), a tenant residing 

22 in such project shall have 18 months prior to loan matura23 tion or prepayment to transfer the rental assistance as24 signed to the tenant’s unit to another rental project origi25 nally financed under section 515 or both sections 514 and 


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1 516, and the owner of the initial project may rent the ten2 ant’s previous unit to a new tenant without income restric3 tions. 

4 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of any amounts 

5 made available for the program under this section for any 

6 fiscal year, the Secretary may use not more than $1,000,000 

7 for administrative expenses for carrying out such program. 

8 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated for the program under this 

10 section $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

11 2024.’’. 

12 SEC. 222. ELIGIBILITY FOR RURAL HOUSING VOUCHERS. 

13 Section 542 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

14 1490r) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

15 subsection: 

16 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY OF HOUSEHOLDS IN SECTIONS 514, 

17 515, AND 516 PROJECTS.—The Secretary may provide 

18 rural housing vouchers under this section for any low-in19 come household (including those not receiving rental assist20 ance) residing, for a term longer than the remaining term 

21 of their lease in effect just prior to prepayment, in a prop22 erty financed with a loan made or insured under section 

23 514 or 515 (42 U.S.C. 1484, 1485) which has been prepaid 

24 without restrictions imposed by the Secretary pursuant to 

25 section 502(c)(5)(G)(ii)(I) (42 U.S.C. 1472(c)(5)(G)(ii)(I)), 


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1 has been foreclosed, or has matured after September 30, 

2 2005, or residing in a property assisted under section 514 

3 or 516 that is owned by a nonprofit organization or public 

4 agency.’’. 

5 SEC. 223. AMOUNT OF VOUCHER ASSISTANCE. 

6 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the 

7 case of any rural housing voucher provided pursuant to sec8 tion 542 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490r), 

9 the amount of the monthly assistance payment for the 

10 household on whose behalf such assistance is provided shall 

11 be determined as provided in subsection (a) of such section 

12 542. 

13 SEC. 224. RENTAL ASSISTANCE CONTRACT AUTHORITY. 

14 Subsection (d) of section 521 of the Housing Act of 

15 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490a(d)) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting after subpara17 graph (A) the following new subparagraph (and by 

18 redesignating the subsequent subparagraphs accord19 ingly): 

20 ‘‘(B) upon request of an owner of a project fi21 nanced under section 514 or 515, the Secretary is au22 thorized to enter into renewal of such agreements for 

23 a period of 20 years or the term of the loan, which24 ever is shorter, subject to amounts made available in 

25 appropriations Acts;’’; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new para2 graph: 

3 ‘‘(3) In the case of any rental assistance contract au4 thority that becomes available because of the termination 

5 of assistance on behalf of an assisted family— 

6 ‘‘(A) at the option of the owner of the rental 

7 project, the Secretary shall provide the owner a period 

8 of 6 months before such assistance is made available 

9 pursuant to subparagraph (B) during which the 

10 owner may use such assistance authority to provide 

11 assistance of behalf of an eligible unassisted family 

12 that— 

13 ‘‘(i) is residing in the same rental project 

14 that the assisted family resided in prior to such 

15 termination; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) newly occupies a dwelling unit in such 

17 rental project during such period; and 

18 ‘‘(B) except for assistance used as provided in 

19 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall use such re20 maining authority to provide such assistance on be21 half of eligible families residing in other rental 

22 projects originally financed under section 515 or both 

23 sections 514 and 516 of this Act.’’. 


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1 SEC. 225. FUNDING FOR MULTIFAMILY TECHNICAL IM2 PROVEMENTS. 

3 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

4 of Agriculture $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 for improv5 ing the technology of the Department of Agriculture used 

6 to process loans for multifamily housing and otherwise 

7 managing such housing. Such improvements shall be made 

8 within the 5-year period beginning upon the appropriation 

9 of such amounts and such amount shall remain available 

10 until the expiration of such 5-year period. 

11 SEC. 226. PLAN FOR PRESERVING AFFORDABILITY OF 

12 RENTAL PROJECTS. 

13 (a) PLAN.—The Secretary of Agriculture (in this sec14 tion referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall submit a written 

15 plan to the Congress, not later than the expiration of the 

16 6-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of 

17 this Act, for preserving the affordability for low-income 

18 families of rental projects for which loans were made under 

19 section 515 or made to nonprofit or public agencies under 

20 section 514 and avoiding the displacement of tenant house21 holds, which shall— 

22 (1) set forth specific performance goals and 

23 measures; 

24 (2) set forth the specific actions and mechanisms 

25 by which such goals will be achieved; 


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1 (3) set forth specific measurements by which 

2 progress towards achievement of each goal can be 

3 measured; 

4 (4) provide for detailed reporting on outcomes; 

5 and 

6 (5) include any legislative recommendations to 

7 assist in achievement of the goals under the plan. 

8 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE.—The Secretary 

10 shall establish an advisory committee whose purpose 

11 shall be to assist the Secretary in preserving section 

12 515 properties and section 514 properties owned by 

13 nonprofit or public agencies through the multifamily 

14 housing preservation and revitalization program 

15 under section 545 and in implementing the plan re16 quired under subsection (a). 

17 (2) MEMBER.—The advisory committee shall 

18 consist of 16 members, appointed by the Secretary, as 

19 follows: 

20 (A) A State Director of Rural Development 

21 for the Department of Agriculture. 

22 (B) The Administrator for Rural Housing 

23 Service of the Department of Agriculture. 


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1 (C) Two representatives of for-profit devel2 opers or owners of multifamily rural rental 

3 housing. 

4 (D) Two representatives of non-profit devel5 opers or owners of multifamily rural rental 

6 housing. 

7 (E) Two representatives of State housing fi8 nance agencies. 

9 (F) Two representatives of tenants of multi10 family rural rental housing. 

11 (G) One representative of a community de12 velopment financial institution that is involved 

13 in preserving the affordability of housing as14 sisted under sections 514, 515, and 516 of the 

15 Housing Act of 1949. 

16 (H) One representative of a nonprofit orga17 nization that operates nationally and has ac18 tively participated in the preservation of housing 

19 assisted by the Rural Housing Service by con20 ducting research regarding, and providing fi21 nancing and technical assistance for, preserving 

22 the affordability of such housing. 

23 (I) One representative of low-income hous24 ing tax credit investors. 


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1 (J) One representative of regulated finan2 cial institutions that finance affordable multi3 family rural rental housing developments. 

4 (K) Two representatives from non-profit or5 ganizations representing farmworkers, including 

6 one organization representing farmworker 

7 women. 

8 (3) MEETINGS.—The advisory committee shall 

9 meet not less often than once each calendar quarter. 

10 (4) FUNCTIONS.—In providing assistance to the 

11 Secretary to carry out its purpose, the advisory com12 mittee shall carry out the following functions: 

13 (A) Assisting the Rural Housing Service of 

14 the Department of Agriculture to improve esti15 mates of the size, scope, and condition of rental 

16 housing portfolio of the Service, including the 

17 time frames for maturity of mortgages and costs 

18 for preserving the portfolio as affordable housing. 

19 (B) Reviewing current policies and proce20 dures of the Rural Housing Service regarding 

21 preservation of affordable rental housing fi22 nanced under sections 514, 515, 516, and 538 of 

23 the Housing Act of 1949, the Multifamily Preser24 vation and Revitalization Demonstration pro25 gram (MPR), and the rental assistance program 


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1 and making recommendations regarding im2 provements and modifications to such policies 

3 and procedures. 

4 (C) Providing ongoing review of Rural 

5 Housing Service program results. 

6 (D) Providing reports to the Congress and 

7 the public on meetings, recommendations, and 

8 other findings of the advisory committee. 

9 (5) TRAVEL COSTS.—Any amounts made avail10 able for administrative costs of the Department of Ag11 riculture may be used for costs of travel by members 

12 of the advisory committee to meetings of the com13 mittee. 

14 SEC. 227. COVERED HOUSING PROGRAMS. 

15 Paragraph (3) of section 41411(a) of the Violence 

16 Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12491(a)(3)) is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) in subparagraph (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

19 the end; 

20 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (J) as sub21 paragraph (K); and 

22 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the fol23 lowing new subparagraph: 

24 ‘‘(J) rural development housing voucher as25 sistance provided by the Secretary of Agriculture 


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1 pursuant to section 542 of the Housing Act of 

2 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490r), without regard to sub3 section (b) of such section, and applicable appro4 priation Acts; and’’. 

5 SEC. 228. NEW FARMWORKER HOUSING. 

6 Section 513 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

7 1483) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

8 subsection: 

9 ‘‘(f) FUNDING FOR FARMWORKER HOUSING.— 

10 ‘‘(1) SECTION 514 FARMWORKER HOUSING

11 LOANS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) INSURANCE AUTHORITY.—The Sec13 retary of Agriculture may, to the extent ap14 proved in appropriation Acts, insure loans 

15 under section 514 (42 U.S.C. 1484) during each 

16 of fiscal years 2020 through 2029 in an aggre17 gate amount not to exceed $200,000,000. 

18 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

19 FOR COSTS.—There is authorized to be appro20 priated $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 

21 through 2029 for costs (as such term is defined 

22 in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act 

23 of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a)) of loans insured pursu24 ant the authority under subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(2) SECTION 516 GRANTS FOR FARMWORKER

2 HOUSING.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

3 $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

4 2029 for financial assistance under section 516 (42 

5 U.S.C. 1486). 

6 ‘‘(3) SECTION 521 HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—There 

7 is authorized to be appropriated $2,700,000,000 for 

8 each of fiscal years 2020 through 2029 for rental as9 sistance agreements entered into or renewed pursuant 

10 to section 521(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 1490a(a)(2)) or agree11 ments entered into in lieu of debt forgiveness or pay12 ments for eligible households as authorized by section 

13 502(c)(5)(D).’’. 

14 SEC. 229. LOAN AND GRANT LIMITATIONS. 

15 Section 514 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

16 1484) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(j) PER PROJECT LIMITATIONS ON ASSISTANCE.—If 

18 the Secretary, in making available assistance in any area 

19 under this section or section 516 (42 U.S.C. 1486), estab20 lishes a limitation on the amount of assistance available 

21 per project, the limitation on a grant or loan award per 

22 project shall not be less than $5 million.’’. 

23 SEC. 230. OPERATING ASSISTANCE SUBSIDIES. 

24 Subsection (a)(5) of section 521 of the Housing Act 

25 of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490a(a)(5)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (A) by inserting ‘‘or domes2 tic farm labor legally admitted to the United States 

3 and authorized to work in agriculture’’ after ‘‘mi4 grant farmworkers’’; 

5 (2) in subparagraph (B)— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘AMOUNT.—In any fiscal 

7 year’’ and inserting ‘‘AMOUNT.— 

8 ‘‘(i) HOUSING FOR MIGRANT FARM9 WORKERS.—In any fiscal year’’; 

10 (B) by inserting ‘‘providing housing for mi11 grant farmworkers’’ after ‘‘any project’’; and 

12 (C) by inserting at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(ii) HOUSING FOR OTHER FARM

14 LABOR.—In any fiscal year, the assistance 

15 provided under this paragraph for any 

16 project providing housing for domestic farm 

17 labor legally admitted to the United States 

18 and authorized to work in agriculture shall 

19 not exceed an amount equal to 50 percent of 

20 the operating costs for the project for the 

21 year, as determined by the Secretary. The 

22 owner of such project shall not qualify for 

23 operating assistance unless the Secretary 

24 certifies that the project was unoccupied or 

25 underutilized before making units available 


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1 to such farm labor, and that a grant under 

2 this section will not displace any farm 

3 worker who is a United States worker.’’; 

4 and 

5 (3) in subparagraph (D), by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(iii) The term ‘domestic farm labor’ has 

8 the same meaning given such term in section 

9 514(f)(3) (42 U.S.C. 1484(f)(3)), except that sub10 paragraph (A) of such section shall not apply for 

11 purposes this section.’’. 

12 SEC. 231. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTIFIED WORKERS. 

13 Subsection (a) of section 214 of the Housing and Com14 munity Development Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 1436a) is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

17 end; 

18 (2) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para19 graph (8); and 

20 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(7) an alien granted certified agricultural 

23 worker or certified agricultural dependent status 

24 under title I of the Farm Workforce Modernization 

25 Act of 2019, but solely for financial assistance made 


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1 available pursuant to section 521 or 542 of the Hous2 ing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490a, 1490r); or’’. 

3 Subtitle C—Foreign Labor 

4 Recruiter Accountability 

5 SEC. 251. REGISTRATION OF FOREIGN LABOR RECRUITERS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

7 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor, in con8 sultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of 

9 Homeland Security, shall establish procedures for the elec10 tronic registration of foreign labor recruiters engaged in the 

11 recruitment of nonimmigrant workers described in section 

12 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 

13 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)) to perform agricul14 tural labor or services in the United States. 

15 (b) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—The procedures 

16 described in subsection (a) shall— 

17 (1) require the applicant to submit a sworn dec18 laration— 

19 (A) stating the applicant’s permanent place 

20 of residence or principal place of business, as ap21 plicable; 

22 (B) describing the foreign labor recruiting 

23 activities in which the applicant is engaged; and 


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1 (C) including such other relevant informa2 tion as the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary 

3 of State may require; 

4 (2) include an expeditious means to update and 

5 renew registrations; 

6 (3) include a process, which shall include the 

7 placement of personnel at each United States diplo8 matic mission in accordance with subsection (g)(2), to 

9 receive information from the public regarding foreign 

10 labor recruiters who have allegedly engaged in a for11 eign labor recruiting activity that is prohibited under 

12 this subtitle; 

13 (4) include procedures for the receipt and proc14 essing of complaints against foreign labor recruiters 

15 and for remedies, including the revocation of a reg16 istration or the assessment of fines upon a determina17 tion by the Secretary of Labor that the foreign labor 

18 recruiter has violated the requirements of this subtitle; 

19 (5) require the applicant to post a bond in an 

20 amount sufficient to ensure the ability of the appli21 cant to discharge its responsibilities and ensure pro22 tection of workers, including payment of wages; and 

23 (6) allow the Secretary of Labor and the Sec24 retary of State to consult with other appropriate Fed25 eral agencies to determine whether any reason exists 


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1 to deny registration to a foreign labor recruiter or re2 voke such registration. 

3 (c) ATTESTATIONS.—Foreign labor recruiters reg4 istering under this subtitle shall attest and agree to abide 

5 by the following requirements: 

6 (1) PROHIBITED FEES.—The foreign labor re7 cruiter, including any agent or employee of such for8 eign labor recruiter, shall not assess any recruitment 

9 fees on a worker for any foreign labor recruiting ac10 tivity. 

11 (2) PROHIBITION ON FALSE AND MISLEADING IN12 FORMATION.—The foreign labor recruiter shall not 

13 knowingly provide materially false or misleading in14 formation to any worker concerning any matter re15 quired to be disclosed under this subtitle. 

16 (3) REQUIRED DISCLOSURES.—The foreign labor 

17 recruiter shall ascertain and disclose to the worker in 

18 writing in English and in the primary language of 

19 the worker at the time of the worker’s recruitment, the 

20 following information: 

21 (A) The identity and address of the em22 ployer and the identity and address of the person 

23 conducting the recruiting on behalf of the em24 ployer, including each subcontractor or agent in25 volved in such recruiting. 


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1 (B) A copy of the approved job order or 

2 work contract under section 218 of the Immigra3 tion and Nationality Act, including all assur4 ances and terms and conditions of employment. 

5 (C) A statement, in a form specified by the 

6 Secretary— 

7 (i) describing the general terms and 

8 conditions associated with obtaining an H– 

9 2A visa and maintaining H–2A status; 

10 (ii) affirming the prohibition on the 

11 assessment of fees described in paragraph 

12 (1), and explaining that such fees, if paid 

13 by the employer, may not be passed on to 

14 the worker; 

15 (iii) describing the protections afforded 

16 the worker under this subtitle, including 

17 procedures for reporting violations to the 

18 Secretary of State, filing a complaint with 

19 the Secretary of Labor, or filing a civil ac20 tion; and 

21 (iv) describing the protections afforded 

22 the worker by section 202 of the William 

23 Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection 

24 Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 

25 1375b), including the telephone number for 


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1 the national human trafficking resource 

2 center hotline number. 

3 (4) BOND.—The foreign labor recruiter shall 

4 agree to maintain a bond sufficient to ensure the abil5 ity of the foreign labor recruiter to discharge its re6 sponsibilities and ensure protection of workers, and to 

7 forfeit such bond in an amount determined by the 

8 Secretary under subsections (b)(1)(C)(ii) or (c)(2)(C) 

9 of section 252 for failure to comply with the provi10 sions of this subtitle. 

11 (5) COOPERATION IN INVESTIGATION.—The for12 eign labor recruiter shall agree to cooperate in any 

13 investigation under section 252 of this subtitle by the 

14 Secretary or other appropriate authorities. 

15 (6) NO RETALIATION.—The foreign labor re16 cruiter shall agree to refrain from intimidating, 

17 threatening, restraining, coercing, discharging, black18 listing or in any other manner discriminating or re19 taliating against any worker or their family members 

20 (including a former worker or an applicant for em21 ployment) because such worker disclosed information 

22 to any person based on a reason to believe that the 

23 foreign labor recruiter, or any agent or subcontractee 

24 of such foreign labor recruiter, is engaging or has enVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00148 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 gaged in a foreign labor recruiting activity that does 

2 not comply with this subtitle. 

3 (7) EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AND

4 SUBCONTRACTEES.—The foreign labor recruiter shall 

5 consent to be liable for the conduct of any agents or 

6 subcontractees of any level in relation to the foreign 

7 labor recruiting activity of the agent or subcontractee 

8 to the same extent as if the foreign labor recruiter had 

9 engaged in such conduct. 

10 (8) ENFORCEMENT.—If the foreign labor re11 cruiter is conducting foreign labor recruiting activity 

12 wholly outside the United States, such foreign labor 

13 recruiter shall establish a registered agent in the 

14 United States who is authorized to accept service of 

15 process on behalf of the foreign labor recruiter for the 

16 purpose of any administrative proceeding under this 

17 title or any Federal court civil action, if such service 

18 is made in accordance with the appropriate Federal 

19 rules for service of process. 

20 (d) TERM OF REGISTRATION.—Unless suspended or re21 voked, a registration under this section shall be valid for 

22 2 years. 

23 (e) APPLICATION FEE.—The Secretary shall require a 

24 foreign labor recruiter that submits an application for reg25 istration under this section to pay a reasonable fee, suffiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00149 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 cient to cover the full costs of carrying out the registration 

2 activities under this subtitle. 

3 (f) NOTIFICATION.— 

4 (1) EMPLOYER NOTIFICATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 

6 once every year, an employer of H–2A workers 

7 shall provide the Secretary with the names and 

8 addresses of all foreign labor recruiters engaged 

9 to perform foreign labor recruiting activity on 

10 behalf of the employer, whether the foreign labor 

11 recruiter is to receive any economic compensa12 tion for such services, and, if so, the identity of 

13 the person or entity who is paying for the serv14 ices. 

15 (B) AGREEMENT TO COOPERATE.—In addi16 tion to the requirements of subparagraph (A), the 

17 employer shall— 

18 (i) provide to the Secretary the iden19 tity of any foreign labor recruiter whom the 

20 employer has reason to believe is engaging 

21 in foreign labor recruiting activities that do 

22 not comply with this subtitle; and 

23 (ii) promptly respond to any request 

24 by the Secretary for information regarding 

25 the identity of a foreign labor recruiter with 


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1 whom the employer has a contract or other 

2 agreement. 

3 (2) FOREIGN LABOR RECRUITER NOTIFICA4 TION.—A registered foreign labor recruiter shall no5 tify the Secretary, not less frequently than once every 

6 year, of the identity of any subcontractee, agent, or 

7 foreign labor recruiter employee involved in any for8 eign labor recruiting activity for, or on behalf of, the 

9 foreign labor recruiter. 

10 (g) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SEC11 RETARY OF STATE.— 

12 (1) LISTS.—The Secretary of State, in consulta13 tion with the Secretary of Labor shall maintain and 

14 make publicly available in written form and on the 

15 websites of United States embassies in the official lan16 guage of that country, and on websites maintained by 

17 the Secretary of Labor, regularly updated lists— 

18 (A) of foreign labor recruiters who hold 

19 valid registrations under this section, includ20 ing— 

21 (i) the name and address of the foreign 

22 labor recruiter; 

23 (ii) the countries in which such re24 cruiters conduct recruitment; 


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1 (iii) the employers for whom recruiting 

2 is conducted; 

3 (iv) the occupations that are the subject 

4 of recruitment; 

5 (v) the States where recruited workers 

6 are employed; and 

7 (vi) the name and address of the reg8 istered agent in the United States who is 

9 authorized to accept service of process on be10 half of the foreign labor recruiter; and 

11 (B) of foreign labor recruiters whose reg12 istration the Secretary has revoked. 

13 (2) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary of State shall 

14 ensure that each United States diplomatic mission is 

15 staffed with a person who shall be responsible for re16 ceiving information from members of the public re17 garding potential violations of the requirements ap18 plicable to registered foreign labor recruiters and en19 suring that such information is conveyed to the Sec20 retary of Labor for evaluation and initiation of an 

21 enforcement action, if appropriate. 

22 (3) VISA APPLICATION PROCEDURES.—The Sec23 retary shall ensure that consular officers issuing visas 

24 to nonimmigrants under section 101(a)(1)(H)(ii)(a) 


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1 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

2 11001(a)(1)(H)(ii)(a))— 

3 (A) provide to and review with the appli4 cant, in the applicant’s language (or a language 

5 the applicant understands), a copy of the infor6 mation and resources pamphlet required by sec7 tion 202 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking 

8 Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 

9 (8 U.S.C. 1375b); 

10 (B) ensure that the applicant has a copy of 

11 the approved job offer or work contract; 

12 (C) note in the visa application file whether 

13 the foreign labor recruiter has a valid registra14 tion under this section; and 

15 (D) if the foreign labor recruiter holds a 

16 valid registration, review and include in the visa 

17 application file, the foreign labor recruiter’s dis18 closures required by subsection (c)(3). 

19 (4) DATA.—The Secretary of State shall make 

20 publicly available online, on an annual basis, data 

21 disclosing the gender, country of origin (and State, 

22 county, or province, if available), age, wage, level of 

23 training, and occupational classification, 

24 disaggregated by State, of nonimmigrant workers deVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00153 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immi2 gration and Nationality Act. 

3 SEC. 252. ENFORCEMENT. 

4 (a) DENIAL OR REVOCATION OF REGISTRATION.— 

5 (1) GROUNDS FOR DENIAL OR REVOCATION.— 

6 The Secretary shall deny an application for registra7 tion, or revoke a registration, if the Secretary deter8 mines that the foreign labor recruiter, or any agent 

9 or subcontractee of such foreign labor recruiter— 

10 (A) knowingly made a material misrepre11 sentation in the registration application; 

12 (B) materially failed to comply with one or 

13 more of the attestations provided under section 

14 251(c); or 

15 (C) is not the real party in interest. 

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

17 for registration or revoking a registration under this 

18 subsection, the Secretary shall provide written notice 

19 of the intent to deny or revoke the registration to the 

20 foreign labor recruiter. Such notice shall— 

21 (A) articulate with specificity all grounds 

22 for denial or revocation; and 

23 (B) provide the foreign labor recruiter with 

24 not less than 60 days to respond. 


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1 (3) RE-REGISTRATION.—A foreign labor re2 cruiter whose registration was revoked under sub3 section (a) may re-register if the foreign labor re4 cruiter demonstrates to the Secretary’s satisfaction 

5 that the foreign labor recruiter has not violated this 

6 subtitle in the 5 years preceding the date an applica7 tion for registration is filed and has taken sufficient 

8 steps to prevent future violations of this subtitle. 

9 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT.— 

10 (1) COMPLAINT PROCESS.— 

11 (A) FILING.—A complaint may be filed 

12 with the Secretary of Labor, in accordance with 

13 the procedures established under section 

14 251(b)(4) not later than 2 years after the earlier 

15 of— 

16 (i) the date of the last action which 

17 constituted the conduct that is the subject of 

18 the complaint took place; or 

19 (ii) the date on which the aggrieved 

20 party had actual knowledge of such conduct. 

21 (B) DECISION AND PENALTIES.—If the Sec22 retary of Labor finds, after notice and an oppor23 tunity for a hearing, that a foreign labor re24 cruiter failed to comply with any of the requireVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00155 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 ments of this subtitle, the Secretary of Labor 

2 may— 

3 (i) levy a fine against the foreign labor 

4 recruiter in an amount not more than— 

5 (I) $10,000 per violation; and 

6 (II) $25,000 per violation, upon 

7 the third violation; 

8 (ii) order the forfeiture (or partial for9 feiture) of the bond and release of as much 

10 of the bond as the Secretary determines is 

11 necessary for the worker to recover prohib12 ited recruitment fees; 

13 (iii) refuse to issue or renew a registra14 tion, or revoke a registration; or 

15 (iv) disqualify the foreign labor re16 cruiter from registration for a period of up 

17 to 5 years, or in the case of a subsequent 

18 finding involving willful or multiple mate19 rial violations, permanently disqualify the 

20 foreign labor recruiter from registration. 

21 (2) AUTHORITY TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE.—The 

22 Secretary of Labor is authorized to take other such 

23 actions, including issuing subpoenas and seeking ap24 propriate injunctive relief, as may be necessary to asVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00156 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 sure compliance with the terms and conditions of this 

2 subtitle. 

3 (3) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

4 subsection may be construed as limiting the authority 

5 of the Secretary of Labor to conduct an investiga6 tion— 

7 (A) under any other law, including any law 

8 affecting migrant and seasonal agricultural 

9 workers; or 

10 (B) in the absence of a complaint. 

11 (c) CIVIL ACTION.— 

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

13 any person aggrieved by a violation of this subtitle 

14 may bring a civil action against any foreign labor re15 cruiter, or any employer that does not meet the re16 quirements under subsection (d)(1), in any court of 

17 competent jurisdiction— 

18 (A) to seek remedial action, including in19 junctive relief; and 

20 (B) for damages in accordance with the 

21 provisions of this subsection. 

22 (2) AWARD FOR CIVIL ACTION FILED BY AN INDI23 VIDUAL.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the court finds in a 

25 civil action filed by an individual under this 


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1 section that the defendant has violated any pro2 vision of this subtitle, the court may award— 

3 (i) damages, up to and including an 

4 amount equal to the amount of actual dam5 ages, and statutory damages of up to $1,000 

6 per plaintiff per violation, or other equi7 table relief, except that with respect to stat8 utory damages— 

9 (I) multiple infractions of a single 

10 provision of this subtitle (or of a regu11 lation under this subtitle) shall con12 stitute only 1 violation for purposes of 

13 this subsection to determine the 

14 amount of statutory damages due a 

15 plaintiff; and 

16 (II) if such complaint is certified 

17 as a class action the court may 

18 award— 

19 (aa) damages up to an 

20 amount equal to the amount of 

21 actual damages; and 

22 (bb) statutory damages of not 

23 more than the lesser of up to 

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1 lation, or up to $500,000; and 

2 other equitable relief; 

3 (ii) reasonable attorneys’ fees and 

4 costs; and 

5 (iii) such other and further relief as 

6 necessary to effectuate the purposes of this 

7 subtitle. 

8 (B) CRITERIA.—In determining the amount 

9 of statutory damages to be awarded under sub10 paragraph (A), the court is authorized to con11 sider whether an attempt was made to resolve the 

12 issues in dispute before the resort to litigation. 

13 (C) BOND.—To satisfy the damages, fees, 

14 and costs found owing under this paragraph, the 

15 Secretary shall release as much of the bond held 

16 pursuant to section 251(c)(4) as necessary. 

17 (3) SUMS RECOVERED IN ACTIONS BY THE SEC18 RETARY OF LABOR.— 

19 (A) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.—There 

20 is established in the general fund of the Treasury 

21 a separate account, which shall be known as the 

22 ‘‘H–2A Foreign Labor Recruiter Compensation 

23 Account’’. Notwithstanding any other provisions 

24 of law, there shall be deposited as offsetting re25 ceipts into the account, all sums recovered in an 


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1 action by the Secretary of Labor under this sub2 section. 

3 (B) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts deposited 

4 into the H–2A Foreign Labor Recruiter Com5 pensation Account and shall be paid directly to 

6 each worker affected. Any such sums not paid to 

7 a worker because of inability to do so within a 

8 period of 5 years following the date such funds 

9 are deposited into the account shall remain 

10 available to the Secretary until expended. The 

11 Secretary may transfer all or a portion of such 

12 remaining sums to appropriate agencies to sup13 port the enforcement of the laws prohibiting the 

14 trafficking and exploitation of persons or pro15 grams that aid trafficking victims. 

16 (d) EMPLOYER SAFE HARBOR.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employer that hires work18 ers referred by a foreign labor recruiter with a valid 

19 registration at the time of hiring shall not be held 

20 jointly liable for a violation committed solely by a 

21 foreign labor recruiter under this subtitle— 

22 (A) in any administrative action initiated 

23 by the Secretary concerning such violation; or 

24 (B) in any Federal or State civil court ac25 tion filed against the foreign labor recruiter by 


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1 or on behalf of such workers or other aggrieved 

2 party under this subtitle. 

3 (2) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this subtitle 

4 shall be construed to prohibit an aggrieved party or 

5 parties from bringing a civil action for violations of 

6 this subtitle or any other Federal or State law 

7 against any employer who hired workers referred by 

8 a foreign labor recruiter— 

9 (A) without a valid registration at the time 

10 of hire; or 

11 (B) with a valid registration if the em12 ployer knew or learned of the violation and 

13 failed to report such violation to the Secretary. 

14 (e) PAROLE TO PURSUE RELIEF.—If other immigra15 tion relief is not available, the Secretary of Homeland Secu16 rity may grant parole to permit an individual to remain 

17 legally in the United States for time sufficient to fully and 

18 effectively participate in all legal proceedings related to any 

19 action taken pursuant to subsection (b) or (c). 

20 (f) WAIVER OF RIGHTS.—Agreements by employees 

21 purporting to waive or to modify their rights under this 

22 subtitle shall be void as contrary to public policy. 

23 (g) LIABILITY FOR AGENTS.—Foreign labor recruiters 

24 shall be subject to the provisions of this section for violations 

25 committed by the foreign labor recruiter’s agents or 


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1 subcontractees of any level in relation to their foreign labor 

2 recruiting activity to the same extent as if the foreign labor 

3 recruiter had committed the violation. 

4 SEC. 253. APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as 

6 may be necessary for the Secretary of Labor and Secretary 

7 of State to carry out the provisions of this subtitle. 

8 SEC. 254. DEFINITIONS. 

9 For purposes of this subtitle: 

10 (1) FOREIGN LABOR RECRUITER.—The term 

11 ‘‘foreign labor recruiter’’ means any person who per12 forms foreign labor recruiting activity in exchange for 

13 money or other valuable consideration paid or prom14 ised to be paid, to recruit individuals to work as non15 immigrant workers described in section 

16 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration and Nation17 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)), including 

18 any person who performs foreign labor recruiting ac19 tivity wholly outside of the United States. Such term 

20 does not include any entity of the United States Gov21 ernment or an employer, or employee of an employer, 

22 who engages in foreign labor recruiting activity solely 

23 to find employees for that employer’s own use, and 

24 without the participation of any other foreign labor 

25 recruiter. 


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1 (2) FOREIGN LABOR RECRUITING ACTIVITY.—The 

2 term ‘‘foreign labor recruiting activity’’ means re3 cruiting, soliciting, or related activities with respect 

4 to an individual who resides outside of the United 

5 States in furtherance of employment in the United 

6 States, including when such activity occurs wholly 

7 outside of the United States. 

8 (3) RECRUITMENT FEES.—The term ‘‘recruit9 ment fees’’ has the meaning given to such term under 

10 section 22.1702 of title 22 of the Code of Federal Reg11 ulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of this 

12 Act. 

13 (4) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any 

14 natural person or any corporation, company, firm, 

15 partnership, joint stock company or association or 

16 other organization or entity (whether organized under 

17 law or not), including municipal corporations. 

18 TITLE III—ELECTRONIC 

19 VERIFICATION OF EMPLOY20 MENT ELIGIBILITY 

21 SEC. 301. ELECTRONIC EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY 

22 VERIFICATION SYSTEM. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 8 of title II of the Immi24 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1321 et seq.) is 

25 amended by inserting after section 274D the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 274E. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ELECTRONIC 

2 VERIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY. 

3 ‘‘(a) EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYS4 TEM.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

6 Security (referred to in this section as the ‘Secretary’) 

7 shall establish and administer an electronic 

8 verification system (referred to in this section as the 

9 ‘System’), patterned on the E–Verify Program de10 scribed in section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration 

11 Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 

12 U.S.C. 1324a note) (as in effect on the day before the 

13 effective date described in section 303(a)(4) of the 

14 Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019), and 

15 using the employment eligibility confirmation system 

16 established under section 404 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

17 1324a note) (as so in effect) as a foundation, through 

18 which the Secretary shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) respond to inquiries made by persons 

20 or entities seeking to verify the identity and em21 ployment authorization of individuals that such 

22 persons or entities seek to hire, or to recruit or 

23 refer for a fee, for employment in the United 

24 States; and 

25 ‘‘(B) maintain records of the inquiries that 

26 were made, and of verifications provided (or not 


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1 provided) to such persons or entities as evidence 

2 of compliance with the requirements of this sec3 tion. 

4 ‘‘(2) INITIAL RESPONSE DEADLINE.—The System 

5 shall provide confirmation or a tentative noncon6 firmation of an individual’s identity and employment 

7 authorization as soon as practicable, but not later 

8 than 3 calendar days after the initial inquiry. 

9 ‘‘(3) GENERAL DESIGN AND OPERATION OF SYS10 TEM.—The Secretary shall design and operate the 

11 System— 

12 ‘‘(A) using responsive web design and other 

13 technologies to maximize its ease of use and ac14 cessibility for users on a variety of electronic de15 vices and screen sizes, and in remote locations; 

16 ‘‘(B) to maximize the accuracy of responses 

17 to inquiries submitted by persons or entities; 

18 ‘‘(C) to maximize the reliability of the Sys19 tem and to register each instance when the Sys20 tem is unable to receive inquiries; 

21 ‘‘(D) to protect the privacy and security of 

22 the personally identifiable information main23 tained by or submitted to the System; 

24 ‘‘(E) to provide direct notification of an in25 quiry to an individual with respect to whom the 


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1 inquiry is made, including the results of such in2 quiry, and information related to the process for 

3 challenging the results; and 

4 ‘‘(F) to maintain appropriate administra5 tive, technical, and physical safeguards to pre6 vent misuse of the System and unfair immigra7 tion-related employment practices. 

8 ‘‘(4) MEASURES TO PREVENT IDENTITY THEFT

9 AND OTHER FORMS OF FRAUD.—To prevent identity 

10 theft and other forms of fraud, the Secretary shall de11 sign and operate the System with the following at12 tributes: 

13 ‘‘(A) PHOTO MATCHING TOOL.—The System 

14 shall display the digital photograph of the indi15 vidual, if any, that corresponds to the document 

16 presented by an individual to establish identity 

17 and employment authorization so that the person 

18 or entity that makes an inquiry can compare the 

19 photograph displayed by the System to the pho20 tograph on the document presented by the indi21 vidual. 

22 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUAL MONITORING AND SUSPEN23 SION OF IDENTIFYING INFORMATION.—The Sys24 tem shall enable individuals to establish user acVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00166 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 counts, 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 the 

9 System; 

10 ‘‘(iii) monitor the use history of the in11 dividual’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 the 

16 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 per24 sonally identifying information. 


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1 ‘‘(C) BLOCKING MISUSED SOCIAL SECURITY

2 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 un11 usual multiple use in the System or that 

12 are otherwise suspected or determined to 

13 have been compromised by identity fraud or 

14 other misuse, shall be blocked from use in 

15 the System unless the individual using such 

16 number is able to establish, through secure 

17 and fair procedures, that the individual is 

18 the legitimate holder of the number. 

19 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—If the Secretary blocks 

20 or suspends a social security account num21 ber under this subparagraph, the Secretary 

22 shall provide notice to the persons or enti23 ties that have made inquiries to the System 

24 using such account number that the identity 

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1 vidual who provided such account number 

2 must be re-verified. 

3 ‘‘(D) ADDITIONAL IDENTITY AUTHENTICA4 TION TOOL.—The Secretary shall develop, after 

5 publication in the Federal Register and an op6 portunity for public comment, additional secu7 rity measures to adequately verify the identity of 

8 an individual whose identity may not be verified 

9 using the photo tool described in subparagraph 

10 (A). Such additional security measures— 

11 ‘‘(i) shall be kept up-to-date with tech12 nological advances; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) shall be designed to provide a 

14 high level of certainty with respect to iden15 tity authentication. 

16 ‘‘(E) CHILD-LOCK PILOT PROGRAM.—The 

17 Secretary, in consultation with the Commis18 sioner, shall establish a reliable, secure program 

19 through which parents or legal guardians may 

20 suspend or limit the use of the social security ac21 count number or other personally identifying in22 formation of a minor under their care for pur23 poses of the System. The Secretary may imple24 ment the program on a limited pilot basis before 

25 making it fully available to all individuals. 


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1 ‘‘(5) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COMMISSIONER

2 OF SOCIAL SECURITY.—The Commissioner, in con3 sultation with the Secretary, shall establish a reliable, 

4 secure method, which, within the time periods speci5 fied in paragraph (2) and subsection (b)(4)(D)(i)(II), 

6 compares the name and social security account num7 ber provided in an inquiry against such information 

8 maintained by the Commissioner in order to validate 

9 (or not validate) the information provided by the per10 son or entity with respect to an individual whose 

11 identity and employment authorization the person or 

12 entity seeks to confirm, the correspondence of the 

13 name and number, and whether the individual has 

14 presented a social security account number that is not 

15 valid for employment. The Commissioner shall not 

16 disclose or release social security information (other 

17 than such confirmation or nonconfirmation) under 

18 the System except as provided under this section or 

19 section 205(c)(2)(I) of the Social Security Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 405). 

21 ‘‘(6) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF

22 HOMELAND SECURITY.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Home24 land Security shall establish a reliable, secure 

25 method, which, within the time periods specified 


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1 in paragraph (2) and subsection (b)(4)(D)(i)(II), 

2 compares the name and identification or other 

3 authorization number (or any other information 

4 determined relevant by the Secretary) which are 

5 provided in an inquiry against such information 

6 maintained or accessed by the Secretary in order 

7 to validate (or not validate) the information pro8 vided, the correspondence of the name and num9 ber, and whether the individual is authorized to 

10 be employed in the United States. 

11 ‘‘(B) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall pro12 vide and regularly update training materials on 

13 the use of the System for persons and entities 

14 making inquiries. 

15 ‘‘(C) AUDIT.—The Secretary shall provide 

16 for periodic auditing of the System to detect and 

17 prevent misuse, discrimination, fraud, and iden18 tity theft, to protect privacy and assess System 

19 accuracy, and to preserve the integrity and secu20 rity of the information in the System. 

21 ‘‘(D) NOTICE OF SYSTEM CHANGES.—The 

22 Secretary shall provide appropriate notification 

23 to persons and entities registered in the System 

24 of any change made by the Secretary or the 


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1 Commissioner related to permitted and prohib2 ited documents, and use of the System. 

3 ‘‘(7) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF

4 STATE.—As part of the System, the Secretary of State 

5 shall provide to the Secretary of Homeland Security 

6 access to passport and visa information as needed to 

7 confirm that a passport or passport card presented 

8 under subsection (b)(3)(A)(i) confirms the employ9 ment authorization and identity of the individual 

10 presenting such document, and that a passport, pass11 port card, or visa photograph matches the Secretary 

12 of State’s records, and shall provide such assistance as 

13 the Secretary of Homeland Security may request in 

14 order to resolve tentative nonconfirmations or final 

15 nonconfirmations relating to such information. 

16 ‘‘(8) UPDATING INFORMATION.—The Commis17 sioner, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the 

18 Secretary of State shall update records in their cus19 tody in a manner that promotes maximum accuracy 

20 of the System and shall provide a process for the 

21 prompt correction of erroneous information, including 

22 instances in which it is brought to their attention 

23 through the secondary verification process under sub24 section (b)(4)(D). 


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1 ‘‘(9) MANDATORY AND VOLUNTARY SYSTEM

2 USES.— 

3 ‘‘(A) MANDATORY USERS.—Except as other4 wise provided under Federal or State law, such 

5 as sections 302 and 303 of the Farm Workforce 

6 Modernization Act of 2019, nothing in this sec7 tion shall be construed as requiring the use of the 

8 System by any person or entity hiring, recruit9 ing, or referring for a fee, an individual for em10 ployment in the United States. 

11 ‘‘(B) VOLUNTARY USERS.—Beginning after 

12 the date that is 30 days after the date on which 

13 final rules are published under section 309(a) of 

14 the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019, 

15 a person or entity may use the System on a vol16 untary basis to seek verification of the identity 

17 and employment authorization of individuals the 

18 person or entity is hiring, recruiting, or refer19 ring for a fee for employment in the United 

20 States 

21 ‘‘(C) PROCESS FOR NON-USERS.—The em22 ployment verification process for any person or 

23 entity hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee, 

24 an individual for employment in the United 


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1 States shall be governed by section 274A(b) un2 less the person or entity— 

3 ‘‘(i) is required by Federal or State 

4 law to use the System; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) has opted to use the System vol6 untarily in accordance with subparagraph 

7 (B). 

8 ‘‘(10) NO FEE FOR USE.—The Secretary may not 

9 charge a fee to an individual, person, or entity re10 lated to the use of the System. 

11 ‘‘(b) NEW HIRES, RECRUITMENT, AND REFERRAL.— 

12 Notwithstanding section 274A(b), the requirements referred 

13 to in paragraphs (1)(B) and (3) of section 274A(a) are, 

14 in the case of a person or entity that uses the System for 

15 the hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee, an individual 

16 for employment in the United States, the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) INDIVIDUAL ATTESTATION OF EMPLOYMENT

18 AUTHORIZATION.—During the period beginning on 

19 the date on which an offer of employment is accepted 

20 and ending on the date of hire, the individual shall 

21 attest, under penalty of perjury on a form designated 

22 by the Secretary, that the individual is authorized to 

23 be employed in the United States by providing on 

24 such form— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the individual’s name and date of 

2 birth; 

3 ‘‘(B) the individual’s social security account 

4 number (unless the individual has applied for 

5 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 Secu19 rity for the alien as the Secretary may specify. 

20 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYER ATTESTATION AFTER EXAMINA21 TION OF DOCUMENTS.—Not later than 3 business days 

22 after the date of hire, the person or entity shall attest, 

23 under penalty of perjury on the form designated by 

24 the Secretary for purposes of paragraph (1), that it 


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1 has verified that the individual is not an unauthor2 ized 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 recorded 

13 on the form is consistent with the documents ex14 amined. 

15 ‘‘(3) ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) DOCUMENTS ESTABLISHING EMPLOY17 MENT AUTHORIZATION AND IDENTITY.—A docu18 ment described in this subparagraph is an indi19 vidual’s— 

20 ‘‘(i) United States passport or passport 

21 card; 

22 ‘‘(ii) permanent resident card that con23 tains 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 authoriza6 tion 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, a 

10 foreign passport with Form I–94, Form I– 

11 94A, or other documentation as designated 

12 by the Secretary specifying the alien’s non13 immigrant status as long as such status has 

14 not yet expired and the proposed employ15 ment is not in conflict with any restrictions 

16 or limitations identified in the documenta17 tion; 

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 Asso24 ciation Between the United States and the 


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1 Federated States of Micronesia or the Re2 public 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 issuance 

22 of the card does not authorize employment 

23 in the United States); or 

24 ‘‘(ii) a document establishing employ25 ment authorization that the Secretary deterVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00178 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 mines, by notice published in the Federal 

2 Register, to be acceptable for purposes of 

3 this subparagraph, provided that such docu4 mentation contains security features to 

5 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 CER15 TAIN DOCUMENTS.—If the Secretary finds that 

16 any document or class of documents described in 

17 subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) does not reliably 

18 establish identity or employment authorization 

19 or is being used fraudulently to an unacceptable 

20 degree, the Secretary may, by notice published in 

21 the Federal Register, prohibit or place conditions 

22 on the use of such document or class of docu23 ments for purposes of this section. 

24 ‘‘(4) USE OF THE SYSTEM TO SCREEN IDENTITY

25 AND EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a person 

2 or entity that uses the System for the hiring, re3 cruiting, or referring for a fee an individual for 

4 employment in the United States, during the pe5 riod described in subparagraph (B), the person 

6 or entity shall submit an inquiry through the 

7 System described in subsection (a) to seek 

8 verification of the identity and employment au9 thorization of the individual. 

10 ‘‘(B) VERIFICATION PERIOD.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

12 in clause (ii), and subject to subsection (d), 

13 the verification period shall begin on the 

14 date of hire and end on the date that is 3 

15 business days after the date of hire, or such 

16 other reasonable period as the Secretary 

17 may prescribe. 

18 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of 

19 an alien who is authorized to be employed 

20 in the United States and who provides evi21 dence from the Social Security Administra22 tion that the alien has applied for a social 

23 security account number, the verification 

24 period shall end 3 business days after the 


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1 alien receives the social security account 

2 number. 

3 ‘‘(C) CONFIRMATION.—If a person or entity 

4 receives confirmation of an individual’s identity 

5 and employment authorization, the person or en6 tity shall record such confirmation on the form 

7 designated by the Secretary for purposes of para8 graph (1). 

9 ‘‘(D) TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMATION.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In cases of ten11 tative nonconfirmation, the Secretary shall 

12 provide, in consultation with the Commis13 sioner, a process for— 

14 ‘‘(I) an individual to contest the 

15 tentative nonconfirmation not later 

16 than 10 business days after the date of 

17 the receipt of the notice described in 

18 clause (ii); and 

19 ‘‘(II) the Secretary to issue a con20 firmation or final nonconfirmation of 

21 an individual’s identity and employ22 ment authorization not later than 30 

23 calendar days after the Secretary re24 ceives notice from the individual con25 testing a tentative nonconfirmation. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—If a person or entity 

2 receives a tentative nonconfirmation of an 

3 individual’s identity or employment author4 ization, the person or entity shall, not later 

5 than 3 business days after receipt, notify 

6 such individual in writing in a language 

7 understood by the individual and on a form 

8 designated by the Secretary, that shall in9 clude a description of the individual’s right 

10 to contest the tentative nonconfirmation. 

11 The person or entity shall attest, under pen12 alty of perjury, that the person or entity 

13 provided (or attempted to provide) such no14 tice to the individual, and the individual 

15 shall acknowledge receipt of such notice in 

16 a manner specified by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(iii) NO CONTEST.— 

18 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A tentative 

19 nonconfirmation shall become final if, 

20 upon receiving the notice described in 

21 clause (ii), the individual— 

22 ‘‘(aa) refuses to acknowledge 

23 receipt of such notice; 

24 ‘‘(bb) acknowledges in writ25 ing, in a manner specified by the 


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1 Secretary, that the individual will 

2 not contest the tentative noncon3 firmation; or 

4 ‘‘(cc) fails to contest the ten5 tative nonconfirmation within the 

6 10-business-day period beginning 

7 on the date the individual received 

8 such notice. 

9 ‘‘(II) RECORD OF NO CONTEST.— 

10 The person or entity shall indicate in 

11 the System that the individual did not 

12 contest the tentative nonconfirmation 

13 and shall specify the reason the ten14 tative nonconfirmation became final 

15 under subclause (I). 

16 ‘‘(III) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO

17 CONTEST.—An individual’s failure to 

18 contest a tentative nonconfirmation 

19 shall not be considered an admission of 

20 any fact with respect to any violation 

21 of this Act or any other provision of 

22 law. 

23 ‘‘(iv) CONTEST.— 

24 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—An individual 

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1 tion by using the process for secondary 

2 verification under clause (i), not later 

3 than 10 business days after receiving 

4 the notice described in clause (ii). Ex5 cept as provided in clause (iii), the 

6 nonconfirmation shall remain tentative 

7 until a confirmation or final noncon8 firmation is provided by the System. 

9 ‘‘(II) PROHIBITION ON TERMI10 NATION.—In no case shall a person or 

11 entity terminate employment or take 

12 any adverse employment action 

13 against an individual for failure to ob14 tain confirmation of the individual’s 

15 identity and employment authorization 

16 until the person or entity receives a 

17 notice of final nonconfirmation from 

18 the System. Nothing in this subclause 

19 shall prohibit an employer from termi20 nating the employment of the indi21 vidual for any other lawful reason. 

22 ‘‘(III) CONFIRMATION OR FINAL

23 NONCONFIRMATION.—The Secretary, in 

24 consultation with the Commissioner, 

25 shall issue notice of a confirmation or 


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1 final nonconfirmation of the individ2 ual’s identity and employment author3 ization not later than 30 calendar days 

4 after the date the Secretary receives no5 tice from the individual contesting the 

6 tentative nonconfirmation. 

7 ‘‘(E) FINAL NONCONFIRMATION.— 

8 ‘‘(i) NOTICE.—If a person or entity re9 ceives a final nonconfirmation of an indi10 vidual’s identity or employment authoriza11 tion, the person or entity shall, not later 

12 than 3 business days after receipt, notify 

13 such individual of the final nonconfirma14 tion in writing, on a form designated by the 

15 Secretary, which shall include information 

16 regarding the individual’s right to appeal 

17 the final nonconfirmation as provided 

18 under subparagraph (F). The person or en19 tity shall attest, under penalty of perjury, 

20 that the person or entity provided (or at21 tempted to provide) the notice to the indi22 vidual, and the individual shall acknowl23 edge receipt of such notice in a manner des24 ignated by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) TERMINATION OR NOTIFICATION

2 OF CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT.—If a person 

3 or entity receives a final nonconfirmation 

4 regarding an individual, the person or enti5 ty may terminate employment of the indi6 vidual. If the person or entity does not ter7 minate such employment pending appeal of 

8 the final nonconfirmation, the person or en9 tity shall notify the Secretary of such fact 

10 through the System. Failure to notify the 

11 Secretary in accordance with this clause 

12 shall be deemed a violation of section 

13 274A(a)(1)(A). 

14 ‘‘(iii) PRESUMPTION OF VIOLATION

15 FOR CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT.—If a person 

16 or entity continues to employ an individual 

17 after receipt of a final nonconfirmation, 

18 there shall be a rebuttable presumption that 

19 the person or entity has violated paragraphs 

20 (1)(A) and (a)(2) of section 274A(a). 

21 ‘‘(F) APPEAL OF FINAL NONCONFIRMA22 TION.— 

23 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL.—The 

24 Secretary, in consultation with the Commis25 sioner, shall develop a process by which an 


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1 individual may seek administrative review 

2 of a final nonconfirmation. Such process 

3 shall— 

4 ‘‘(I) permit the individual to sub5 mit additional evidence establishing 

6 identity or employment authorization; 

7 ‘‘(II) ensure prompt resolution of 

8 an appeal (but in no event shall there 

9 be a failure to respond to an appeal 

10 within 30 days); and 

11 ‘‘(III) permit the Secretary to im12 pose a civil money penalty (not to ex13 ceed $500) on an individual upon 

14 finding that an appeal was frivolous or 

15 filed for purposes of delay. 

16 ‘‘(ii) COMPENSATION FOR LOST WAGES

17 RESULTING FROM GOVERNMENT ERROR OR

18 OMISSION.— 

19 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If, upon con20 sideration of an appeal of a final non21 confirmation, the Secretary determines 

22 that the final nonconfirmation was 

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1 ment error or omission. If the Sec2 retary determines that the final non3 confirmation was solely the result of 

4 government error or omission and the 

5 individual was terminated from em6 ployment, the Secretary shall com7 pensate the individual for lost wages. 

8 ‘‘(II) CALCULATION OF LOST

9 WAGES.—Lost wages shall be calculated 

10 based on the wage rate and work sched11 ule that were in effect prior to the in12 dividual’s termination. The individual 

13 shall be compensated for lost wages be14 ginning on the first scheduled work 

15 day after employment was terminated 

16 and ending 90 days after completion of 

17 the administrative review process de18 scribed in this subparagraph or the 

19 day the individual is reinstated or ob20 tains other employment, whichever oc21 curs first. 

22 ‘‘(III) LIMITATION ON COMPENSA23 TION.—No compensation for lost wages 

24 shall be awarded for any period during 

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1 ized for employment in the United 

2 States. 

3 ‘‘(IV) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—There 

4 is established in the general fund of the 

5 Treasury, a separate account which 

6 shall be known as the ‘Electronic 

7 Verification Compensation Account’. 

8 Fees collected under subsections (f) and 

9 (g) shall be deposited in the Electronic 

10 Verification Compensation Account 

11 and shall remain available for pur12 poses of providing compensation for 

13 lost wages under this subclause. 

14 ‘‘(iii) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Not later 

15 than 30 days after the dismissal of an ap16 peal under this subparagraph, an indi17 vidual may seek judicial review of such dis18 missal in the United States District Court 

19 in the jurisdiction in which the employer 

20 resides or conducts business. 

21 ‘‘(5) RETENTION OF VERIFICATION RECORDS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After completing the 

23 form designated by the Secretary in accordance 

24 with paragraphs (1) and (2), the person or enti25 ty shall retain the form in paper, microfiche, 


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1 microfilm, electronic, or other format deemed ac2 ceptable by the Secretary, and make it available 

3 for inspection by officers of the Department of 

4 Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, 

5 or the Department of Labor during the period 

6 beginning on the date the verification is com7 pleted and ending on the later of— 

8 ‘‘(i) the date that is 3 years after the 

9 date of hire; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) the date that is 1 year after the 

11 date on which the individual’s employment 

12 is terminated. 

13 ‘‘(B) COPYING OF DOCUMENTATION PER14 MITTED.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

15 of law, a person or entity may copy a document 

16 presented by an individual pursuant to this sec17 tion and may retain the copy, but only for the 

18 purpose of complying with the requirements of 

19 this section. 

20 ‘‘(c) REVERIFICATION OF PREVIOUSLY HIRED INDI21 VIDUALS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY REVERIFICATION.—In the case 

23 of a person or entity that uses the System for the hir24 ing, recruiting, or referring for a fee an individual 

25 for employment in the United States, the person or 


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1 entity shall submit an inquiry using the System to 

2 verify the identity and employment authorization 

3 of— 

4 ‘‘(A) an individual with a limited period of 

5 employment authorization, within 3 business 

6 days before the date on which such employment 

7 authorization expires; and 

8 ‘‘(B) an individual, not later than 10 days 

9 after receiving a notification from the Secretary 

10 requiring the verification of such individual pur11 suant to subsection (a)(4)(C). 

12 ‘‘(2) REVERIFICATION PROCEDURES.—The 

13 verification procedures under subsection (b) shall 

14 apply to reverifications under this subsection, except 

15 that employers shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) use a form designated by the Secretary 

17 for purposes of this paragraph; and 

18 ‘‘(B) retain the form in paper, microfiche, 

19 microfilm, electronic, or other format deemed ac20 ceptable by the Secretary, and make it available 

21 for inspection by officers of the Department of 

22 Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, 

23 or the Department of Labor during the period 

24 beginning on the date the reverification com25 mences and ending on the later of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the date that is 3 years after the 

2 date of reverification; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the date that is 1 year after the 

4 date on which the individual’s employment 

5 is terminated. 

6 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON REVERIFICATION.—Except 

7 as provided in paragraph (1), a person or entity may 

8 not otherwise reverify the identity and employment 

9 authorization of a current employee, including an 

10 employee continuing in employment. 

11 ‘‘(d) GOOD FAITH COMPLIANCE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided 

13 in this subsection, a person or entity that uses the 

14 System is considered to have complied with the re15 quirements of this section notwithstanding a technical 

16 failure of the System, or other technical or procedural 

17 failure to meet such requirement if there was a good 

18 faith attempt to comply with the requirement. 

19 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR FAILURE TO CORRECT

20 AFTER NOTICE.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply if— 

21 ‘‘(A) the failure is not de minimis; 

22 ‘‘(B) the Secretary has provided notice to 

23 the person or entity of the failure, including an 

24 explanation as to why it is not de minimis; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the person or entity has been provided 

2 a period of not less than 30 days (beginning 

3 after the date of the notice) to correct the failure; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(D) the person or entity has not corrected 

6 the failure voluntarily within such period. 

7 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR PATTERN OR PRACTICE

8 VIOLATORS.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a per9 son or entity that has engaged or is engaging in a 

10 pattern or practice of violations of paragraph (1)(A) 

11 or (2) of section 274A(a). 

12 ‘‘(4) DEFENSE.—In the case of a person or enti13 ty that uses the System for the hiring, recruiting, or 

14 referring for a fee an individual for employment in 

15 the United States, the person or entity shall not be 

16 liable to a job applicant, an employee, the Federal 

17 Government, or a State or local government, under 

18 Federal, State, or local criminal or civil law, for any 

19 employment-related action taken with respect to an 

20 employee in good-faith reliance on information pro21 vided by the System. Such person or entity shall be 

22 deemed to have established compliance with its obliga23 tions under this section, absent a showing by the Sec24 retary, by clear and convincing evidence, that the emVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00194 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 ployer had knowledge that an employee is an unau2 thorized alien. 

3 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) NO NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD.— 

5 Nothing in this section shall be construed to author6 ize, directly or indirectly, the issuance or use of na7 tional identification cards or the establishment of a 

8 national identification card. 

9 ‘‘(2) USE OF RECORDS.—Notwithstanding any 

10 other provision of law, nothing in this section shall 

11 be construed to permit or allow any department, bu12 reau, or other agency of the United States Govern13 ment to utilize any information, database, or other 

14 records assembled under this section for any purpose 

15 other than the verification of identity and employ16 ment authorization of an individual or to ensure the 

17 secure, appropriate, and non-discriminatory use of 

18 the System. 

19 ‘‘(f) PENALTIES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this 

21 subsection, the provisions of subsections (e) through 

22 (g) of section 274A shall apply with respect to com23 pliance with the provisions of this section and pen24 alties for non-compliance for persons or entitles that 

25 use the System. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CEASE AND DESIST ORDER WITH CIVIL

2 MONEY PENALTIES FOR HIRING, RECRUITING, AND RE3 FERRAL VIOLATIONS.—Notwithstanding the civil 

4 money penalties set forth in section 274A(e)(4), with 

5 respect to a violation of paragraph (1)(A) or (2) of 

6 section 274A(a) by a person or entity that has hired, 

7 recruited, or referred for a fee, an individual for em8 ployment in the United States, a cease and desist 

9 order— 

10 ‘‘(A) shall require the person or entity to 

11 pay a civil penalty in an amount, subject to sub12 section (d), of— 

13 ‘‘(i) not less than $2,500 and not more 

14 than $5,000 for each unauthorized alien 

15 with respect to whom a violation of either 

16 such subsection occurred; 

17 ‘‘(ii) not less than $5,000 and not more 

18 than $10,000 for each such alien in the case 

19 of a person or entity previously subject to 

20 one order under this paragraph; or 

21 ‘‘(iii) not less than $10,000 and not 

22 more than $25,000 for each such alien in 

23 the case of a person or entity previously 

24 subject to more than one order under this 

25 paragraph; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) may require the person or entity to 

2 take such other remedial action as appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(3) ORDER FOR CIVIL MONEY PENALTY FOR VIO4 LATIONS.—With respect to a violation of section 

5 274A(a)(1)(B), the order under this paragraph shall 

6 require the person or entity to pay a civil penalty in 

7 an amount, subject to paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), 

8 of not less than $1,000 and not more than $25,000 for 

9 each individual with respect to whom such violation 

10 occurred. Failure by a person or entity to utilize the 

11 System as required by law or providing information 

12 to the System that the person or entity knows or rea13 sonably believes to be false, shall be treated as a viola14 tion of section 274A(a)(1)(A). 

15 ‘‘(4) EXEMPTION FROM PENALTY FOR GOOD

16 FAITH VIOLATION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person or entity that 

18 uses the System is presumed to have acted with 

19 knowledge for purposes of paragraphs (1)(A) and 

20 (2) of section 274A(a) if the person or entity 

21 fails to make an inquiry to verify the identity 

22 and employment authorization of the individual 

23 through the System. 

24 ‘‘(B) GOOD FAITH EXEMPTION.—In the case 

25 of imposition of a civil penalty under paragraph 


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1 (2)(A) with respect to a violation of paragraph 

2 (1)(A) or (2) of section 274A(a) for hiring or 

3 continuation of employment or recruitment or 

4 referral by a person or entity, and in the case 

5 of imposition of a civil penalty under paragraph 

6 (3) for a violation of section 274A(a)(1)(B) for 

7 hiring or recruitment or referral by a person or 

8 entity, the penalty otherwise imposed may be 

9 waived or reduced if the person or entity estab10 lishes that the person or entity acted in good 

11 faith. 

12 ‘‘(5) MITIGATION ELEMENTS.—For purposes of 

13 paragraphs (2)(A) and (3), when assessing the level 

14 of civil money penalties, in addition to the good faith 

15 of the person or entity being charged, due consider16 ation shall be given to the size of the business, the se17 riousness of the violation, whether or not the indi18 vidual was an unauthorized alien, and the history of 

19 previous violations. 

20 ‘‘(6) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Notwithstanding sec21 tion 274A(f)(1) and the provisions of any other Fed22 eral law relating to fine levels, any person or entity 

23 that is required to comply with the provisions of this 

24 section and that engages in a pattern or practice of 

25 violations of paragraph (1) or (2) of section 274A(a), 


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1 shall be fined not more than $5,000 for each unau2 thorized alien with respect to whom such a violation 

3 occurs, imprisoned for not more than 18 months, or 

4 both. 

5 ‘‘(7) ELECTRONIC VERIFICATION COMPENSATION

6 ACCOUNT.—Civil money penalties collected under this 

7 subsection shall be deposited in the Electronic 

8 Verification Compensation Account for the purpose of 

9 compensating individuals for lost wages as a result of 

10 a final nonconfirmation issued by the System that 

11 was based on government or employer error or omis12 sion, as set forth in subsection (b)(4)(F)(ii)(IV). 

13 ‘‘(8) DEBARMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a person or entity is 

15 determined by the Secretary to be a repeat viola16 tor of paragraph (1)(A) or (2) of section 274A(a) 

17 or is convicted of a crime under section 274A, 

18 such person or entity may be considered for de19 barment from the receipt of Federal contracts, 

20 grants, or cooperative agreements in accordance 

21 with the debarment standards and pursuant to 

22 the debarment procedures set forth in the Federal 

23 Acquisition Regulation. 

24 ‘‘(B) NO CONTRACT, GRANT, AGREEMENT.— 

25 If the Secretary or the Attorney General wishes 


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1 to have a person or entity considered for debar2 ment in accordance with this paragraph, and 

3 such a person or entity does not hold a Federal 

4 contract, grant or cooperative agreement, the 

5 Secretary or Attorney General shall refer the 

6 matter to the Administrator of General Services 

7 to determine whether to list the person or entity 

8 on the List of Parties Excluded from Federal 

9 Procurement, and if so, for what duration and 

10 under what scope. 

11 ‘‘(C) CONTRACT, GRANT, AGREEMENT.—If 

12 the Secretary or the Attorney General wishes to 

13 have a person or entity considered for debarment 

14 in accordance with this paragraph, and such 

15 person or entity holds a Federal contract, grant, 

16 or cooperative agreement, the Secretary or Attor17 ney General shall advise all agencies or depart18 ments holding a contract, grant, or cooperative 

19 agreement with the person or entity of the Gov20 ernment’s interest in having the person or entity 

21 considered for debarment, and after soliciting 

22 and considering the views of all such agencies 

23 and departments, the Secretary or Attorney Gen24 eral may refer the matter to the appropriate lead 

25 agency to determine whether to list the person or 


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1 entity on the List of Parties Excluded from Fed2 eral Procurement, and if so, for what duration 

3 and under what scope. 

4 ‘‘(D) REVIEW.—Any decision to debar a 

5 person or entity in accordance with this sub6 section shall be reviewable pursuant to part 9.4 

7 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

8 ‘‘(9) PREEMPTION.—The provisions of this sec9 tion preempt any State or local law, ordinance, pol10 icy, or rule, including any criminal or civil fine or 

11 penalty structure, relating to the hiring, continued 

12 employment, or status verification for employment 

13 eligibility purposes, of unauthorized aliens, except 

14 that a State, locality, municipality, or political sub15 division may exercise its authority over business li16 censing and similar laws as a penalty for failure to 

17 use the System as required under this section. 

18 ‘‘(g) UNFAIR IMMIGRATION-RELATED EMPLOYMENT

19 PRACTICES AND THE SYSTEM.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the prohibi21 tions on discrimination set forth in section 274B, it 

22 is an unfair immigration-related employment prac23 tice for a person or entity, in the course of utilizing 

24 the System— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to use the System for screening an ap2 plicant prior to the date of hire; 

3 ‘‘(B) to terminate the employment of an in4 dividual or take any adverse employment action 

5 with respect to that individual due to a tentative 

6 nonconfirmation issued by the System; 

7 ‘‘(C) to use the System to screen any indi8 vidual for any purpose other than confirmation 

9 of identity and employment authorization as 

10 provided in this section; 

11 ‘‘(D) to use the System to verify the identity 

12 and employment authorization of a current em13 ployee, including an employee continuing in em14 ployment, other than reverification authorized 

15 under subsection (c); 

16 ‘‘(E) to use the System to discriminate 

17 based on national origin or citizenship status; 

18 ‘‘(F) to willfully fail to provide an indi19 vidual with any notice required under this title; 

20 ‘‘(G) to require an individual to make an 

21 inquiry under the self-verification procedures de22 scribed in subsection (a)(4)(B) or to provide the 

23 results of such an inquiry as a condition of em24 ployment, or hiring, recruiting, or referring; or 


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1 ‘‘(H) to terminate the employment of an in2 dividual or take any adverse employment action 

3 with respect to that individual based upon the 

4 need to verify the identity and employment au5 thorization of the individual as required by sub6 section (b). 

7 ‘‘(2) PREEMPLOYMENT SCREENING AND BACK8 GROUND CHECK.—Nothing in paragraph (1)(A) shall 

9 be construed to preclude a preemployment screening 

10 or background check that is required or permitted 

11 under any other provision of law. 

12 ‘‘(3) CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES FOR DISCRIMINA13 TORY CONDUCT.—Notwithstanding section 

14 274B(g)(2)(B)(iv), the penalties that may be imposed 

15 by an administrative law judge with respect to a 

16 finding that a person or entity has engaged in an un17 fair immigration-related employment practice de18 scribed in paragraph (1) are— 

19 ‘‘(A) not less than $1,000 and not more 

20 than $4,000 for each individual discriminated 

21 against; 

22 ‘‘(B) in the case of a person or entity pre23 viously subject to a single order under this para24 graph, not less than $4,000 and not more than 


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1 $10,000 for each individual discriminated 

2 against; and 

3 ‘‘(C) in the case of a person or entity pre4 viously subject to more than one order under this 

5 paragraph, not less than $6,000 and not more 

6 than $20,000 for each individual discriminated 

7 against. 

8 ‘‘(4) ELECTRONIC VERIFICATION COMPENSATION

9 ACCOUNT.—Civil money penalties collected under this 

10 subsection shall be deposited in the Electronic 

11 Verification Compensation Account for the purpose of 

12 compensating individuals for lost wages as a result of 

13 a final nonconfirmation issued by the System that 

14 was based on government error or omission, as set 

15 forth in subsection (b)(4)(F)(ii)(IV). 

16 ‘‘(h) CLARIFICATION.—All rights and remedies pro17 vided under any Federal, State, or local law relating to 

18 workplace rights, including but not limited to back pay, 

19 are available to an employee despite— 

20 ‘‘(1) the employee’s status as an unauthorized 

21 alien during or after the period of employment; or 

22 ‘‘(2) the employer’s or employee’s failure to com23 ply with the requirements of this section. 


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1 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘date of 

2 hire’ means the date on which employment for pay or other 

3 remuneration commences.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

5 for the Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by 

6 inserting after the item relating to section 274D the fol7 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 274E. Requirements for the electronic verification of employment eligibility.’’. 

8 SEC. 302. MANDATORY ELECTRONIC VERIFICATION FOR 

9 THE AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The requirements for the electronic 

11 verification of identity and employment authorization de12 scribed in section 274E of the Immigration and Nationality 

13 Act, as inserted by section 301 of this Act, shall apply to 

14 a person or entity hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee 

15 an individual for agricultural employment in the United 

16 States in accordance with the effective dates set forth in 

17 subsection (b). 

18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

19 (1) HIRING.—Subsection (a) shall apply to a 

20 person or entity hiring an individual for agricultural 

21 employment in the United States as follows: 

22 (A) With respect to employers having 500 or 

23 more employees in the United States on the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act, on the date that is 


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1 6 months after completion of the application pe2 riod described in section 101(c). 

3 (B) With respect to employers having 100 

4 or more employees in the United States (but less 

5 than 500 such employees) on the date of the en6 actment of this Act, on the date that is 9 months 

7 after completion of the application period de8 scribed in section 101(c). 

9 (C) With respect to employers having 20 or 

10 more employees in the United States (but less 

11 than 100 such employees) on the date of the en12 actment of this Act, on the date that is 12 

13 months after completion of the application pe14 riod described in section 101(c). 

15 (D) With respect to employers having 1 or 

16 more employees in the United States, (but less 

17 than 20 such employees) on the date of the enact18 ment of this Act, on the date that is 15 months 

19 after completion of the application period de20 scribed in section 101(c). 

21 (2) RECRUITING AND REFERRING.—Subsection 

22 (a) shall apply to a person or entity recruiting or re23 ferring an individual for agricultural employment in 

24 the United States on the date that is 12 months after 


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1 completion of the application period described in sec2 tion 101(c). 

3 (3) TRANSITION RULE.—Except as required 

4 under subtitle A of title IV of the Illegal Immigration 

5 Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 

6 U.S.C. 1324a note) (as in effect on the day before the 

7 effective date described in section 303(a)(4)), Execu8 tive Order 13465 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note; relating to 

9 Government procurement), or any State law requir10 ing persons or entities to use the E–Verify Program 

11 described in section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration 

12 Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 

13 U.S.C. 1324a note) (as in effect on the day before the 

14 effective date described in section 303(a)(4)), sections 

15 274A and 274B of the Immigration and Nationality 

16 Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a and 1324b) shall apply to a per17 son or entity hiring, recruiting, or referring an indi18 vidual for employment in the United States until the 

19 applicable effective date under this subsection. 

20 (4) E–VERIFY VOLUNTARY USERS AND OTHERS

21 DESIRING EARLY COMPLIANCE.—Nothing in this sub22 section shall be construed to prohibit persons or enti23 ties, including persons or entities that have volun24 tarily elected to participate in the E–Verify Program 

25 described in section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration 


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1 Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 

2 U.S.C. 1324a note) (as in effect on the day before the 

3 effective date described in section 303(a)(4)), from 

4 seeking early compliance on a voluntary basis. 

5 (c) RURAL ACCESS TO SECONDARY REVIEW PROC6 ESS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

8 Security and the Commissioner of Social Security 

9 shall coordinate with the Secretary of Agriculture to 

10 create an alternate process for an individual to con11 test a tentative nonconfirmation as described in sec12 tion 274E(b)(4)(D) of the Immigration and Nation13 ality Act, as inserted by section 301 of this Act, by 

14 appearing in-person at a local office or service center 

15 of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or at a local 

16 office of the U.S. Social Security Administration. 

17 (2) STAFFING AND RESOURCES.—The Secretary 

18 of Agriculture and Commissioner of Social Security 

19 shall ensure that local offices and service centers of the 

20 U.S. Department of Agriculture and local offices of 

21 the U.S. Social Security Administration are staffed 

22 appropriately and have the resources necessary to re23 ceive in-person requests for secondary review of a ten24 tative nonconfirmation under paragraph (1) from in25 dividuals and to facilitate the secondary review procVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00208 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 ess by serving as a single point of contact between the 

2 individual and the Department of Homeland Security 

3 and the Social Security Administration. 

4 (d) DOCUMENT ESTABLISHING EMPLOYMENT AU5 THORIZATION AND IDENTITY.—In accordance with section 

6 274E(b)(3)(A)(vii) of the Immigration and Nationality 

7 Act, as inserted by section 301 of this Act, and not later 

8 than 12 months after the completion of the application pe9 riod described in section 101(c) of this Act, the Secretary 

10 of Homeland Security shall recognize documentary evidence 

11 of certified agricultural worker status described in section 

12 102(a)(2) of this Act as valid proof of employment author13 ization and identity for purposes of section 274E(b)(3)(A) 

14 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as inserted by sec15 tion 301 of this Act. 

16 (e) AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT.—For purposes of 

17 this section, the term ‘‘agricultural employment’’ means ag18 ricultural labor or services, as defined by section 

19 101(a)(15)(H)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

20 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)), as amended by this Act. 

21 SEC. 303. COORDINATION WITH E–VERIFY PROGRAM. 

22 (a) REPEAL.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title IV of the Il24 legal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsi25 bility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) is repealed. 


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1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec2 tions, in section 1(d) of the Illegal Immigration Re3 form and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, is 

4 amended by striking the items relating to subtitle A 

5 of title IV. 

6 (3) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any Fed7 eral, State, or local law, Executive order, rule, regula8 tion, or delegation of authority, or any document of, 

9 or pertaining to, the Department of Homeland Secu10 rity, Department of Justice, or the Social Security 

11 Administration, to the E–Verify Program described 

12 in section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform 

13 and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 

14 1324a note), or to the employment eligibility con15 firmation system established under section 404 of the 

16 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Respon17 sibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note), is deemed 

18 to refer to the employment eligibility confirmation 

19 system established under section 274E of the Immi20 gration and Nationality Act, as inserted by section 

21 301 of this Act. 

22 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection, and the 

23 amendments made by this subsection, shall take effect 

24 on the date that is 30 days after the date on which 

25 final rules are published under section 309(a). 


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1 (b) FORMER E–VERIFY MANDATORY USERS, INCLUD2 ING FEDERAL CONTRACTORS.—Beginning on the effective 

3 date in subsection (a)(4), the Secretary of Homeland Secu4 rity shall require employers required to participate in the 

5 E–Verify Program described in section 403(a) of the Illegal 

6 Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 

7 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) by reason of any Federal, State, 

8 or local law, Executive order, rule, regulation, or delegation 

9 of authority, including employers required to participate 

10 in such program by reason of Federal acquisition laws (and 

11 regulations promulgated under those laws, including the 

12 Federal Acquisition Regulation), to comply with the re13 quirements of section 274E of the Immigration and Nation14 ality Act, as inserted by section 301 of this Act (and any 

15 additional requirements of such Federal acquisition laws 

16 and regulation) in lieu of any requirement to participate 

17 in the E–Verify Program. 

18 (c) FORMER E–VERIFY VOLUNTARY USERS.—Begin19 ning on the effective date in subsection (a)(4), the Secretary 

20 of Homeland Security shall provide for the voluntary com21 pliance with the requirements of section 274E of the Immi22 gration and Nationality Act, as inserted by section 301 of 

23 this Act, by employers voluntarily electing to participate 

24 in the E–Verify Program described in section 403(a) of the 


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1 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility 

2 Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) before such date. 

3 SEC. 304. FRAUD AND MISUSE OF DOCUMENTS. 

4 Section 1546(b) of title 18, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘identification 

7 document,’’ and inserting ‘‘identification document or 

8 document meant to establish employment authoriza9 tion,’’; 

10 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘identification 

11 document’’ and inserting ‘‘identification document or 

12 document meant to establish employment authoriza13 tion,’’; and 

14 (3) in the matter following paragraph (3) by in15 serting ‘‘or section 274E(b)’’ after ‘‘section 274A(b)’’. 

16 SEC. 305. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

17 (a) UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT OF ALIENS.—Section 

18 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

19 1324a) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii) of subsection (a), by 

21 striking ‘‘subsection (b).’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

22 274B.’’; and 

23 (2) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) of 

24 subsection (b), by striking ‘‘The requirements reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00212 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 ferred’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in section 

2 274E, the requirements referred’’. 

3 (b) UNFAIR IMMIGRATION-RELATED EMPLOYMENT

4 PRACTICES.—Section 274B(a)(1) of the Immigration and 

5 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(1)) is amended in the 

6 matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘includ7 ing misuse of the verification system as described in section 

8 274E(g)’’ after ‘‘referral for a fee,’’. 

9 SEC. 306. PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRA10 TION PROGRAMS. 

11 (a) FUNDING UNDER AGREEMENT.—Effective for fis12 cal years beginning on or after October 1, 2020, the Com13 missioner and the Secretary shall enter into and maintain 

14 an agreement which shall— 

15 (1) provide funds to the Commissioner for the 

16 full costs of the responsibilities of the Commissioner 

17 under section 274E(a)(5) of the Immigration and Na18 tionality Act, as inserted by section 301 of this Act, 

19 including— 

20 (A) acquiring, installing, and maintaining 

21 technological equipment and systems necessary 

22 for the fulfillment of the responsibilities of the 

23 Commissioner under such section, but only that 

24 portion of such costs that are attributable exclu25 sively to such responsibilities; and 


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1 (B) responding to individuals who contest a 

2 tentative nonconfirmation or administratively 

3 appeal a final nonconfirmation provided by the 

4 electronic employment eligibility verification sys5 tem established under such section; 

6 (2) provide such funds annually in advance of 

7 the applicable quarter based on an estimating meth8 odology agreed to by the Commissioner and the Sec9 retary (except in such instances where the delayed en10 actment of an annual appropriation may preclude 

11 such quarterly payments); and 

12 (3) require an annual accounting and reconcili13 ation of the actual costs incurred and the funds pro14 vided under the agreement, which shall be reviewed by 

15 the Inspectors General of the Social Security Admin16 istration and the Department of Homeland Security. 

17 (b) CONTINUATION OF EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION IN

18 ABSENCE OF TIMELY AGREEMENT.—In any case in which 

19 the agreement required under subsection (a) for any fiscal 

20 year beginning on or after October 1, 2020, has not been 

21 reached as of October 1 of such fiscal year, the latest agree22 ment between the Commissioner and the Secretary pro23 viding for funding to cover the costs of the responsibilities 

24 of the Commissioner under section 274E(a)(5) of the Immi25 gration and Nationality Act, as inserted by section 301 of 


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1 this Act, shall be deemed in effect on an interim basis for 

2 such fiscal year until such time as an agreement required 

3 under subsection (a) is subsequently reached, except that the 

4 terms of such interim agreement shall be modified by the 

5 Director of the Office of Management and Budget to adjust 

6 for inflation and any increase or decrease in the volume 

7 of requests under the employment eligibility verification 

8 system. In any case in which an interim agreement applies 

9 for any fiscal year under this subsection, the Commissioner 

10 and the Secretary shall, not later than October 1 of such 

11 fiscal year, notify the Committee on Ways and Means, the 

12 Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Appro13 priations of the House of Representatives and the Com14 mittee on Finance, the Committee on the Judiciary, and 

15 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate of the fail16 ure to reach the agreement required under subsection (a) 

17 for such fiscal year. Until such time as the agreement re18 quired under subsection (a) has been reached for such fiscal 

19 year, the Commissioner and the Secretary shall, not later 

20 than the end of each 90-day period after October 1 of such 

21 fiscal year, notify such Committees of the status of negotia22 tions between the Commissioner and the Secretary in order 

23 to reach such an agreement. 


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1 SEC. 307. REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ELEC2 TRONIC EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION SYS3 TEM. 

4 Not later than 24 months after the date on which final 

5 rules are published under section 309(a), and annually 

6 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 

7 that includes the following: 

8 (1) An assessment of the accuracy rates of the re9 sponses of the electronic employment verification sys10 tem established under section 274E of the Immigra11 tion and Nationality Act, as inserted by section 301 

12 of this Act (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sys13 tem’’), including tentative and final nonconfirmation 

14 notices issued to employment-authorized individuals 

15 and confirmation notices issued to individuals who 

16 are not employment-authorized. 

17 (2) An assessment of any challenges faced by per18 sons or entities (including small employers) in uti19 lizing the System. 

20 (3) An assessment of any challenges faced by em21 ployment-authorized individuals who are issued ten22 tative or final nonconfirmation notices. 

23 (4) An assessment of the incidence of unfair im24 migration-related employment practices, as described 

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1 ality Act, as inserted by section 301 of this Act, re2 lated to the use of the System. 

3 (5) An assessment of the photo matching and 

4 other identity authentication tools, as described in 

5 section 274E(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nation6 ality Act, as inserted by section 301 of this Act, in7 cluding— 

8 (A) an assessment of the accuracy rates of 

9 such tools; 

10 (B) an assessment of the effectiveness of such 

11 tools at preventing identity fraud and other mis12 use of identifying information; 

13 (C) an assessment of any challenges faced 

14 by persons, entities, or individuals utilizing such 

15 tools; and 

16 (D) an assessment of operation and mainte17 nance costs associated with such tools. 

18 (6) A summary of the activities and findings of 

19 the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services E– 

20 Verify Monitoring and Compliance Branch, or any 

21 successor office, including— 

22 (A) the number, types and outcomes of au23 dits, investigations, and other compliance activi24 ties initiated by the Branch in the previous year; 


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1 (B) the capacity of the Branch to detect and 

2 prevent violations of section 274E(g) of the Im3 migration and Nationality Act, as inserted by 

4 this Act; and 

5 (C) an assessment of the degree to which 

6 persons and entities misuse the System, includ7 ing— 

8 (i) use of the System before an individ9 ual’s date of hire; 

10 (ii) failure to provide required notifi11 cations to individuals; 

12 (iii) use of the System to interfere with 

13 or otherwise impede individuals’ assertions 

14 of their rights under other laws; and 

15 (iv) use of the System for unauthorized 

16 purposes; and 

17 (7) An assessment of the impact of implementa18 tion of the System in the agricultural industry and 

19 the use of the verification system in agricultural in20 dustry hiring and business practices. 

21 SEC. 308. MODERNIZING AND STREAMLINING THE EMPLOY22 MENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROCESS. 

23 Not later than 12 months after the date of the enact24 ment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the 

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1 ernize and streamline the employment eligibility 

2 verification process that shall include— 

3 (1) procedures to allow persons and entities to 

4 verify the identity and employment authorization of 

5 newly hired individuals where the in-person, physical 

6 examination of identity and employment authoriza7 tion documents is not practicable; 

8 (2) a proposal to create a simplified employment 

9 verification process that allows employers that utilize 

10 the employment eligibility verification system estab11 lished under section 274E of the Immigration and 

12 Nationality Act, as inserted by section 301 of this 

13 Act, to verify the identity and employment authoriza14 tion of individuals without also having to complete 

15 and retain Form I–9, Employment Eligibility 

16 Verification, or any subsequent replacement form; and 

17 (3) any other proposal that the Secretary deter18 mines would simplify the employment eligibility 

19 verification process without compromising the integ20 rity or security of the system. 

21 SEC. 309. RULEMAKING AND PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days prior to 

23 the end of the application period defined in section 101(c) 

24 of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Reg25 ister proposed rules implementing this title and the amendVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00219 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5038.RH H5038

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1 ments made by this title. The Secretary shall finalize such 

2 rules not later than 180 days after the date of publication. 

3 (b) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements under chap5 ter 35 of title 44, United States Code, (commonly 

6 known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act’’) shall 

7 apply to any action to implement this title or the 

8 amendments made by this title. 

9 (2) ELECTRONIC FORMS.—All forms designated 

10 or established by the Secretary that are necessary to 

11 implement this title and the amendments made by 

12 this title shall be made available in paper and elec13 tronic formats, and shall be designed in such a man14 ner to facilitate electronic completion, storage, and 

15 transmittal. 

16 (3) LIMITATION ON USE OF FORMS.—All forms 

17 designated or established by the Secretary that are 

18 necessary to implement this title, and the amend19 ments made by this title, and any information con20 tained in or appended to such forms, may not be used 

21 for purposes other than for enforcement of this Act 

22 and any other provision of Federal criminal law. 


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Union Calendar No. 263 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5038 

[Report No. 116–328, Part I] 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to 

or services, and for other purposes. immigrant workers performing agricultural labor provide for terms and conditions for nonDECEMBER 9, 2019 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an 

amendment 

DECEMBER 9, 2019 

Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Labor, 

Union and ordered to be printed Committee of the Whole House on the State of the and Financial Services discharged; committed to the 


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