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[House Report 107-188]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

107th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    107-188

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TO PROVIDE FOR WORK AUTHORIZATION FOR NONIMMIGRANT SPOUSES OF 
  INTRACOMPANY TRANSFEREES, AND TO REDUCE THE PERIOD OF TIME DURING WHICH 
  CERTAIN INTRACOMPANY TRANSFEREES HAVE TO BE CONTINUOUSLY EMPLOYED 
  BEFORE APPLYING FOR ADMISSION TO THE UNITED STATES

                                _______
                                

 August 2, 2001.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Sensenbrenner, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2278]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 2278) to provide for work authorization for 
nonimmigrant spouses of intracompany transferees, and to reduce 
the period of time during which certain intracompany 
transferees have to be continuously employed before applying 
for admission to the United States, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that 
the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for the Legislation..........................     2
Hearings.........................................................     3
Committee Consideration..........................................     3
Vote of the Committee............................................     3
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     3
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     4
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     4
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     4
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion.......................     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     5
Markup Transcript................................................     7

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 2278 would allow the spouses of L visa recipients to 
work in the United States while accompanying the primary visa 
recipients. The bill would also allow aliens to qualify for L 
visas after working for 6 months overseas for employers if the 
employers have filed blanket L petitions and have met the 
blanket petitions' requirements.

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    L visas are available for ``intracompany transferees''--
they allow employees working at a company's overseas branch to 
be shifted to the company's worksite in the United States. A 
visa is available to an alien who:

        within 3 years preceding the time of his application 
        for admission into the United States, has been employed 
        continuously for 1 year by a firm . . . or an affiliate 
        or subsidiary thereof and who seeks to enter the United 
        States temporarily in order to continue to render his 
        services to the same employer or a subsidiary or 
        affiliate thereof in a capacity that is managerial, 
        executive, or involves specialized knowledge, and the 
        alien spouse and minor children of any such alien if 
        accompanying him. . . .\1\
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    \1\ Immigration and Nationality Act (hereinafter cited as ``INA'') 
Sec. 101(a)(15)(L).

    The visas are good for up to 5 years for aliens admitted to 
render services in a capacity that involves specialized 
knowledge and for up to 7 years for aliens admitted to render 
services in a managerial or executive capacity.\2\ In fiscal 
year 1998, 38,307 aliens (along with 44,176 dependents) were 
granted L visas.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ INA Sec. 214(c)(2)(D).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    To make the L visa program more convenient for established 
and frequent users of the program, ``blanket'' L visas are 
available.\3\ If an employer meets certain qualifications--it 
1) is engaged in commercial trade or services; 2) has an office 
in the U.S. that has been doing business for at least 1 year; 
3) has three or more domestic and foreign branches, 
subsidiaries, or affiliates; and 4) has received approval for 
at least 10 L visa professionals during the past year or has 
U.S. subsidiaries or affiliates with annual combined sales of 
at least $25 million or has a U.S. workforce of at least 1,000 
employees \4\--it can receive pre-approval for an unlimited 
number of L visas from the INS. Individual aliens seeking visas 
(within 6 months of the blanket petition approval) \5\ to work 
for the company simply have to go to a U.S. consular office 
abroad and show that the job they will be employed in qualifies 
for the L visa program and that they are qualified for the 
job.\6\
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    \3\ INA Sec. 214(c)(2)(A).
    \4\ 8 C.F.R. Sec. 214.2(l)(4)(i).
    \5\ 8 C.F.R. Sec. 214.2(l)(5)(ii).
    \6\ 8 C.F.R. Sec. 214.2(l)(5).
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    While current law allows spouses (and minor children) to 
come to the U.S. with the L visa recipients, spouses are not 
allowed to work in the U.S. Since working spouses are now 
becoming the rule rather than the exception in the U.S. and 
many foreign countries' multi-national corporations are finding 
it increasingly difficult to persuade their employees abroad to 
relocate to the United States. Spouses hesitate to forgo their 
own career ambitions or a second income to accommodate an 
overseas assignment. This factor places an impediment in the 
way of these employers' use of the L visa program and their 
competitiveness in the international economy. Thus, H.R. 2278 
would allow the spouses of L visa recipients to work in the 
United States while accompanying the primary visa recipients.
    Additionally, current law requires that a beneficiary of a 
L visa have been employed for at least 1 year overseas by the 
petitioning employer. In many situations, this is an overly 
restrictive requirement. For example, consultancies recruit and 
hire individuals overseas with specialized skills to meet the 
needs of particular clients. The 1 year prior employment 
requirement can result in long delays before they can bring 
such employees to the U.S. on L visas. A shorter prior 
employment period would allow companies to more expeditiously 
meet the needs of their clients.
    Thus, H.R. 2278 would allow aliens to qualify for L visas 
after having worked for 6 months overseas for employers if the 
employers have filed blanket L petitions and have met the 
blanket petitions' requirements. There is a high level of fraud 
in the L visa program, especially involving ``front companies'' 
set up purely to procure visas,\7\ and lowering the 
qualifications for L visas might encourage more fraudulent 
petitions. With a company that has been prescreened and 
approved for ``blanket'' L status, the risk of fraud is much 
lower.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\ See Nonimmigrant Visa Fraud, Hearing Before the Subcomm. on 
Immigration and Claims of the House Judiciary Comm., 106th Cong. (May 
5, 1999).
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                                Hearings

    No hearings were held on H.R. 2278.

                        Committee Consideration

    On June 27, 2001, the Subcommittee on Immigration and 
Claims met in open session and ordered favorably reported the 
bill H.R. 2278, by a voice vote, a quorum being present. On 
July 24, 2001, the Committee met in open session and ordered 
favorably reported the bill H.R. 2278 without amendment by a 
voice vote, a quorum being present.

                         Vote of the Committee

    No recorded votes were held on H.R. 2278.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    H.R. 2278 does not authorize funding. Therefore, clause 
3(c) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives 
is inapplicable.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of House rule XIII is inapplicable because 
this legislation does not provide new budgetary authority or 
increased tax expenditures.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with 
respect to the bill, H.R. 2278, the following estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, July 27, 2001.
Hon. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2278, a bill to 
provide for work authorization for nonimmigrant spouses of 
intracompany transferees, and to reduce the period of time 
during which certain intracompany transferees have to be 
continuously employed before applying for admission to the 
United States.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
            Sincerely,
                                  Dan L. Crippen, Director.

Enclosure

cc:
        Honorable John Conyers Jr.
        Ranking Member
H.R. 2278--A bill to provide for work authorization for nonimmigrant 
        spouses of intracompany transferees, and to reduce the period 
        of time during which certain intracompany transferees have to 
        be continuously employed before applying for admission to the 
        United States
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2278 would result in no 
significant net cost to the Federal Government. The bill could 
affect direct spending, so pay-as-you-go procedures would 
apply, but we estimate that any net effects would be 
insignificant. H.R. 2278 contains no intergovernmental or 
private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act and would impose no costs on State, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Current law permits certain persons to enter the United 
States temporarily for employment purposes if they have worked 
for their employer for at least 1 year. H.R. 2278 would reduce 
this time requirement under certain circumstances to 6 months 
and would allow the spouses of such persons to seek employment 
in the United States.
    Enacting H.R. 2278 could increase the number of persons who 
enter the United States for job transfers because of the 
shortened employment requirement. However, the number of such 
persons would probably be small and the INS charges no fee for 
their entry.
    Based on information from the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service (INS), CBO estimates that 10,000 to 
20,000 spouses each year could seek employment authorization 
from the INS under H.R. 2278. The INS would charge a fee of 
$100 per person to provide a work permit, so the agency could 
collect an additional $1 million to $2 million annually in 
offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending). The INS 
is authorized to spend these fees without further 
appropriation, so the net impact on spending would be 
negligible.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz, 
who can be reached at 226-2860. This estimate was approved by 
Robert A. Sunshine, Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for 
this legislation in article 1, section 8, clause 4 of the 
Constitution.

               Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion

   Sec. 1. Work authorization for spouses of intracompany transferees

    Section 1 of the bill creates a new section 214(c)(2)(E) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) providing that in the 
case of an alien spouse admitted under the L visa program who 
is accompanying or following to join a principal alien admitted 
under the program, the Attorney General shall authorize the 
alien spouse to engage in employment in the United States and 
provide the spouse with an employment authorized endorsement or 
other appropriate work permit.

Sec. 2. Reduction of required period of prior continuous employment for 
                    certain intracompany transferees

    Section 2(a) of the bill amends section 214(c)(2)(A) of the 
INA by providing that in the case of an alien seeking admission 
under the L visa program, the 1 year period of continuous 
employment required under the program is deemed to be reduced 
to a 6-month period if the importing employer has filed a 
blanket petition and has been found by the Attorney General to 
have met the requirements for expedited processing of aliens 
covered under such blanket petition.
    Section 2(b) of the bill makes a conforming change to 
section 101(a)(15)(L) of the INA.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change 
is proposed is shown in roman):

                    IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                            TITLE I--GENERAL

                              definitions

    Section 101. (a) As used in this Act--
    (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (15) The term ``immigrant'' means every alien except an 
alien who is within one of the following classes of 
nonimmigrant aliens
            (A) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

            (L) [an alien who,] subject to section 214(c)(2), 
        an alien who, within 3 years preceding the time of his 
        application for admission into the United States, has 
        been employed continuously for one year by a firm or 
        corporation or other legal entity or an affiliate or 
        subsidiary thereof and who seeks to enter the United 
        States temporarily in order to continue to render his 
        services to the same employer or a subsidiary or 
        affiliate thereof in a capacity that is managerial, 
        executive, or involves specialized knowledge, and the 
        alien spouse and minor children of any such alien if 
        accompanying him or following to join him;

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                         TITLE II--IMMIGRATION

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

 Chapter 2--Qualifications for Admission of Aliens; Travel Control of 
Citizens and Aliens

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                       admission of nonimmigrants

      Sec. 214. (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

      (c)(1) * * *
      (2)(A) The Attorney General shall provide for a procedure 
under which an importing employer which meets requirements 
established by the Attorney General may file a blanket petition 
to import aliens as nonimmigrants described in section 
101(a)(15)(L) instead of filing individual petitions under 
paragraph (1) to import such aliens. Such procedure shall 
permit the expedited processing of visas for admission of 
aliens covered under such a petition. In the case of an alien 
seeking admission under section 101(a)(15)(L), the one-year 
period of continuous employment required under such section is 
deemed to be reduced to a 6-month period if the importing 
employer has filed a blanket petition under this subparagraph 
and met the requirements for expedited processing of aliens 
covered under such petition.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (E) In the case of an alien spouse admitted under section 
101(a)(15)(L), who is accompanying or following to join a 
principal alien admitted under such section, the Attorney 
General shall authorize the alien spouse to engage in 
employment in the United States and provide the spouse with an 
``employment authorized'' endorsement or other appropriate work 
permit.

                           Markup Transcript

                            BUSINESS MEETING

                         TUESDAY, JULY 24, 2001

                  House of Representatives,
                                Committee on the Judiciary,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:03 a.m., in 
Room 2141, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. F. James 
Sensenbrenner, Jr. (Chairman of the Committee) presiding.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. The Committee will be in order. A 
working quorum is present.
    The next item on the agenda is markup of H.R. 2278, to 
provide for work authorization for nonimmigrant spouses of 
intracompany transferees, and to reduce the period of time 
during which certain intracompany transferees have to be 
continuously employed before applying for admission to the 
United States.
    [The bill, H.R. 2278, follows:]
    
    
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. The Chair recognizes the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania, Mr. Gekas, for a motion.
    Mr. Gekas. Mr. Chairman, the Subcommittee on Immigration 
and Claims reports favorably the bill H.R. 2278 and moves its 
favorable recommendation to the full House.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. Without objection, the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania, Mr. Gekas's statement will appear in the 
record.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. Without objection, the Ranking 
Member of the Subcommittee, the gentlewoman from Texas, Ms. 
Jackson Lee's statement will appear in the record.
    Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas. Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas 
follows:]
       Prepared Statement of the Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, a 
           Representative in Congress From the State of Texas
    Thank you Mr. Chairman.
    I support H.R. 2278. This is a positive bill because it allows work 
authorization for nonimmigrant spouses of intracompany transferees.
    Not only will spouses be able to accompany their husband or wife 
who is in the United States in a nonimmigrant capacity, but these 
spouses will now be afforded the opportunity to be employed. It makes 
no sense to allow spouses to accompany their loved ones to the United 
States and then deny them opportunity to be employed.
    Global companies are finding it increasingly difficult to relocate 
foreign nationals in the United States. This bill makes relocation 
easier since spouses will not have to forgo their career ambitions or a 
second income which is increasingly necessary.
    This bill is also positive since it contains a six month reduction 
in the period of time during which certain intracompany transferees 
have to be continuously employed before applying for admission to the 
United States. Without this bill, companies who recruit and hire 
individuals overseas with specialized skills to meet the needs of their 
clients will be able to bring these employees more expeditiously.
    Thank you Mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time.

    Chairman Sensenbrenner. Without objection, all Members' 
statements will appear in the record.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. Are there any amendments?
    If not, a reporting quorum is present. The question occurs 
on the motion to report H.R. 2278 favorably.
    All those in favor will say aye.
    Opposed, no.
    The ayes appear to have it. The ayes have it, and the 
motion to report favorably is adopted.
    Without objection, the Chairman is authorized to move to go 
to conference pursuant to House rules.
    Without objection, the staff is directed to make any 
technical and conforming changes, and all Members will be given 
2 days, as provided by House rules, in which to submit 
additional dissenting supplemental or minority views.

                                  
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