I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2849

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 24, 2003

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

GREENWOOD, and Mr. MANZULLO) 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 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) The H–1B and L–1 visa programs were es2 tablished to enable United States employers to hire 

3 workers with the necessary skills and allow the 

4 intracompany transfer of certain workers in the em5 ploy of companies with operations outside of the 

6 United States. 

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

8 visa programs to fill hundreds of thousands of posi9 tions in United States firms. 

10 (3) According to a General Accounting Office 

11 report, 60 percent of the positions being filled by 

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

13 related to information technology. 

14 (4) The median annual salaries for information 

15 technology employment was $45,000 in 1999. 

16 (5) In 2001, Congress specifically banned the 

17 displacement of United States employees by H–1B 

18 visa holders and mandated that employers pay H–

19 1B workers prevailing United States wages. 

20 (6) United States unemployment in information 

21 technology specialties has increased over the last 2 

22 years making it more difficult for employers to cer23 tify that they are unable to find American informa24 tion technology employees to fill vacancies as re25 quired to gain approval of H–1B visa applications. 
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1 (7) United States consular officers in foreign 

2 countries in the past have expressed concerns that 

3 the L–1 visa program was being exploited beyond 

4 the original purpose of the program by allowing em5 ployers to bring in workers who subsequently are 

6 employed by other companies. 

7 (8) It has been reported that the former Immi8 gration and Naturalization Service was reviewing the 

9 L–1 visa program to assess whether companies were 

10 using the L–1 visa to circumvent restrictions associ11 ated with the H–1B visa program. 

12 (9) The Department of Labor has had very lim13 ited authority to enforce the program requirements 

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

15 police the L–1 visa program. 

16 (10) Historical weaknesses in the administra17 tion of the H–1B program by the former Immigra18 tion and Naturalization Service caused unnecessary 

19 delays in processing employer requests and also 

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

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

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

23 the purposes for which they were intended and not to dis24 place American workers with lower cost foreign visa hold-
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1 ers, by closing the loopholes in the programs and strength2 ening enforcement and penalties for violations of laws. 

3 SEC. 3. L–1 NONIMMIGRANT VISAS. 

4 (a) WAGE REQUIREMENTS; LIMITATION ON PLACE5 MENT OF INTRACOMPANY TRANSFEREES; DISPLACEMENT

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

7 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)) is amended by add8 ing at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(F) No alien may be admitted or provided status 

10 as a nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(L) un11 less the importing employer has filed with the Secretary 

12 of Labor an application stating the following: 

13 ‘‘(i) The employer will not place the non14 immigrant with another employer where—

15 ‘‘(I) the nonimmigrant performs duties in 

16 whole or in part at 1 or more worksites owned, 

17 operated, or controlled by such other employer; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(II) there are indicia of an employment 

20 relationship between the nonimmigrant and 

21 such other employer. 

22 ‘‘(ii) The employer shall make available for pub23 lic examination, not later than 1 working day after 

24 the date on which an application under this subpara25 graph is filed, at the employer’s principal place of 
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1 business or worksite, a copy of each such application 

2 (and such accompanying documents as are nec3 essary). The Secretary shall compile, on a current 

4 basis, a list (by employer and by occupational classi5 fication) of the applications filed under this subpara6 graph. The Secretary shall make such list available 

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

8 Secretary of Labor shall review such an application 

9 only for completeness and obvious inaccuracies. Un10 less the Secretary of Labor finds that an application 

11 is incomplete or obviously inaccurate, the Secretary 

12 of Labor shall certify to the Secretary of Homeland 

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

14 filing of the application, that the requirements of 

15 this subclause have been satisfied. The application 

16 form shall include a clear statement explaining the 

17 liability under this clause if an employer places a 

18 nonimmigrant with another employer in violation of 

19 clause (i). 

20 ‘‘(iii) The employer is offering and will offer 

21 during the period of authorized employment to aliens 

22 admitted or provided status as a nonimmigrant de23 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(L) wages that are at 

24 least—
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1 ‘‘(I) the actual wage level paid by the em2 ployer to all other individuals with similar expe3 rience and qualifications for the specific em4 ployment in question; or 

5 ‘‘(II) the prevailing wage level for the occu6 pational classification in the area of employ7 ment; 

8 whichever is greater, based on the information avail9 able at the time of filing the application. 

10 ‘‘(iv) The employer did not displace and will not 

11 displace a United States worker employed by the 

12 employer within the period beginning 180 days be13 fore and ending 180 days after the date of filing of 

14 any visa petition supported by the application. 

15 ‘‘(v) The provisions of section 212(n)(2) shall 

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

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

18 manner as such provisions apply to a failure to meet 

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

20 (b) APPROPRIATE AGENCIES REFERENCES.—Section 

21 214(c)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

22 U.S.C. 1184(c)(1)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘Depart23 ment of Agriculture.’’ the following: ‘‘For purposes of this 

24 subsection with respect to nonimmigrants described in sec-
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1 tion 101(a)(15)(L), the term ‘appropriate agencies of Gov2 ernment’ means the Department of Labor.’’. 

3 (c) RESTRICTION OF BLANKET PETITIONS.—Section 

4 214(c)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

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

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

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

8 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall consult with the 

9 Secretary of Labor to ensure that procedures utilized in 

10 that calendar year to process blanket petitions shall not 

11 undermine efforts by the Department of Labor to enforce 

12 the provisions of this subsection and shall consider any 

13 recommendations that the Secretary of Labor proposes to 

14 such procedures to enhance compliance with the provisions 

15 of this subsection.’’. 

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

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

18 1184(c)(2)(C)) is amended by inserting before the period 

19 the following: ‘‘, unless the Secretary of Homeland Secu20 rity, after consultation with the Secretary of Labor, deter21 mines that an additional period of time beyond 30 days 

22 is necessary to ensure the proper implementation of this 

23 subsection’’. 

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

25 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
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1 1101(a)(15)(L)) is amended by striking ‘‘one year’’ and 

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

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

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

5 1184(c)(2)(D)) is amended—

6 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘7 years’’ and in7 serting ‘‘5 years’’; and 

8 (2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘5 years’’ and in9 serting ‘‘3 years’’. 

10 (g) RECRUITMENT; ADMINISTRATIVE FEE; DEFINI11 TIONS.—Section 214(c)(2) of the Immigration and Na12 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)), as amended by sub13 section (a), is further amended by adding at the end the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(G) In the case of a petition to import aliens as non16 immigrants in a capacity that involves specialized knowl17 edge as described in section 101(a)(15)(L), the employer, 

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

19 of Labor an application stating that the employer has 

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

21 using procedures that meet industry-wide standards, 

22 United States workers for the job for which the non23 immigrants are sought. 

24 ‘‘(H) The Secretary of Labor shall impose a fee on 

25 an employer filing a petition to import aliens as non-
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1 immigrants described in section 101(a)(15)(L) to cover 

2 the administrative costs of processing the petition. 

3 ‘‘(I) The Secretary of Labor may initiate an inves4 tigation of any employer that employs nonimmigrants de5 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(L) if the Secretary of Labor 

6 has reasonable cause to believe that the employer is not 

7 in compliance with this subsection. The investigation may 

8 be initiated not solely for completeness and obvious inac9 curacies by the employer in complying with this sub10 section. 

11 ‘‘(J) In this paragraph: 

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

13 to 1 or more nonimmigrants described in section 

14 101(a)(15)(L) by an employer, the employer is con15 sidered to ‘displace’ a United States worker from a 

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

17 that is essentially the equivalent of the job for which 

18 the nonimmigrant is sought. A job shall not be con19 sidered to be essentially equivalent of another job 

20 unless it involves essentially the same responsibil21 ities, was held by a United States worker with sub22 stantially equivalent qualifications and experience, 

23 and is located in the same area of employment as 

24 the other job. 
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1 ‘‘(ii)(I) The term ‘lays off’, with respect to a 

2 worker—

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

4 employment, other than through a discharge for 

5 inadequate performance, violation of workplace 

6 rules, cause, voluntary departure, voluntary re7 tirement, or the expiration of a grant or con8 tract; but 

9 ‘‘(bb) does not include any situation in 

10 which the worker is offered, as an alternative to 

11 such loss of employment, a similar employment 

12 opportunity with the same employer at equiva13 lent or higher compensation and benefits than 

14 the position from which the employee was dis15 charged, regardless of whether or not the em16 ployee accepts the offer. 

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

18 an employee’s rights under a collective bargaining 

19 agreement or other employment contract. 

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

21 an employee who—

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

23 States; or 

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

25 for permanent residence or is an immigrant
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1 otherwise authorized by this Act or by the Sec2 retary of Homeland Security to be employed.’’. 

3 (h) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—

4 Section 214 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

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

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

7 Homeland Security’’. 

8 SEC. 4. TEMPORARY NONIMMIGRANT WORKERS. 

9 (a) H–1B DEPENDENT EMPLOYERS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 212(n) of the Immi11 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)) is 

12 amended—

13 (A) in paragraph (1)—

14 (i) in subparagraph (E)(ii), by strik15 ing ‘‘an H–1B-dependent employer (as de16 fined in paragraph (3))’’ and inserting ‘‘an 

17 employer that employs H–1B non18 immigrants’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(regardless of whether or not such other 

21 employer is an H–1B-dependent em22 ployer)’’; and 

23 (B) in paragraph (2)—

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

25 ‘‘If an H–1B-dependent employer’’ and in-
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1 serting ‘‘If an employer that employs H–

2 1B nonimmigrants’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘The preceding sentence shall apply to an 

5 employer regardless of whether or not the 

6 employer is an H–1B-dependent em7 ployer.’’. 

8 (2) CONFORMING DEFINITION AMENDMENT.—

9 Section 212(n)(3) of the Immigration and Nation10 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(3)) is amended—

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

12 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

13 and (C) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respec14 tively. 

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

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

17 1182(n)) is amended—

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

19 each place that term appears and inserting ‘‘180 

20 days’’; and 

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

22 days’’ each place that term appears and inserting 

23 ‘‘180 days’’. 

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

25 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
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1 1182(n)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(I) The Secretary of Labor may initiate an inves4 tigation of any employer that hires nonimmigrants de5 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) if the Secretary of 

6 Labor has reasonable cause to believe that the employer 

7 is not in compliance with this subsection. The investiga8 tion may be initiated not solely for completeness and obvi9 ous inaccuracies by the employer in complying with this 

10 subsection.’’. 

11 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE FEE.—Section 214(c)(9)(A) of 

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

13 1184(c)(9)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘before October 1, 

14 2003’’. 

15 SEC. 5. COMPTROLLER GENERAL INVESTIGATION. 

16 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

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

18 shall undertake an investigation to determine—

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

20 being implemented; 

21 (2) the impact that the amendments made by 

22 this Act have had on employers and workers in the 

23 United States; and 

24 (3) whether additional changes to existing law 

25 are necessary—
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1 (A) to prevent American workers from 

2 being displaced by nonimmigrants described in 

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

4 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality 

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

6 (B) to meet the legitimate needs of United 

7 States employers.

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