I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3322

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to the H–

1B and L–1 visa programs to prevent unintended United States job 

losses, to increase the monitoring and enforcement authority of the 

Secretary of Labor over such programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 18, 2005

Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut (for herself, Mr. SIMMONS, Mr. SHAW, Mr. 

PRICE of North Carolina, and Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect 

to the H–1B and L–1 visa programs to prevent unintended United States job losses, to increase the monitoring and enforcement authority of the Secretary of 

Labor over such programs, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘USA Jobs Protection 

5 Act of 2005’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The H–1B and L–1 visa programs were es4 tablished to enable United States employers to hire 

5 workers with the necessary skills and allow the 

6 intracompany transfer of certain workers in the em7 ploy of companies with operations outside of the 

8 United States. 

9 (2) Employers have used the H–1B and L–1 

10 visa programs to fill hundreds of thousands of posi11 tions in United States firms. 

12 (3) According to a General Accounting Office 

13 report, 60 percent of the positions being filled by 

14 workers provided under the H–1B visa program are 

15 related to information technology. 

16 (4) The median annual salaries for information 

17 technology employment was $45,000 in 1999. 

18 (5) In 2001, Congress specifically banned the 

19 displacement of United States employees by H–1B 

20 visa holders and mandated that employers pay H–

21 1B workers prevailing United States wages. 

22 (6) United States unemployment in information 

23 technology specialties has increased over the last 2 

24 years making it more difficult for employers to cer25 tify that they are unable to find American informa-
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1 tion technology employees to fill vacancies as re2 quired to gain approval of H–1B visa applications. 

3 (7) United States consular officers in foreign 

4 countries in the past have expressed concerns that 

5 the L–1 visa program was being exploited beyond 

6 the original purpose of the program by allowing em7 ployers to bring in workers who subsequently are 

8 employed by other companies. 

9 (8) It has been reported that the former Immi10 gration and Naturalization Service was reviewing the 

11 L–1 visa program to assess whether companies were 

12 using the L–1 visa to circumvent restrictions associ13 ated with the H–1B visa program. 

14 (9) The Department of Labor has had very lim15 ited authority to enforce the program requirements 

16 of the H–1B visa program and no legal authority to 

17 police the L–1 visa program. 

18 (10) Historical weaknesses in the administra19 tion of the H–1B program by the former Immigra20 tion and Naturalization Service caused unnecessary 

21 delays in processing employer requests and also 

22 made the H–1B program vulnerable to abuse. 

23 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to ensure 

24 that the H–1B and L–1 visa programs are utilized for 

25 the purposes for which they were intended and not to dis-
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1 place American workers with lower cost foreign visa hold2 ers, by closing the loopholes in the programs and strength3 ening enforcement and penalties for violations of laws. 

4 SEC. 3. L–1 NONIMMIGRANT VISAS. 

5 (a) WAGE REQUIREMENTS; LIMITATION ON PLACE6 MENT OF INTRACOMPANY TRANSFEREES; DISPLACEMENT

7 OF WORKERS.—Section 214(c)(2) of the Immigration and 

8 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)) is amended by add9 ing at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(G) No alien may be admitted or provided status 

11 as a nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(L) un12 less the importing employer has filed with the Secretary 

13 of Labor an application stating the following: 

14 ‘‘(i) The employer shall make available for pub15 lic examination, not later than 1 working day after 

16 the date on which an application under this subpara17 graph is filed, at the employer’s principal place of 

18 business or worksite, a copy of each such application 

19 (and such accompanying documents as are nec20 essary). The Secretary shall compile, on a current 

21 basis, a list (by employer and by occupational classi22 fication) of the applications filed under this subpara23 graph. The Secretary shall make such list available 

24 for public examination in Washington, D.C. The 

25 Secretary of Labor shall review such an application 
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1 only for completeness and obvious inaccuracies. Un2 less the Secretary of Labor finds that an application 

3 is incomplete or obviously inaccurate, the Secretary 

4 of Labor shall certify to the Secretary of Homeland 

5 Security, not later than 7 days after the date of the 

6 filing of the application, that the requirements of 

7 this subclause have been satisfied. The application 

8 form shall include a clear statement explaining the 

9 liability under this clause if an employer places a 

10 nonimmigrant with another employer in violation of 

11 clause (i). 

12 ‘‘(ii) The employer is offering and will offer 

13 during the period of authorized employment to aliens 

14 admitted or provided status as a nonimmigrant de15 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(L) wages that are at 

16 least—

17 ‘‘(I) the actual wage level paid by the em18 ployer to all other individuals with similar expe19 rience and qualifications for the specific em20 ployment in question; or 

21 ‘‘(II) the prevailing wage level for the occu22 pational classification in the area of employ23 ment; 

24 whichever is greater, based on the information avail25 able at the time of filing the application. 
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1 ‘‘(iii) The employer did not displace and will 

2 not displace a United States worker employed by the 

3 employer within the period beginning 180 days be4 fore and ending 180 days after the date of filing of 

5 any visa petition supported by the application. 

6 ‘‘(iv) The provisions of section 212(n)(2) shall 

7 apply to a failure to meet a condition of clauses (i), 

8 (iii), and (iv) and subparagraph (G) in the same 

9 manner as such provisions apply to a failure to meet 

10 a condition of section 212(n)(1)(F).’’. 

11 (b) APPROPRIATE AGENCIES REFERENCES.—Section 

12 214(c)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

13 U.S.C. 1184(c)(1)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘Depart14 ment of Agriculture.’’ the following: ‘‘For purposes of this 

15 subsection with respect to nonimmigrants described in sec16 tion 101(a)(15)(L), the term ‘appropriate agencies of Gov17 ernment’ means the Department of Labor.’’. 

18 (c) RESTRICTION OF BLANKET PETITIONS.—Section 

19 214(c)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

20 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘In the case 

21 of’’ and all that follows through the period and inserting 

22 the following: ‘‘Not later than January 15 of each year, 

23 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall consult with the 

24 Secretary of Labor to ensure that procedures utilized in 

25 that calendar year to process blanket petitions shall not 
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1 undermine efforts by the Department of Labor to enforce 

2 the provisions of this subsection and shall consider any 

3 recommendations that the Secretary of Labor proposes to 

4 such procedures to enhance compliance with the provisions 

5 of this subsection.’’. 

6 (d) ACTION ON PETITIONS.—Section 214(c)(2)(C) of 

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

8 1184(c)(2)(C)) is amended by inserting before the period 

9 the following: ‘‘, unless the Secretary of Homeland Secu10 rity, after consultation with the Secretary of Labor, deter11 mines that an additional period of time beyond 30 days 

12 is necessary to ensure the proper implementation of this 

13 subsection’’. 

14 (e) EMPLOYMENT HISTORY.—Section 101(a)(15)(L) 

15 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

16 1101(a)(15)(L)) is amended by striking ‘‘one year’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘2 of the last 3 years’’. 

18 (f) PERIOD OF ADMISSION.—Section 214(c)(2)(D) of 

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

20 1184(c)(2)(D)) is amended—

21 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘7 years’’ and in22 serting ‘‘5 years’’; and 

23 (2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘5 years’’ and in24 serting ‘‘3 years’’. 
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1 (g) RECRUITMENT; ADMINISTRATIVE FEE; DEFINI2 TIONS.—Section 214(c)(2) of the Immigration and Na3 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)), as amended by sub4 section (a), is further amended by adding at the end the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(H) In the case of a petition to import aliens as non7 immigrants in a capacity that involves specialized knowl8 edge as described in section 101(a)(15)(L), the employer, 

9 prior to filing the petition, shall file with the Secretary 

10 of Labor an application stating that the employer has 

11 taken good faith steps to recruit, in the United States 

12 using procedures that meet industry-wide standards, 

13 United States workers for the job for which the non14 immigrants are sought. 

15 ‘‘(I) The Secretary of Labor shall impose a fee on 

16 an employer filing a petition to import aliens as non17 immigrants described in section 101(a)(15)(L) to cover 

18 the administrative costs of processing the petition. 

19 ‘‘(J) The Secretary of Labor may initiate an inves20 tigation of any employer that employs nonimmigrants de21 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(L) if the Secretary of Labor 

22 has reasonable cause to believe that the employer is not 

23 in compliance with this subsection. The investigation may 

24 be initiated not solely for completeness and obvious inac-
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1 curacies by the employer in complying with this sub2 section. 

3 ‘‘(K) In this paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(i) In the case of an application with respect 

5 to 1 or more nonimmigrants described in section 

6 101(a)(15)(L) by an employer, the employer is con7 sidered to ‘displace’ a United States worker from a 

8 job if the employer lays off the worker from a job 

9 that is essentially the equivalent of the job for which 

10 the nonimmigrant is sought. A job shall not be con11 sidered to be essentially equivalent of another job 

12 unless it involves essentially the same responsibil13 ities, was held by a United States worker with sub14 stantially equivalent qualifications and experience, 

15 and is located in the same area of employment as 

16 the other job. 

17 ‘‘(ii)(I) The term ‘lays off’, with respect to a 

18 worker—

19 ‘‘(aa) means to cause the worker’s loss of 

20 employment, other than through a discharge for 

21 inadequate performance, violation of workplace 

22 rules, cause, voluntary departure, voluntary re23 tirement, or the expiration of a grant or con24 tract; but 
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1 ‘‘(bb) does not include any situation in 

2 which the worker is offered, as an alternative to 

3 such loss of employment, a similar employment 

4 opportunity with the same employer at equiva5 lent or higher compensation and benefits than 

6 the position from which the employee was dis7 charged, regardless of whether or not the em8 ployee accepts the offer. 

9 ‘‘(II) Nothing in this clause is intended to limit 

10 an employee’s rights under a collective bargaining 

11 agreement or other employment contract. 

12 ‘‘(iii) The term ‘United States worker’ means 

13 an employee who—

14 ‘‘(I) is a citizen or national of the United 

15 States; or 

16 ‘‘(II) is an alien who is lawfully admitted 

17 for permanent residence or is an immigrant 

18 otherwise authorized by this Act or by the Sec19 retary of Homeland Security to be employed.’’. 

20 (h) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—

21 Section 214 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

22 U.S.C. 1184) is amended by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ 

23 each place that term appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of 

24 Homeland Security’’. 
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1 SEC. 4. TEMPORARY NONIMMIGRANT WORKERS. 

2 (a) H–1B DEPENDENT EMPLOYERS.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 212(n) of the Immi4 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)) is 

5 amended—

6 (A) in paragraph (1)—

7 (i) in subparagraph (E)(ii), by strik8 ing ‘‘an H–1B-dependent employer (as de9 fined in paragraph (3))’’ and inserting ‘‘an 

10 employer that employs H–1B non11 immigrants’’; and 

12 (ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

13 ‘‘(regardless of whether or not such other 

14 employer is an H–1B-dependent em15 ployer)’’; and 

16 (B) in paragraph (2)—

17 (i) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

18 ‘‘If an H–1B-dependent employer’’ and in19 serting ‘‘If an employer that employs H–

20 1B nonimmigrants’’; and 

21 (ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

22 ‘‘The preceding sentence shall apply to an 

23 employer regardless of whether or not the 

24 employer is an H–1B-dependent em25 ployer.’’. 
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1 (2) CONFORMING DEFINITION AMENDMENT.—

2 Section 212(n)(3) of the Immigration and Nation3 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(3)) is amended—

4 (A) by striking subparagraph (A); and 

5 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

6 and (C) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respec7 tively. 

8 (b) DISPLACEMENT OF WORKERS.—Section 212(n) 

9 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

10 1182(n)) is amended—

11 (1) in paragraph (1)(F), by striking ‘‘90 days’’ 

12 each place that term appears and inserting ‘‘180 

13 days’’; and 

14 (2) in paragraph (2)(C)(iii), by striking ‘‘90 

15 days’’ each place that term appears and inserting 

16 ‘‘180 days’’. 

17 (c) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.—Section 212(n)(2) of 

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

19 1182(n)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(J) The Secretary of Labor may initiate an inves22 tigation of any employer that hires nonimmigrants de23 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) if the Secretary of 

24 Labor has reasonable cause to believe that the employer 

25 is not in compliance with this subsection. The investiga-
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1 tion may be initiated not solely for completeness and obvi2 ous inaccuracies by the employer in complying with this 

3 subsection.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. COMPTROLLER GENERAL INVESTIGATION. 

5 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

7 shall undertake an investigation to determine—

8 (1) how the amendments made by this Act are 

9 being implemented; 

10 (2) the impact that the amendments made by 

11 this Act have had on employers and workers in the 

12 United States; and 

13 (3) whether additional changes to existing law 

14 are necessary—

15 (A) to prevent American workers from 

16 being displaced by nonimmigrants described in 

17 subparagraphs (L) and (H)(i)(b) of section 

18 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality 

19 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)); or 

20 (B) to meet the legitimate needs of United 

21 States employers.

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