II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 979 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reform and reduce fraud 

and abuse in certain visa programs for aliens working temporarily in 

the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 27, 2023 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. TUBERVILLE, 

Mr. BROWN, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reform 

and reduce fraud and abuse in certain visa programs 

for aliens working temporarily in the United States, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘H–1B and L–1 Visa Reform Act of 2023’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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TITLE I—H–1B VISA FRAUD AND ABUSE PROTECTIONS 

Subtitle A—H–1B Employer Application Requirements 

Sec. 101. Modification of application requirements. 

Sec. 102. New application requirements. 

Sec. 103. Application review requirements. 

Sec. 104. H–1B visa allocation. 

Sec. 105. H–1B workers employed by institutions of higher education. 

Sec. 106. Specialty occupation to require an actual degree. 

Sec. 107. Labor condition application fee. 

Sec. 108. H–1B subpoena authority for the Department of Labor. 

Sec. 109. Limitation on extension of H–1B petition. 

Sec. 110. Elimination of B–1 visas in lieu of H–1 visas. 

Subtitle B—Investigation and Disposition of Complaints Against H–1B 

Employers 

Sec. 111. General modification of procedures for investigation and disposition. 

Sec. 112. Investigation, working conditions, and penalties. 

Sec. 113. Waiver requirements. 

Sec. 114. Initiation of investigations. 

Sec. 115. Information sharing. 

Sec. 116. Conforming amendment. 

Subtitle C—Other Protections 

Sec. 121. Posting available positions through the Department of Labor. 

Sec. 122. Transparency and report on wage system. 

Sec. 123. Requirements for information for H–1B and L–1 nonimmigrants. 

Sec. 124. Additional Department of Labor employees. 

Sec. 125. Technical correction. 

Sec. 126. Application. 

TITLE II—L–1 VISA FRAUD AND ABUSE PROTECTIONS 

Sec. 201. Prohibition on displacement of United States workers and restricting 

outplacement of L–1 nonimmigrants. 

Sec. 202. L–1 employer petition requirements for employment at new offices. 

Sec. 203. Cooperation with Secretary of State. 

Sec. 204. Investigation and disposition of complaints against L–1 employers. 

Sec. 205. Wage rate and working conditions for L–1 nonimmigrants. 

Sec. 206. Penalties. 

Sec. 207. Prohibition on retaliation against L–1 nonimmigrants. 

Sec. 208. Adjudication by Department of Homeland Security of petitions under 

blanket petition. 

Sec. 209. Reports on employment-based nonimmigrants. 

Sec. 210. Specialized knowledge. 

Sec. 211. Technical amendments. 

Sec. 212. Application. 


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1 TITLE I—H–1B VISA FRAUD AND 

2 ABUSE PROTECTIONS 

3 Subtitle A—H–1B Employer 

4 Application Requirements 

5 SEC. 101. MODIFICATION OF APPLICATION REQUIRE6 MENTS. 

7 (a) GENERAL APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Sec8 tion 212(n)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

9 (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(1)(A)) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(A) The employer— 

11 ‘‘(i) is offering and will offer to H–1B non12 immigrants, during the period of authorized 

13 employment for each H–1B nonimmigrant, 

14 wages that are determined based on the best in15 formation available at the time the application 

16 is filed and which are not less than the highest 

17 of— 

18 ‘‘(I) the locally determined prevailing 

19 wage level for the occupational classifica20 tion in the area of employment; 

21 ‘‘(II) the median wage for all workers 

22 in the occupational classification in the 

23 area of employment; and 

24 ‘‘(III) the median wage for skill level 

25 2 in the occupational classification found 


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1 in the most recent Occupational Employ2 ment Statistics survey; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) will provide working conditions for 

4 such H–1B nonimmigrant that will not ad5 versely affect the working conditions of United 

6 States workers similarly employed by the em7 ployer or by an employer with which such H– 

8 1B nonimmigrant is placed pursuant to a waiv9 er under paragraph (2)(E).’’. 

10 (b) INTERNET POSTING REQUIREMENT.—Section 

11 212(n)(1)(C) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(1)(C)) is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating clause (ii) as subclause 

14 (II); 

15 (2) by striking ‘‘(i) has provided’’ and inserting 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(ii)(I) has provided’’; and 

18 (3) by inserting before clause (ii), as redesig19 nated by paragraph (2), the following: 

20 ‘‘(i) has posted on the internet website de21 scribed in paragraph (3), for at least 30 cal22 endar days, a detailed description of each posi23 tion for which a nonimmigrant is sought that 

24 includes a description of— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the wages and other terms and 

2 conditions of employment; 

3 ‘‘(II) the minimum education, train4 ing, experience, and other requirements for 

5 the position; and 

6 ‘‘(III) the process for applying for the 

7 position; and’’. 

8 (c) WAGE DETERMINATION INFORMATION.—Section 

9 212(n)(1)(D) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(1)(D)) is 

10 amended by inserting ‘‘the wage determination method11 ology used under subparagraph (A)(i),’’ after ‘‘shall con12 tain’’. 

13 (d) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS TO ALL EM14 PLOYERS.— 

15 (1) NONDISPLACEMENT.—Section 212(n)(1)(E) 

16 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(1)(E)) is amended to 

17 read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(E)(i) The employer— 

19 ‘‘(I) will not at any time displace a United 

20 States worker with 1 or more H–1B non21 immigrants; and 

22 ‘‘(II) did not displace and will not displace 

23 a United States worker employed by the em24 ployer within the period beginning 180 days be25 fore and ending 180 days after the date of the 


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1 placement of the nonimmigrant with the em2 ployer. 

3 ‘‘(ii) The 180-day periods referred to in clause 

4 (i) may not include any period of on-site or virtual 

5 training of H–1B nonimmigrants by employees of 

6 the employer.’’. 

7 (2) RECRUITMENT.—Section 212(n)(1)(G)(i) of 

8 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(1)(G)(i)) is amended by 

9 striking ‘‘In the case of an application described in 

10 subparagraph (E)(ii), subject’’ and inserting ‘‘Sub11 ject’’. 

12 (e) WAIVER REQUIREMENT.—Section 212(n)(1)(F) 

13 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(1)(F)) is amended to read 

14 as follows: 

15 ‘‘(F) The employer will not place, outsource, 

16 lease, or otherwise contract for the services or place17 ment of H–1B nonimmigrants with another em18 ployer, regardless of the physical location where such 

19 services will be performed, unless the employer of 

20 the alien has been granted a waiver under paragraph 

21 (2)(E).’’. 

22 SEC. 102. NEW APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS. 

23 Section 212(n)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality 

24 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(1)), as amended by section 101, 


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1 is further amended by inserting after subparagraph (G) 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(H)(i) The employer, or a person or entity act4 ing on the employer’s behalf, has not advertised any 

5 available position specified in the application in an 

6 advertisement that states or indicates that— 

7 ‘‘(I) such position is only available to an 

8 individual who is or will be an H–1B non9 immigrant; or 

10 ‘‘(II) an individual who is or will be an H– 

11 1B nonimmigrant shall receive priority or a 

12 preference in the hiring process for such posi13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(ii) The employer has not primarily recruited 

15 individuals who are or who will be H–1B non16 immigrants to fill such position. 

17 ‘‘(I) If the employer employs 50 or more em18 ployees in the United States— 

19 ‘‘(i) the sum of the number of such em20 ployees who are H–1B nonimmigrants plus the 

21 number of such employees who are non22 immigrants described in section 101(a)(15)(L) 

23 does not exceed 50 percent of the total number 

24 of employees; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the employer’s corporate organization 

2 has not been restructured to evade the limita3 tion under clause (i). 

4 ‘‘(J) If the employer, in such previous period as 

5 the Secretary shall specify, employed 1 or more H– 

6 1B nonimmigrants, the employer shall submit to the 

7 Secretary the Internal Revenue Service Form W–2 

8 Wage and Tax Statements filed by the employer 

9 with respect to the H–1B nonimmigrants for such 

10 period.’’. 

11 SEC. 103. APPLICATION REVIEW REQUIREMENTS. 

12 (a) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 212(n)(1) of 

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

14 1182(n)(1)), as amended by sections 101 and 102, is fur15 ther amended, in the undesignated paragraph at the end, 

16 by striking ‘‘The employer’’ and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(K) The employer.’’. 

18 (b) APPLICATION REVIEW REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

19 212(n)(1)(K), as designated by subsection (a), is amend20 ed— 

21 (1) in the fourth sentence, by inserting ‘‘and 

22 through the Department of Labor’s website, without 

23 charge.’’ after ‘‘D.C.’’; 

24 (2) in the fifth sentence, by striking ‘‘only for 

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1 cators of fraud or misrepresentation of material 

2 fact,’’; 

3 (3) in the sixth sentence— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘or obviously inaccurate’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘, presents indicators of fraud or 

6 misrepresentation of material fact, or is obvi7 ously inaccurate’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘within 7 days of’’ and in9 serting ‘‘not later than 14 days after’’; and 

10 (4) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘If the 

11 Secretary of Labor’s review of an application identi12 fies indicators of fraud or misrepresentation of ma13 terial fact, the Secretary may conduct an investiga14 tion and hearing in accordance with paragraph 

15 (2).’’. 

16 SEC. 104. H–1B VISA ALLOCATION. 

17 Section 214(g)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality 

18 Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)(3)), is amended— 

19 (1) by striking the first sentence and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), aliens who 

22 are subject to the numerical limitations under para23 graph (1)(A) shall be issued visas, or otherwise pro24 vided nonimmigrant status, in a manner and order 


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1 established by the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

2 by regulation.’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall consider petitions for 

5 nonimmigrant status under section 

6 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) in the following order: 

7 ‘‘(i) Petitions for nonimmigrants described 

8 in section 101(a)(15)(F) who, while physically 

9 present in the United States, have earned an 

10 advanced degree in a field of science, tech11 nology, engineering, or mathematics from a 

12 United States institution of higher education 

13 (as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher 

14 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))) 

15 that has been accredited by an accrediting enti16 ty that is recognized by the Department of 

17 Education. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Petitions certifying that the employer 

19 will be paying the nonimmigrant the median 

20 wage for skill level 4 in the occupational classi21 fication found in the most recent Occupational 

22 Employment Statistics survey. 

23 ‘‘(iii) Petitions for nonimmigrants de24 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(F) who are grad25 uates of any other advanced degree program, 


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1 undertaken while physically present in the 

2 United States, from an institution of higher 

3 education described in clause (i). 

4 ‘‘(iv) Petitions certifying that the employer 

5 will be paying the nonimmigrant the median 

6 wage for skill level 3 in the occupational classi7 fication found in the most recent Occupational 

8 Employment Statistics survey. 

9 ‘‘(v) Petitions for nonimmigrants described 

10 in section 101(a)(15)(F) who are graduates of 

11 a bachelor’s degree program, undertaken while 

12 physically present in the United States, in a 

13 field of science, technology, engineering, or 

14 mathematics from an institution of higher edu15 cation described in clause (i). 

16 ‘‘(vi) Petitions for nonimmigrants de17 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(F) who are grad18 uates of bachelor’s degree programs, under19 taken while physically present in the United 

20 States, in any other fields from an institution 

21 of higher education described in clause (i). 

22 ‘‘(vii) Petitions for aliens who will be work23 ing in occupations listed in Group I of the De24 partment of Labor’s Schedule A of occupations 

25 in which the Secretary of Labor has determined 


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1 there are not sufficient United States workers 

2 who are able, willing, qualified, and available. 

3 ‘‘(viii) Petitions filed by employers meeting 

4 the following criteria of good corporate citizen5 ship and compliance with the immigration laws: 

6 ‘‘(I) The employer is in possession 

7 of— 

8 ‘‘(aa) a valid E-Verify company 

9 identification number; or 

10 ‘‘(bb) if the enterprise is using a 

11 designated agent to perform E-Verify 

12 queries, a valid E-Verify client com13 pany identification number and docu14 mentation from U.S. Citizenship and 

15 Immigration Services that the com16 mercial enterprise is a participant in 

17 good standing in the E-Verify pro18 gram. 

19 ‘‘(II) The employer is not under inves20 tigation by any Federal agency for viola21 tion of the immigration laws or labor laws. 

22 ‘‘(III) A Federal agency has not de23 termined, during the immediately pre24 ceding 5 years, that the employer violated 

25 the immigration laws or labor laws. 


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1 ‘‘(IV) During each of the preceding 3 

2 fiscal years, at least 90 percent of the peti3 tions filed by the employer under section 

4 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) were approved. 

5 ‘‘(V) The employer has filed, pursuant 

6 to section 204(a)(1)(F), employment-based 

7 immigrant petitions, including an approved 

8 labor certification application under section 

9 212(a)(5)(A), for at least 90 percent of 

10 employees imported under section 

11 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) during the preceding 3 

12 fiscal years. 

13 ‘‘(ix) Any remaining petitions. 

14 ‘‘(C) In this paragraph the term ‘field of 

15 science, technology, engineering, or mathematics’ 

16 means a field included in the Department of Edu17 cation’s Classification of Instructional Programs tax18 onomy within the summary groups of computer and 

19 information sciences and support services, engineer20 ing, biological and biomedical sciences, mathematics 

21 and statistics, and physical sciences.’’. 

22 SEC. 105. H–1B WORKERS EMPLOYED BY INSTITUTIONS OF 

23 HIGHER EDUCATION. 

24 Section 214(g)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality 

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1 ployed (or has received an offer of employment) at’’ each 

2 place such phrase appears and inserting ‘‘is employed by 

3 (or has received an offer of employment from)’’. 

4 SEC. 106. SPECIALTY OCCUPATION TO REQUIRE AN AC5 TUAL DEGREE. 

6 Section 214(i) of the Immigration and Nationality 

7 Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(i)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1), by amending subpara9 graph (B) to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(B) attainment of a bachelor’s or higher de11 gree in the specific specialty directly related to the 

12 occupation as a minimum for entry into the occupa13 tion in the United States.’’; and 

14 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(2) For purposes of section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), the 

17 requirements under this paragraph, with respect to a spe18 cialty occupation, are— 

19 ‘‘(A) full State licensure to practice in the occu20 pation, if such licensure is required to practice in the 

21 occupation; or 

22 ‘‘(B) if a license is not required to practice in 

23 the occupation— 


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1 ‘‘(i) completion of a United States degree 

2 described in paragraph (1)(B) for the occupa3 tion; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) completion of a foreign degree that is 

5 equivalent to a United States degree described 

6 in paragraph (1)(B) for the occupation.’’. 

7 SEC. 107. LABOR CONDITION APPLICATION FEE. 

8 Section 212(n) of the Immigration and Nationality 

9 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)), as amended by sections 101 

10 through 103, is further amended by adding at the end the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(6)(A) The Secretary of Labor shall promulgate a 

13 regulation that requires applicants under this subsection 

14 to pay a reasonable application processing fee. 

15 ‘‘(B) All of the fees collected under this paragraph 

16 shall be deposited as offsetting receipts within the general 

17 fund of the Treasury in a separate account, which shall 

18 be known as the ‘H–1B Administration, Oversight, Inves19 tigation, and Enforcement Account’ and shall remain 

20 available until expended. The Secretary of the Treasury 

21 shall refund amounts in such account to the Secretary of 

22 Labor for salaries and related expenses associated with the 

23 administration, oversight, investigation, and enforcement 

24 of the H–1B nonimmigrant visa program.’’. 


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1 SEC. 108. H–1B SUBPOENA AUTHORITY FOR THE DEPART2 MENT OF LABOR. 

3 Section 212(n)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(2)) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (I) as sub6 paragraph (J); and 

7 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (H) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(I) The Secretary of Labor is authorized to take 

10 such actions, including issuing subpoenas and seeking ap11 propriate injunctive relief and specific performance of con12 tractual obligations, as may be necessary to ensure em13 ployer compliance with the terms and conditions under 

14 this subsection. The rights and remedies provided to H– 

15 1B nonimmigrants under this subsection are in addition 

16 to any other contractual or statutory rights and remedies 

17 of such nonimmigrants and are not intended to alter or 

18 affect such rights and remedies.’’. 

19 SEC. 109. LIMITATION ON EXTENSION OF H–1B PETITION. 

20 Section 214(g)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality 

21 Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)(4)) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(4)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the 

23 period of authorized admission of a nonimmigrant de24 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) may not exceed 3 

25 years. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The period of authorized admission of a non2 immigrant described in subparagraph (A) who is the bene3 ficiary of an approved employment-based immigrant peti4 tion under section 204(a)(1)(F) may be authorized for a 

5 period of up to 3 additional years if the total period of 

6 stay does not exceed six years, except for an extension 

7 under section 104(c) or 106(b) of the American Competi8 tiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 (8 

9 U.S.C. 1184 note).’’. 

10 SEC. 110. ELIMINATION OF B–1 VISAS IN LIEU OF H–1 VISAS. 

11 Section 214(g) of the Immigration and Nationality 

12 Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)) is amended by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(12) Unless otherwise authorized by law, an alien 

15 normally classifiable under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i) who 

16 seeks admission to the United States to provide services 

17 in a specialty occupation described in paragraph (1) or 

18 (3) of subsection (i) may not be issued a visa or admitted 

19 under section 101(a)(15)(B) for such purpose. Nothing in 

20 this paragraph may be construed to authorize the admis21 sion of an alien under section 101(a)(15)(B) who is com22 ing to the United States for the purpose of performing 

23 skilled or unskilled labor if such admission is not otherwise 

24 authorized by law.’’. 


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1 Subtitle B—Investigation and Dis2 position of Complaints Against 

3 H–1B Employers 

4 SEC. 111. GENERAL MODIFICATION OF PROCEDURES FOR 

5 INVESTIGATION AND DISPOSITION. 

6 Section 212(n)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nation7 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(2)(A)) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘(A) Subject’’ and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(A)(i) Subject’’; 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘12 months’’ and inserting ‘‘two 

12 years’’; 

13 (3) by striking the last sentence; and 

14 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(ii)(I) Upon the receipt of a complaint under clause 

16 (i), the Secretary may initiate an investigation to deter17 mine if such failure or misrepresentation has occurred. 

18 ‘‘(II) In conducting an investigation under subclause 

19 (I), the Secretary may— 

20 ‘‘(aa) conduct surveys of the degree to which 

21 employers comply with the requirements under this 

22 subsection; and 

23 ‘‘(bb) conduct compliance audits of employers 

24 that employ H–1B nonimmigrants. 

25 ‘‘(III) The Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) conduct annual compliance audits of not 

2 fewer than 1 percent of the employers that employ 

3 H–1B nonimmigrants during the applicable calendar 

4 year; 

5 ‘‘(bb) conduct annual compliance audits of each 

6 employer with more than 100 employees who work 

7 in the United States if more than 15 percent of such 

8 employees are H–1B nonimmigrants; and 

9 ‘‘(cc) make available to the public an executive 

10 summary or report describing the general findings of 

11 the audits carried out pursuant to this subclause. 

12 ‘‘(iii) The process for receiving complaints under 

13 clause (i) shall include a hotline that is accessible 24 hours 

14 a day, by telephonic and electronic means.’’. 

15 SEC. 112. INVESTIGATION, WORKING CONDITIONS, AND 

16 PENALTIES. 

17 Section 212(n)(2)(C) of the Immigration and Nation18 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(2)(C)) is amended— 

19 (1) in clause (i)— 

20 (A) in the matter preceding subclause (I), 

21 by striking ‘‘a condition of paragraph (1)(B), 

22 (1)(E), or (1)(F), a substantial failure to meet 

23 a condition of paragraph (1)(C), (1)(D), or 

24 (1)(G)(i)(I)’’ and inserting ‘‘a condition under 


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1 subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), 

2 (G)(i), (H), (I), or (J) of paragraph (1)’’; 

3 (B) in subclause (I)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘$5,000’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

7 (C) in subclause (II)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘the Attorney General 

9 shall not approve petitions’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘the Secretary of Homeland Security or 

11 the Secretary of State, as appropriate, 

12 shall not approve petitions or applica13 tions’’; 

14 (ii) by striking ‘‘under section 204 or 

15 214(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘under section 

16 101(a)(15)(E)(iii), 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b1), 

17 204, 214(c), or 214(e)’’; and 

18 (iii) by striking the period at the end 

19 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

20 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(III) an employer that violates paragraph 

22 (1)(A) shall be liable to the employees harmed by 

23 such violation for lost wages and benefits.’’; 

24 (2) in clause (ii)— 

25 (A) in subclause (I)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘shall’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘$25,000’’; 

5 (B) in subclause (II)— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘the Attorney General 

7 shall not approve petitions’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘the Secretary of Homeland Security or 

9 the Secretary of State, as appropriate, 

10 shall not approve petitions or applica11 tions’’; 

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘under section 204 or 

13 214(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘under section 

14 101(a)(15)(E)(iii), 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b1), 

15 204, 214(c), or 214(e)’’; and 

16 (iii) by striking the period at the end 

17 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(III) an employer that violates paragraph 

20 (1)(A) shall be liable to the employees harmed by 

21 such violation for lost wages and benefits.’’; 

22 (3) in clause (iii)— 

23 (A) in the matter preceding subclause (I), 

24 by striking ‘‘the employer displaced a United 

25 States worker employed by the employer within 


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1 the period beginning 90 days before and ending 

2 90 days after the date of filing of any visa peti3 tion supported by the application’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘a United States worker employed at a worksite 

5 that the employer supplies with nonimmigrant 

6 workers was displaced in violation of paragraph 

7 (1)(E) or the conditions of a waiver under sub8 paragraph (E)’’; 

9 (B) in subclause (I)— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘shall’’; 

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘$35,000’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘$150,000’’; and 

14 (iii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

15 (C) in subclause (II)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘the Attorney General 

17 shall not approve petitions’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘the Secretary of Homeland Security or 

19 the Secretary of State, as appropriate, 

20 shall not approve petitions or applica21 tions’’; 

22 (ii) by striking ‘‘under section 204 or 

23 214(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘under section 

24 101(a)(15)(E)(iii), 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b1), 

25 204, 214(c), or 214(e)’’; and 


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1 (iii) by striking the period at the end 

2 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(III) an employer that violates paragraph 

5 (1)(A) shall be liable to the employees harmed by 

6 such violation for lost wages and benefits.’’; 

7 (4) by striking clause (iv) and inserting the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(iv)(I) An employer that has filed an application 

10 under this subsection violates this clause by taking, failing 

11 to take, or threatening to take or fail to take a personnel 

12 action, or intimidating, threatening, restraining, coercing, 

13 blacklisting, discharging, or discriminating in any other 

14 manner against an employee because the employee— 

15 ‘‘(aa) disclosed information that the employee 

16 reasonably believes evidences a violation of this sub17 section or any rule or regulation pertaining to this 

18 subsection; or 

19 ‘‘(bb) cooperated or sought to cooperate with 

20 the requirements under this subsection or any rule 

21 or regulation pertaining to this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(II) In this subparagraph, the term ‘employee’ in23 cludes— 

24 ‘‘(aa) a current employee; 

25 ‘‘(bb) a former employee; and 


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•S 979 IS

1 ‘‘(cc) an applicant for employment. 

2 ‘‘(III) An employer that violates this clause shall be 

3 liable to the employee harmed by such violation for lost 

4 wages and benefits.’’; and 

5 (5) in clause (v)— 

6 (A) by inserting ‘‘(I)’’ after ‘‘(v)’’; and 

7 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(II) Upon the termination of an H–1B non9 immigrant’s employment on account of such alien’s disclo10 sure of information or cooperation in an investigation de11 scribed in clause (iv), the nonimmigrant stay of any bene12 ficiary and any dependents listed on the beneficiary’s peti13 tion will be authorized and the alien will not accrue any 

14 period of unlawful presence under section 212(a)(9) for 

15 a 90-day period or until the expiration of the authorized 

16 validity period, whichever comes first, following the date 

17 of such termination for the purpose of departure or exten18 sion of nonimmigrant status based upon a subsequent 

19 offer of employment.’’; and 

20 (6) in clause (vi)— 

21 (A) by amending subclause (I) to read as 

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘(I) It is a violation of this clause for an employer 

24 that has filed an application under this subsection— 


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•S 979 IS

1 ‘‘(aa) to require an H–1B nonimmigrant to pay 

2 a penalty or liquidated damages for ceasing employ3 ment with the employer before a date agreed to by 

4 the nonimmigrant and the employer; or 

5 ‘‘(bb) to fail to offer to an H–1B non6 immigrant, during the nonimmigrant’s period of au7 thorized employment, on the same basis, and in ac8 cordance with the same criteria, as the employer of9 fers to United States workers, benefits and eligibility 

10 for benefits, including— 

11 ‘‘(AA) the opportunity to participate in 

12 health, life, disability, and other insurance 

13 plans; 

14 ‘‘(BB) the opportunity to participate in re15 tirement and savings plans; and 

16 ‘‘(CC) cash bonuses and noncash com17 pensation, such as stock options (whether or 

18 not based on performance).’’; and 

19 (B) in subclause (III), by striking 

20 ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’. 

21 SEC. 113. WAIVER REQUIREMENTS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 212(n)(2)(E) of the Im23 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(2)(E)) 

24 is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(E)(i) The Secretary of Labor may waive the prohi2 bition under paragraph (1)(F) if the Secretary determines 

3 that the employer seeking such waiver has established 

4 that— 

5 ‘‘(I) the employer with which the H–1B non6 immigrant would be placed— 

7 ‘‘(aa) will not at any time displace a 

8 United States worker with 1 or more H–1B 

9 nonimmigrants; and 

10 ‘‘(bb) has not displaced and will not dis11 place a United States worker employed by the 

12 employer within the period beginning 180 days 

13 before the date of the placement of the non14 immigrant with the employer and ending 180 

15 days after such date (not including any period 

16 of on-site or virtual training of H–1B non17 immigrants by employees of the employer); 

18 ‘‘(II) the H–1B nonimmigrant will be prin19 cipally controlled and supervised by the petitioning 

20 employer; and 

21 ‘‘(III) the placement of the H–1B non22 immigrant is not essentially an arrangement to pro23 vide labor for hire for the employer with which the 

24 H–1B nonimmigrant will be placed. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall grant or deny a waiver 

2 under this subparagraph not later than seven days after 

3 the date on which the Secretary receives an application 

4 for such waiver.’’. 

5 (b) RULEMAKING.— 

6 (1) RULES FOR WAIVERS.—The Secretary of 

7 Labor, after notice and a period for comment, shall 

8 promulgate a final rule for an employer to apply for 

9 a waiver under section 212(n)(2)(E) of the Immigra10 tion and Nationality Act, as amended by subsection 

11 (a). 

12 (2) REQUIREMENT FOR PUBLICATION.—The 

13 Secretary of Labor shall submit to Congress, and 

14 publish in the Federal Register and in other appro15 priate media, a notice of the date on which the rules 

16 required under paragraph (1) are promulgated. 

17 SEC. 114. INITIATION OF INVESTIGATIONS. 

18 Section 212(n)(2)(G) of the Immigration and Nation19 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(2)(G)) is amended— 

20 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘if the Secretary 

21 of Labor’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘with 

22 regard to the employer’s compliance with the re23 quirements under this subsection.’’; 

24 (2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and whose iden25 tity’’ and all that follows through ‘‘failure or failVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S979.IS S979

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1 ures.’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary may conduct an 

2 investigation into the employer’s compliance with the 

3 requirements under this subsection.’’; 

4 (3) in clause (iii), by striking the last sentence; 

5 (4) by striking clauses (iv) and (v); 

6 (5) by redesignating clauses (vi), (vii), and (viii) 

7 as clauses (iv), (v), and (vi), respectively; 

8 (6) in clause (iv), as redesignated, by striking 

9 ‘‘meet a condition described in clause (ii), unless the 

10 Secretary of Labor receives the information not later 

11 than 12 months’’ and inserting ‘‘comply with the re12 quirements under this subsection unless the Sec13 retary of Labor receives the information not later 

14 than 2 years’’; 

15 (7) by amending clause (v), as redesignated, to 

16 read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(v)(I) Except as provided in subclause (II), the Sec18 retary of Labor shall provide notice to an employer of the 

19 intent to conduct an investigation under this subpara20 graph. Such notice shall be provided in such a manner, 

21 and shall contain sufficient detail, to permit the employer 

22 to respond to the allegations before an investigation is 

23 commenced. 

24 ‘‘(II) The Secretary of Labor is not required to com25 ply with subclause (I) if the Secretary determines that 


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1 such compliance would interfere with an effort by the Sec2 retary to investigate or secure compliance by the employer 

3 with the requirements under this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(III) A determination by the Secretary of Labor 

5 under this clause shall not be subject to judicial review.’’; 

6 (8) in clause (vi), as redesignated, by striking 

7 ‘‘An investigation’’ and all that follows through ‘‘the 

8 determination.’’ and inserting ‘‘If the Secretary of 

9 Labor, after an investigation under clause (i) or (ii), 

10 determines that a reasonable basis exists to make a 

11 finding that the employer has failed to comply with 

12 the requirements under this subsection, the Sec13 retary, not later than 120 days after the date of 

14 such determination, shall provide interested parties 

15 with notice of such determination and an oppor16 tunity for a hearing in accordance with section 556 

17 of title 5, United States Code.’’; and 

18 (9) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(vii) If the Secretary of Labor, after a hearing, finds 

20 a reasonable basis to believe that the employer has violated 

21 the requirements under this subsection, the Secretary 

22 shall impose a penalty in accordance with subparagraph 

23 (C).’’. 


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1 SEC. 115. INFORMATION SHARING. 

2 Section 212(n)(2)(H) of the Immigration and Na3 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(2)(H)) is amended to read 

4 as follows: 

5 ‘‘(H) The Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigra6 tion Services shall provide the Secretary of Labor with any 

7 information contained in the materials submitted by em8 ployers of H–1B nonimmigrants as part of the petition 

9 adjudication process that indicates that the employer is 

10 not complying with visa program requirements for H–1B 

11 nonimmigrants. The Secretary may initiate and conduct 

12 an investigation and hearing under this paragraph after 

13 receiving information of noncompliance under this sub14 paragraph.’’. 

15 SEC. 116. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

16 Section 212(n)(2)(F) of the Immigration and Nation17 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(2)(F)) is amended by striking 

18 ‘‘The preceding sentence shall apply to an employer re19 gardless of whether or not the employer is an H–1B-de20 pendent employer.’’. 

21 Subtitle C—Other Protections 

22 SEC. 121. POSTING AVAILABLE POSITIONS THROUGH THE 

23 DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. 

24 (a) DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WEBSITE.—Section 

25 212(n)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

26 U.S.C. 1182(n)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(3)(A) Not later than 90 days after the date of the 

2 enactment of the H–1B and L–1 Visa Reform Act of 

3 2023, the Secretary of Labor shall establish a searchable 

4 internet website for posting positions in accordance with 

5 paragraph (1)(C) that is available to the public without 

6 charge. 

7 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may work with private companies 

8 or nonprofit organizations to develop and operate the 

9 internet website described in subparagraph (A). 

10 ‘‘(C) The Secretary may promulgate rules, after no11 tice and a period for comment, to carry out this para12 graph.’’. 

13 (b) PUBLICATION REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of 

14 Labor shall submit to Congress, and publish in the Fed15 eral Register and in other appropriate media, a notice of 

16 the date on which the internet website required under sec17 tion 212(n)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

18 as amended by subsection (a), will be operational. 

19 (c) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub20 section (a) shall apply to any application filed on or after 

21 the date that is 30 days after the date described in sub22 section (b). 


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1 SEC. 122. TRANSPARENCY AND REPORT ON WAGE SYSTEM. 

2 (a) IMMIGRATION DOCUMENTS.—Section 204 of the 

3 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154) is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(m) EMPLOYER TO PROVIDE IMMIGRATION PAPER6 WORK EXCHANGED WITH FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 21 business 

8 days after receiving a written request from a former, 

9 current, or prospective employee listed as the bene10 ficiary of an employment-based nonimmigrant peti11 tion, the employer who filed such petition shall pro12 vide such beneficiary with the original (or a certified 

13 copy of the original) of all petitions, notices, and 

14 other written communication exchanged between the 

15 employer and the Department of Labor, the Depart16 ment of Homeland Security, or any other Federal 

17 agency or department that is related to an immi18 grant or nonimmigrant petition filed by the employer 

19 for such employee or beneficiary. 

20 ‘‘(2) WITHHOLDING OF FINANCIAL OR PROPRI21 ETARY INFORMATION.—If a document required to be 

22 provided to an employee or prospective employee 

23 under paragraph (1) includes any sensitive financial 

24 or proprietary information of the employer, the em25 ployer may redact such information from the copies 

26 provided to such person.’’. 


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1 (b) GAO REPORT ON JOB CLASSIFICATION AND

2 WAGE DETERMINATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

4 General of the United States shall prepare a report that— 

5 (1) analyzes the accuracy and effectiveness of 

6 the Secretary of Labor’s current job classification 

7 and wage determination system; 

8 (2) specifically addresses whether the systems 

9 in place accurately reflect the complexity of current 

10 job types and geographic wage differences; and 

11 (3) makes recommendations concerning nec12 essary updates and modifications. 

13 SEC. 123. REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION FOR H–1B 

14 AND L–1 NONIMMIGRANTS. 

15 Section 214 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

16 (8 U.S.C. 1184), as amended by this Act, is further 

17 amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(s) REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION FOR H–1B 

19 AND L–1 NONIMMIGRANTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon issuing a visa to an 

21 applicant, who is outside the United States, for non22 immigrant status pursuant to subparagraph 

23 (H)(i)(b) or (L) of section 101(a)(15), the issuing 

24 office shall provide the applicant with— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a brochure outlining the obligations 

2 of the applicant’s employer and the rights of 

3 the applicant with regard to employment under 

4 Federal law, including labor and wage protec5 tions; 

6 ‘‘(B) the contact information for appro7 priate Federal agencies or departments that 

8 offer additional information or assistance in 

9 clarifying such obligations and rights; and 

10 ‘‘(C) a copy of the petition submitted for 

11 the nonimmigrant under section 212(n) or the 

12 petition submitted for the nonimmigrant under 

13 subsection (c)(2)(A), as appropriate. 

14 ‘‘(2) APPLICANTS INSIDE THE UNITED

15 STATES.—Upon the approval of an initial petition 

16 filed for an alien who is in the United States and 

17 seeking status under subparagraph (H)(i)(b) or (L) 

18 of section 101(a)(15), the Secretary of Homeland 

19 Security shall provide the applicant with the mate20 rial described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of 

21 paragraph (1).’’. 

22 SEC. 124. ADDITIONAL DEPARTMENT OF LABOR EMPLOY23 EES. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor is author25 ized to hire up to 200 additional employees to administer, 


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1 oversee, investigate, and enforce programs involving non2 immigrant employees described in section 

3 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 

4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b)). 

5 (b) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—The cost of hiring the addi6 tional employees authorized to be hired under subsection 

7 (a) shall be recovered with funds from the H–1B Adminis8 tration, Oversight, Investigation, and Enforcement Ac9 count established under section 212(n)(6) of the Immigra10 tion and Nationality Act, as added by section 107. 

11 SEC. 125. TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 

12 Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

13 (8 U.S.C. 1182) is amended by redesignating the second 

14 subsection (t), as added by section 1(b)(2)(B) of the Act 

15 entitled ‘‘An Act to amend and extend the Irish Peace 

16 Process Cultural and Training Program Act of 1998’’ 

17 (Public Law 108–449; 118 Stat. 3470), as subsection (u). 

18 SEC. 126. APPLICATION. 

19 Except as specifically otherwise provided, the amend20 ments made by this title shall apply to petitions and appli21 cations filed on or after the date of the enactment of this 

22 Act. 


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1 TITLE II—L–1 VISA FRAUD AND 

2 ABUSE PROTECTIONS 

3 SEC. 201. PROHIBITION ON DISPLACEMENT OF UNITED 

4 STATES WORKERS AND RESTRICTING OUT5 PLACEMENT OF L–1 NONIMMIGRANTS. 

6 (a) RESTRICTION ON OUTPLACEMENT OF L–1 

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

8 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)(F)) is amended to 

9 read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(F)(i) Unless an employer receives a waiver under 

11 clause (ii), an employer may not employ an alien, for a 

12 cumulative period exceeding 1 year, who— 

13 ‘‘(I) will serve in a capacity involving specialized 

14 knowledge with respect to an employer for purposes 

15 of section 101(a)(15)(L); and 

16 ‘‘(II) will be stationed primarily at the worksite 

17 of an employer other than the petitioning employer 

18 or its affiliate, subsidiary, or parent, including pur19 suant to an outsourcing, leasing, or other con20 tracting agreement. 

21 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary of Labor may grant a waiver of 

22 the requirements under clause (i) if the Secretary deter23 mines that the employer requesting such waiver has estab24 lished that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the employer with which the alien referred 

2 to in clause (i) would be placed— 

3 ‘‘(aa) will not at any time displace (as de4 fined in section 212(n)(4)(B)) a United States 

5 worker (as defined in section 212(n)(4)(E)) 

6 with 1 or more nonimmigrants described in sec7 tion 101(a)(15)(L); and 

8 ‘‘(bb) has not displaced and will not dis9 place (as defined in section 212(n)(4)(B)) a 

10 United States worker (as defined in section 

11 212(n)(4)(E)) employed by the employer within 

12 the period beginning 180 days before the date 

13 of the placement of such alien with the em14 ployer and ending 180 days after such date (not 

15 including any period of on-site or virtual train16 ing of nonimmigrants described in section 

17 101(a)(15)(L) by employees of the employer); 

18 ‘‘(II) such alien will be principally controlled 

19 and supervised by the petitioning employer; and 

20 ‘‘(III) the placement of the nonimmigrant is not 

21 essentially an arrangement to provide labor for hire 

22 for an unaffiliated employer with which the non23 immigrant will be placed, rather than a placement in 

24 connection with the provision of a product or service 


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1 for which specialized knowledge specific to the peti2 tioning employer is necessary. 

3 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary shall grant or deny a waiver 

4 under clause (ii) not later than seven days after the date 

5 on which the Secretary receives the application for the 

6 waiver.’’. 

7 (b) PROHIBITION ON DISPLACEMENT OF UNITED

8 STATES WORKERS.—Section 214(c)(2) of the Immigra9 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)) is amend10 ed by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(G)(i) An employer importing an alien as a non12 immigrant under section 101(a)(15)(L)— 

13 ‘‘(I) may not at any time displace (as defined 

14 in section 212(n)(4)(B)) a United States worker (as 

15 defined in section 212(n)(4)(E)) with 1 or more 

16 such nonimmigrants; and 

17 ‘‘(II) may not displace (as defined in section 

18 212(n)(4)(B)) a United States worker (as defined in 

19 section 212(n)(4)(E)) employed by the employer 

20 during the period beginning 180 days before and 

21 ending 180 days after the date of the placement of 

22 such a nonimmigrant with the employer. 

23 ‘‘(ii) The 180-day periods referenced in clause (i) may 

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1 immigrants described in clause (i) by employees of the em2 ployer.’’. 

3 (c) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary of Homeland Se4 curity, after notice and a period for comment, shall pro5 mulgate rules for an employer to apply for a waiver under 

6 section 214(c)(2)(F)(ii), as added by subsection (a). 

7 SEC. 202. L–1 EMPLOYER PETITION REQUIREMENTS FOR 

8 EMPLOYMENT AT NEW OFFICES. 

9 Section 214(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

10 Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)), as amended by section 201, 

11 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(H)(i) If the beneficiary of a petition under this 

13 paragraph is coming to the United States to open, or to 

14 be employed in, a new office, the petition may be approved 

15 for up to 12 months only if— 

16 ‘‘(I) the alien has not been the beneficiary of 2 

17 or more petitions under this subparagraph during 

18 the immediately preceding 2 years; and 

19 ‘‘(II) the employer operating the new office 

20 has— 

21 ‘‘(aa) an adequate business plan; 

22 ‘‘(bb) sufficient physical premises to carry 

23 out the proposed business activities; and 


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1 ‘‘(cc) the financial ability to commence 

2 doing business immediately upon the approval 

3 of the petition. 

4 ‘‘(ii) An extension of the approval period under clause 

5 (i) may not be granted until the importing employer sub6 mits an application to the Secretary of Homeland Security 

7 that contains— 

8 ‘‘(I) evidence that the importing employer 

9 meets the requirements of this subsection; 

10 ‘‘(II) evidence that the beneficiary of the peti11 tion is eligible for nonimmigrant status under sec12 tion 101(a)(15)(L); 

13 ‘‘(III) a statement summarizing the original pe14 tition; 

15 ‘‘(IV) evidence that the importing employer has 

16 fully complied with the business plan submitted 

17 under clause (i)(I); 

18 ‘‘(V) evidence of the truthfulness of any rep19 resentations made in connection with the filing of 

20 the original petition; 

21 ‘‘(VI) evidence that the importing employer, for 

22 the entire period beginning on the date on which the 

23 petition was approved under clause (i), has been 

24 doing business at the new office through regular, 


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1 systematic, and continuous provision of goods and 

2 services; 

3 ‘‘(VII) a statement of the duties the beneficiary 

4 has performed at the new office during the approval 

5 period under clause (i) and the duties the beneficiary 

6 will perform at the new office during the extension 

7 period granted under this clause; 

8 ‘‘(VIII) a statement describing the staffing at 

9 the new office, including the number of employees 

10 and the types of positions held by such employees; 

11 ‘‘(IX) evidence of wages paid to employees; 

12 ‘‘(X) evidence of the financial status of the new 

13 office; and 

14 ‘‘(XI) any other evidence or data prescribed by 

15 the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(iii) A new office employing the beneficiary of an 

17 L–1 petition approved under this paragraph shall do busi18 ness only through regular, systematic, and continuous pro19 vision of goods and services for the entire period for which 

20 the petition is sought. 

21 ‘‘(iv) Notwithstanding clause (ii), and subject to the 

22 maximum period of authorized admission set forth in sub23 paragraph (D), the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

24 the Secretary’s discretion, may approve a subsequently 

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1 ployment at the office described in this subparagraph for 

2 a period beyond the initially granted 12-month period if 

3 the importing employer has been doing business at the 

4 new office through regular, systematic, and continuous 

5 provision of goods and services for the 6 months imme6 diately preceding the date of extension petition filing and 

7 demonstrates that the failure to satisfy any of the require8 ments described in those subclauses was directly caused 

9 by extraordinary circumstances, as determined by the Sec10 retary in the Secretary’s discretion.’’. 

11 SEC. 203. COOPERATION WITH SECRETARY OF STATE. 

12 Section 214(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

13 Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)), as amended by sections 201 

14 and 202, is further amended by adding at the end the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(I) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall work 

17 cooperatively with the Secretary of State to verify the ex18 istence or continued existence of a company or office in 

19 the United States or in a foreign country for purposes of 

20 approving petitions under this paragraph.’’. 

21 SEC. 204. INVESTIGATION AND DISPOSITION OF COM22 PLAINTS AGAINST L–1 EMPLOYERS. 

23 Section 214(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

24 Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)), as amended by sections 201 


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•S 979 IS

1 through 203, is further amended by adding at the end the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(J)(i) The Secretary of Homeland Security may ini4 tiate an investigation of any employer that employs non5 immigrants described in section 101(a)(15)(L) with re6 gard to the employer’s compliance with the requirements 

7 under this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(ii) If the Secretary receives specific credible infor9 mation from a source who is likely to have knowledge of 

10 an employer’s practices, employment conditions, or com11 pliance with the requirements under this subsection, the 

12 Secretary may conduct an investigation into the employ13 er’s compliance with the requirements of this subsection. 

14 The Secretary may withhold the identity of the source 

15 from the employer, and the source’s identity shall not be 

16 subject to disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United 

17 States Code. 

18 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary shall establish a procedure for 

19 any person desiring to provide to the Secretary informa20 tion described in clause (ii) that may be used, in whole 

21 or in part, as the basis for the commencement of an inves22 tigation described in such clause, to provide the informa23 tion in writing on a form developed and provided by the 

24 Secretary and completed by or on behalf of the person. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) No investigation described in clause (ii) (or 

2 hearing described in clause (vi) based on such investiga3 tion) may be conducted with respect to information about 

4 a failure to comply with the requirements under this sub5 section, unless the Secretary receives the information not 

6 later than 24 months after the date of the alleged failure. 

7 ‘‘(v) Before commencing an investigation of an em8 ployer under clause (i) or (ii), the Secretary shall provide 

9 notice to the employer of the intent to conduct such inves10 tigation. The notice shall be provided in such a manner, 

11 and shall contain sufficient detail, to permit the employer 

12 to respond to the allegations before an investigation is 

13 commenced. The Secretary is not required to comply with 

14 this clause if the Secretary determines that to do so would 

15 interfere with an effort by the Secretary to investigate or 

16 secure compliance by the employer with the requirements 

17 of this subsection. There shall be no judicial review of a 

18 determination by the Secretary under this clause. 

19 ‘‘(vi) If the Secretary, after an investigation under 

20 clause (i) or (ii), determines that a reasonable basis exists 

21 to make a finding that the employer has failed to comply 

22 with the requirements under this subsection, the Secretary 

23 shall provide the interested parties with notice of such de24 termination and an opportunity for a hearing in accord25 ance with section 556 of title 5, United States Code, not 


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•S 979 IS

1 later than 120 days after the date of such determination. 

2 If such a hearing is requested, the Secretary shall make 

3 a finding concerning the matter by not later than 120 days 

4 after the date of the hearing. 

5 ‘‘(vii) If the Secretary, after a hearing, finds a rea6 sonable basis to believe that the employer has violated the 

7 requirements under this subsection, the Secretary shall 

8 impose a penalty under subparagraph (L). 

9 ‘‘(viii)(I) The Secretary may conduct surveys of the 

10 degree to which employers comply with the requirements 

11 under this section. 

12 ‘‘(II) The Secretary shall— 

13 ‘‘(aa) conduct annual compliance audits of not 

14 less than 1 percent of the employers that employ 

15 nonimmigrants described in section 101(a)(15)(L) 

16 during the applicable fiscal year; 

17 ‘‘(bb) conduct annual compliance audits of each 

18 employer with more than 100 employees who work 

19 in the United States if more than 15 percent of such 

20 employees are nonimmigrants described in section 

21 101(a)(15)(L); and 

22 ‘‘(cc) make available to the public an executive 

23 summary or report describing the general findings of 

24 the audits carried out pursuant to this subclause. 


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1 ‘‘(ix) The Secretary is authorized to take other such 

2 actions, including issuing subpoenas and seeking appro3 priate injunctive relief and specific performance of con4 tractual obligations, as may be necessary to assure em5 ployer compliance with the terms and conditions under 

6 this paragraph. The rights and remedies provided to non7 immigrants described in section 101(a)(15)(L) under this 

8 paragraph are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other 

9 contractual or statutory rights and remedies of such non10 immigrants, and are not intended to alter or affect such 

11 rights and remedies.’’. 

12 SEC. 205. WAGE RATE AND WORKING CONDITIONS FOR L– 

13 1 NONIMMIGRANTS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 214(c)(2) of the Immigra15 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)), as amend16 ed by sections 201 through 204, is further amended by 

17 adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(K)(i) An employer that employs a nonimmigrant 

19 described in section 101(a)(15)(L) for a cumulative period 

20 of time in excess of 1 year shall— 

21 ‘‘(I) offer such nonimmigrant, during the period 

22 of authorized employment, wages, based on the best 

23 information available at the time the application is 

24 filed, which are not less than the highest of— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) the locally determined prevailing 

2 wage level for the occupational classification in 

3 the area of employment; 

4 ‘‘(bb) the median wage for all workers in 

5 the occupational classification in the area of 

6 employment; and 

7 ‘‘(cc) the median wage for skill level 2 in 

8 the occupational classification found in the 

9 most recent Occupational Employment Statis10 tics survey; and 

11 ‘‘(II) provide working conditions for such non12 immigrant that will not adversely affect the working 

13 conditions of workers similarly employed by the em14 ployer or by an employer with which such non15 immigrant is placed pursuant to a waiver under sub16 paragraph (F)(ii). 

17 ‘‘(ii) If an employer, in such previous period specified 

18 by the Secretary of Homeland Security, employed 1 or 

19 more such nonimmigrants, the employer shall provide to 

20 the Secretary of Homeland Security the Internal Revenue 

21 Service Form W–2 Wage and Tax Statement filed by the 

22 employer with respect to such nonimmigrants for such pe23 riod. 

24 ‘‘(iii) It is a failure to meet a condition under this 

25 subparagraph for an employer who has filed a petition to 


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1 import 1 or more aliens as nonimmigrants described in 

2 section 101(a)(15)(L)— 

3 ‘‘(I) to require such a nonimmigrant to pay a 

4 penalty or liquidated damages for ceasing employ5 ment with the employer before a date mutually 

6 agreed to by the nonimmigrant and the employer; or 

7 ‘‘(II) to fail to offer to such a nonimmigrant, 

8 during the nonimmigrant’s period of authorized em9 ployment, on the same basis, and in accordance with 

10 the same criteria, as the employer offers to United 

11 States workers, benefits and eligibility for benefits, 

12 including— 

13 ‘‘(aa) the opportunity to participate in 

14 health, life, disability, and other insurance 

15 plans; 

16 ‘‘(bb) the opportunity to participate in re17 tirement and savings plans; and 

18 ‘‘(cc) cash bonuses and noncash compensa19 tion, such as stock options (whether or not 

20 based on performance).’’. 

21 (b) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary of Homeland Se22 curity, after notice and a period of comment and taking 

23 into consideration any special circumstances relating to 

24 intracompany transfers, shall promulgate rules to imple25 ment the requirements under section 214(c)(2)(K) of the 


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1 Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by subsection 

2 (a). 

3 SEC. 206. PENALTIES. 

4 Section 214(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

5 Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)), as amended by sections 201 

6 through 205, is further amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(L)(i) If the Secretary of Homeland Security deter9 mines, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, that 

10 an employer failed to meet a condition under subpara11 graph (F), (G), (K), or (M), or misrepresented a material 

12 fact in a petition to employ 1 or more aliens as non13 immigrants described in section 101(a)(15)(L)— 

14 ‘‘(I) the Secretary shall impose such adminis15 trative remedies (including civil monetary penalties 

16 in an amount not to exceed $5,000 per violation) as 

17 the Secretary determines to be appropriate; 

18 ‘‘(II) the Secretary of Homeland Security or the 

19 Secretary of State, as appropriate, shall not approve 

20 petitions or applications filed with respect to that 

21 employer during a period of at least 1 year for 1 or 

22 more aliens to be employed as such nonimmigrants 

23 by the employer; and 

24 ‘‘(III) in the case of a violation of subparagraph 

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1 ployees harmed by such violation for lost wages and 

2 benefits. 

3 ‘‘(ii) If the Secretary finds, after notice and an oppor4 tunity for a hearing, a willful failure by an employer to 

5 meet a condition under subparagraph (F), (G), (K), or 

6 (M) or a willful misrepresentation of material fact in a 

7 petition to employ 1 or more aliens as nonimmigrants de8 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(L)— 

9 ‘‘(I) the Secretary shall impose such adminis10 trative remedies (including civil monetary penalties 

11 in an amount not to exceed $25,000 per violation) 

12 as the Secretary determines to be appropriate; 

13 ‘‘(II) the Secretary of Homeland Security or the 

14 Secretary of State, as appropriate, shall not approve 

15 petitions or applications filed with respect to that 

16 employer during a period of at least 2 years for 1 

17 or more aliens to be employed as such non18 immigrants by the employer; and 

19 ‘‘(III) in the case of a violation of subparagraph 

20 (K) or (M), the employer shall be liable to the em21 ployees harmed by such violation for lost wages and 

22 benefits.’’. 


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1 SEC. 207. PROHIBITION ON RETALIATION AGAINST L–1 

2 NONIMMIGRANTS. 

3 Section 214(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)), as amended by sections 201 

5 through 206, is further amended by adding at the end the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(M)(i) An employer that has filed a petition to im8 port 1 or more aliens as nonimmigrants described in sec9 tion 101(a)(15)(L) violates this subparagraph by taking, 

10 failing to take, or threatening to take or fail to take, a 

11 personnel action, or intimidating, threatening, restraining, 

12 coercing, blacklisting, discharging, or discriminating in 

13 any other manner against an employee because the em14 ployee— 

15 ‘‘(I) has disclosed information that the em16 ployee reasonably believes evidences a violation of 

17 this subsection, or any rule or regulation pertaining 

18 to this subsection; or 

19 ‘‘(II) cooperates or seeks to cooperate with the 

20 requirements under this subsection, or any rule or 

21 regulation pertaining to this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(ii) Upon termination of the employment of an alien 

23 described in section 101(a)(15)(L) on account of actions 

24 by such alien described in subclauses (I) and (II) of clause 

25 (i), such alien’s nonimmigrant stay and the stay of any 

26 beneficiary and any dependents listed on the beneficiary’s 


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1 petition or application will be authorized and the aliens 

2 will not accrue any period of unlawful presence under sec3 tion 212(a)(9) for a 90-day period or upon the expiration 

4 of the authorized validity period, whichever comes first, 

5 following the date of such termination for the purpose of 

6 departure or extension of nonimmigrant status based upon 

7 a subsequent offer of employment. 

8 ‘‘(iii) In this subparagraph, the term ‘employee’ in9 cludes— 

10 ‘‘(I) a current employee; 

11 ‘‘(II) a former employee; and 

12 ‘‘(III) an applicant for employment.’’. 

13 SEC. 208. ADJUDICATION BY DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

14 SECURITY OF PETITIONS UNDER BLANKET 

15 PETITION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 214(c)(2)(A) of the Immi17 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)(A)) is 

18 amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(A) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall es20 tablish a procedure under which an importing employer 

21 that meets the requirements established by the Secretary 

22 may file a blanket petition with the Secretary to authorize 

23 aliens to enter the United States as nonimmigrants de24 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(L) instead of filing indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S979.IS S979

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1 vidual petitions under paragraph (1) on behalf of such 

2 aliens. Such procedure shall permit— 

3 ‘‘(i) the expedited adjudication by the Secretary 

4 of Homeland Security of individual petitions covered 

5 under such blanket petitions; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the expedited processing by the Secretary 

7 of State of visas for admission of aliens covered 

8 under such blanket petitions.’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

10 subsection (a) shall apply to petitions filed on or after the 

11 date of the enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 209. REPORTS ON EMPLOYMENT-BASED NON13 IMMIGRANTS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 214(c)(8) of the Immigra15 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(8)) is amend16 ed to read as follows— 

17 ‘‘(8) The Secretary of Homeland Security or Sec18 retary of State, as appropriate, shall submit an annual re19 port to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 

20 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep21 resentatives that describes, with respect to petitions under 

22 subsection (e) and each subcategory of subparagraphs 

23 (H), (L), (O), (P), and (Q) of section 101(a)(15)— 

24 ‘‘(A) the number of such petitions (or applica25 tions for admission, in the case of applications by 


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1 Canadian nationals seeking admission under sub2 section (e) or section 101(a)(15)(L)) which have 

3 been filed; 

4 ‘‘(B) the number of such petitions which have 

5 been approved and the number of workers (by occu6 pation) included in such approved petitions; 

7 ‘‘(C) the number of such petitions which have 

8 been denied and the number of workers (by occupa9 tion) requested in such denied petitions; 

10 ‘‘(D) the number of such petitions which have 

11 been withdrawn; 

12 ‘‘(E) the number of such petitions which are 

13 awaiting final action; 

14 ‘‘(F) the number of aliens in the United States 

15 under each subcategory under section 

16 101(a)(15)(H); and 

17 ‘‘(G) the number of aliens in the United States 

18 under each subcategory under section 

19 101(a)(15)(L).’’. 

20 (b) NONIMMIGRANT CHARACTERISTICS REPORT.— 

21 Section 416(c) of the American Competitiveness and 

22 Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (8 U.S.C. 1184 note) 

23 is amended— 

24 (1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol25 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL H–1B NONIMMIGRANT CHARAC2 TERISTICS REPORT.—The Secretary of Homeland 

3 Security shall submit an annual report to the Com4 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Com5 mittee on the Judiciary of the House of Representa6 tives that contains— 

7 ‘‘(A) for the previous fiscal year— 

8 ‘‘(i) information on the countries of 

9 origin of, occupations of, educational levels 

10 attained by, and compensation paid to, 

11 aliens who were issued visas or provided 

12 nonimmigrant status under section 

13 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration 

14 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

15 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b)); 

16 ‘‘(ii) a list of all employers who peti17 tioned for H–1B workers, the number of 

18 such petitions filed and approved for each 

19 such employer, the occupational classifica20 tions for the approved positions, and the 

21 number of H–1B nonimmigrants for whom 

22 each such employer filed an employment23 based immigrant petition pursuant to sec24 tion 204(a)(1)(F) of the Immigration and 


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1 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(F)); 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the number of employment4 based immigrant petitions filed pursuant 

5 to such section 204(a)(1)(F) on behalf of 

6 H–1B nonimmigrants; 

7 ‘‘(B) a list of all employers for whom more 

8 than 15 percent of their United States work9 force is H–1B or L–1 nonimmigrants; 

10 ‘‘(C) a list of all employers for whom more 

11 than 50 percent of their United States work12 force is H–1B or L–1 nonimmigrants; 

13 ‘‘(D) a gender breakdown by occupation 

14 and by country of origin of H–1B non15 immigrants; 

16 ‘‘(E) a list of all employers who have been 

17 granted a waiver under section 214(n)(2)(E) of 

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

19 1184(n)(2)(E)); and 

20 ‘‘(F) the number of H–1B nonimmigrants 

21 categorized by their highest level of education 

22 and whether such education was obtained in the 

23 United States or in a foreign country.’’; 

24 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para25 graph (5); 


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1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL L–1 NONIMMIGRANT CHARACTER4 ISTICS REPORT.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu5 rity shall submit an annual report to the Committee 

6 on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee 

7 on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives 

8 that contains— 

9 ‘‘(A) for the previous fiscal year— 

10 ‘‘(i) information on the countries of 

11 origin of, occupations of, educational levels 

12 attained by, and compensation paid to, 

13 aliens who were issued visas or provided 

14 nonimmigrant status under section 

15 101(a)(15)(L) of the Immigration and Na16 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(L)); 

17 ‘‘(ii) a list of all employers who peti18 tioned for L–1 workers, the number of 

19 such petitions filed and approved for each 

20 such employer, the occupational classifica21 tions for the approved positions, and the 

22 number of L–1 nonimmigrants for whom 

23 each such employer filed an employment24 based immigrant petition pursuant to sec25 tion 204(a)(1)(F) of the Immigration and 


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1 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(F)); 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the number of employment4 based immigrant petitions filed pursuant 

5 to such section 204(a)(1)(F) on behalf of 

6 L–1 nonimmigrants; 

7 ‘‘(B) a gender breakdown by occupation 

8 and by country of L–1 nonimmigrants; 

9 ‘‘(C) a list of all employers who have been 

10 granted a waiver under section 214(c)(2)(F)(ii) 

11 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

12 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)(F)(ii)); 

13 ‘‘(D) the number of L–1 nonimmigrants 

14 categorized by their highest level of education 

15 and whether such education was obtained in the 

16 United States or in a foreign country; 

17 ‘‘(E) the number of applications that have 

18 been filed for each subcategory of non19 immigrant described under section 

20 101(a)(15)(L) of the Immigration and Nation21 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(L)), based on 

22 an approved blanket petition under section 

23 214(c)(2)(A) of such Act; and 

24 ‘‘(F) the number of applications that have 

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1 immigrant described under such section 

2 101(a)(15)(L), based on an approved blanket 

3 petition under such section 214(c)(2)(A). 

4 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL H–1B EMPLOYER SURVEY.—The 

5 Secretary of Labor shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) conduct an annual survey of employ7 ers hiring foreign nationals under the H–1B 

8 visa program; and 

9 ‘‘(B) issue an annual report that— 

10 ‘‘(i) describes the methods employers 

11 are using to meet the requirement under 

12 section 212(n)(1)(G)(i) of the Immigration 

13 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

14 1182(n)(1)(G)(i)) of taking good faith 

15 steps to recruit United States workers for 

16 the occupational classification for which 

17 the nonimmigrants are sought, using pro18 cedures that meet industry-wide standards; 

19 ‘‘(ii) describes the best practices for 

20 recruiting among employers; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) contains recommendations on 

22 which recruiting steps employers can take 

23 to maximize the likelihood of hiring Amer24 ican workers.’’; and 


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1 (4) in paragraph (5), as redesignated, by strik2 ing ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) 

3 and (3)’’. 

4 SEC. 210. SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE. 

5 Section 214(c)(2)(B) of the Immigration and Nation6 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)(B)) is amended to read as 

7 follows: 

8 ‘‘(B)(i) For purposes of section 101(a)(15)(L), the 

9 term ‘specialized knowledge’— 

10 ‘‘(I) means knowledge possessed by an indi11 vidual whose advanced level of expertise and propri12 etary knowledge of the employer’s product, service, 

13 research, equipment, techniques, management, or 

14 other interests of the employer are not readily avail15 able in the United States labor market; 

16 ‘‘(II) is clearly unique from those held by others 

17 employed in the same or similar occupations; and 

18 ‘‘(III) does not apply to persons who have gen19 eral knowledge or expertise which enables them 

20 merely to produce a product or provide a service. 

21 ‘‘(ii)(I) The ownership of patented products or copy22 righted works by a petitioner under section 101(a)(15)(L) 

23 does not establish that a particular employee has special24 ized knowledge. In order to meet the definition under 

25 clause (i), the beneficiary shall be a key person with 


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1 knowledge that is critical for performance of the job duties 

2 and is protected from disclosure through patent, copy3 right, or company policy. 

4 ‘‘(II) Unique procedures are not proprietary knowl5 edge within this context unless the entire system and phi6 losophy behind the procedures are clearly different from 

7 those of other firms, they are relatively complex, and they 

8 are protected from disclosure to competition.’’. 

9 SEC. 211. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS. 

10 (a) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—Section 

11 212(n)(5)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

12 U.S.C. 1182(n)(5)(F)) is amended by striking ‘‘Depart13 ment of Justice’’ and inserting ‘‘Department of Homeland 

14 Security’’. 

15 (b) PETITIONS FOR CERTAIN NONIMMIGRANT

16 VISAS.—Section 214(c) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)) 

17 is amended by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each place 

18 such term appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland 

19 Security’’. 

20 SEC. 212. APPLICATION. 

21 Except as otherwise specifically provided, the amend22 ments made by this title shall apply to petitions and appli23 cations filed on or after the date of the enactment of this 

24 Act. 

Æ 


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