II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2705 

To grant States the authority to request additional nonimmigrant visas for 

foreign workers in their respective States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Mr. THUNE (for himself, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. RICKETTS, and Mr. 

HICKENLOOPER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To grant States the authority to request additional nonimmigrant visas for foreign workers in their respective 

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 TITLES. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘State Executive Au5 thority for Seasonal Occupations Needing Additional 

6 Labor Act’’ or the ‘‘SEASONAL Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STATE EXEMPTION AUTHORITY FOR SEASONAL OC2 CUPATIONS NEEDING ADDITIONAL LABOR. 

3 Section 214(g) of the Immigration and Nationality 

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

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(12)(A) Notwithstanding the numerical limitation 

7 set forth in paragraph (1)(B), the Governor of any State 

8 may submit a petition to the Secretary of Homeland Secu9 rity and the Secretary of Labor for the issuance of a speci10 fied number of supplemental H–2B nonimmigrant visas 

11 in a fiscal year for employers based in such State, employ12 ers based in such State that have employees who work 

13 within a specified Standard Occupational Classification 

14 Group (as defined by the Department of Labor), or em15 ployers in a specific Economic Development District des16 ignated by the Economic Development Administration of 

17 the Department of Commerce that encompasses any por18 tion of such State if— 

19 ‘‘(i) the number of applications for such visas 

20 received from all employers exceeds such numerical 

21 limitation for such fiscal year; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the State had a seasonally adjusted unem23 ployment rate of not more than 3.5 percent in at 

24 least 9 of the 12 most recent monthly reports issued 

25 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics; 

26 ‘‘(iii) such Governor certifies that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) there is a persistent, unmet need for 

2 labor within the State, the specified Standard 

3 Occupational Classification Group in the State, 

4 or the specific Economic Development District 

5 in the State; and 

6 ‘‘(II) the allocation of additional H–2B 

7 nonimmigrant visas pursuant to this para8 graph— 

9 ‘‘(aa) will not displace domestic work10 ers; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) will not negatively affect aver12 age wages in such State; and 

13 ‘‘(iv) employers who hire H–2B nonimmigrant 

14 workers pursuant to this paragraph comply with any 

15 additional requirements imposed by the Secretary of 

16 Labor, by regulation. 

17 ‘‘(B) The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting 

18 through the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

19 Services, shall issue the supplemental H–2B non20 immigrant visas requested by the Governor of a State pur21 suant to subparagraph (A) to the extent that the applica22 tions for such visas submitted by employers based in such 

23 State meet all applicable requirements of the H–2B non24 immigrant visa program. 


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1 ‘‘(C) If the number of employer applications from a 

2 State exceed the number of H–2B nonimmigrant visas re3 quested pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Office of For4 eign Labor Certification shall randomly assign for proc5 essing all of the remaining H–2B nonimmigrant visa ap6 plications and issue supplemental visas to all qualified ap7 plicants until the number of supplemental visas allocated 

8 to such State pursuant to subparagraph (B) have been 

9 issued. 

10 ‘‘(D) This paragraph shall cease to have force or ef11 fect on the date that is 4 years after the date of the enact12 ment of the SEASONAL Act. 

13 ‘‘(E) Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to 

14 prohibit the legislature of any State from setting limits 

15 with respect to supplemental H–2B nonimmigrant visas 

16 that the Governor of such State may request, including— 

17 ‘‘(i) limiting the number of such visas that may 

18 be requested in a fiscal year; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) limiting the allocation of such visas to H– 

20 2B nonimmigrant workers who are employed— 

21 ‘‘(I) within such State; 

22 ‘‘(II) within specified Standard Occupa23 tional Classification Groups; or 

24 ‘‘(III) within specified Economic Develop25 ment Districts.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. ANNUAL REPORT. 

2 Not later than 15 months after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter until the date 

4 that is 4 years after such date of enactment, the Secretary 

5 of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Labor shall 

6 submit a joint report to Congress that includes, with re7 spect to the preceding year— 

8 (1) the number of supplemental H–2B non9 immigrant visas issued pursuant to section 

10 214(g)(12) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

11 (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)(12)), disaggregated by the State 

12 in which the recipients of such visas are working; 

13 (2) a breakdown of Standard Occupational 

14 Classification Groups or Economic Development Dis15 tricts for which supplemental H–2B nonimmigrant 

16 visas were issued, disaggregated by the State in 

17 which the recipients of such visas are working; 

18 (3) an analysis of any effect caused by the 

19 issuance of supplemental H–2B nonimmigrant visas 

20 that led to the displacement of domestic workers or 

21 a reduction in the average wages, disaggregated by 

22 State; and 

23 (4) an assessment of whether the issuance of 

24 supplemental H–2B nonimmigrant visas led to in25 creased economic opportunities and productivity in 


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1 the States in which the recipients of such visas are 

2 working. 

Æ 


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