II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2071 

To authorize the temporary entry into the United States of alien crewmen 

employed on longline fishing vessels originating in Hawaii, to ensure 

that such aliens receive reasonable wages and working conditions, and 

to provide for appropriate enforcement and oversight of fishing companies 

employing such aliens. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 2, 2017 

Ms. HIRONO (for herself and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To authorize the temporary entry into the United States 

of alien crewmen employed on longline fishing vessels 

originating in Hawaii, to ensure that such aliens receive 

reasonable wages and working conditions, and to provide 

for appropriate enforcement and oversight of fishing 

companies employing such aliens. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sustainable Fishing 

5 Workforce Protection Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ASSOCIATION OF EMPLOYERS.—The term 

4 ‘‘association of employers’’ means any nonprofit or 

5 membership association of owners, charterers, or 

6 managing operators of a longline fishing vessel, or 

7 the legal representative of any such individual or en8 tity, that has its home port or an operating base in 

9 the State of Hawaii. 

10 (2) D–3 NONIMMIGRANT.—The term ‘‘D–3 non11 immigrant’’ means a nonimmigrant described in sec12 tion 101(a)(15)(D)(iii) of the Immigration and Na13 tionality Act, as added by section 3(a)(2). 

14 (3) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ means 

15 the owner, charterer, or managing operator of a 

16 longline fishing vessel, or the legal representative of 

17 any such individual or entity, that has its home port 

18 or an operating base in the State of Hawaii. 

19 (4) LONGLINE FISHING VESSEL.—The term 

20 ‘‘longline fishing vessel’’ means a vessel which— 

21 (A) is operating in accordance with section 

22 8103(b)(2)(B) of title 46, United States Code; 

23 (B) has its home port or an operating base 

24 in the State of Hawaii; and 


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1 (C) uses pelagic longline (as defined in sec2 tion 600.10 of title 50, Code of Federal Regula3 tions) in its fishing operations. 

4 SEC. 3. NONIMMIGRANT VISA FOR ALIEN CREWMEN ON 

5 FISHING VESSELS OPERATING OUT OF HA6 WAII. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a)(15)(D) of the Im8 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(D)) 

9 is amended— 

10 (1) in clause (ii), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

11 and 

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

13 ‘‘(iii) an alien crewman serving in good faith as 

14 such in any capacity required for normal operations 

15 and service aboard a longline fishing vessel having 

16 its home port or an operating base in Hawaii who 

17 intends to land temporarily in Hawaii solely in pur18 suit of work as a crewman and to depart from Ha19 waii with the vessel on which the crewman arrived 

20 or some other vessel or aircraft;’’. 

21 (b) TREATMENT OF DEPARTURES.—In the adminis22 tration of section 101(a)(15)(D) of the Immigration and 

23 Nationality Act, as added by subsection (a), an alien crew24 man shall be considered to have departed from Hawaii, 

25 Guam, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana IsVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Nov 04, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2071.IS S2071

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1 lands after leaving the territorial waters thereof, without 

2 regard to whether the alien arrives in a foreign state be3 fore returning to Hawaii, Guam, or the Commonwealth 

4 of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

5 (c) DURATION.—A visa issued to an alien crewman 

6 under section 101(a)(15)(D)(iii) of the Immigration and 

7 Nationality Act— 

8 (1) shall remain in effect during the 3-year pe9 riod beginning on the date on which the visa is 

10 issued by the Secretary of State; and 

11 (2) may be renewed for successive 3-year peri12 ods under the same terms and conditions applicable 

13 to the issuance of a new visa to a nonimmigrant 

14 under such section. 

15 (d) EFFECT OF TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT ON

16 VISA STATUS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 

18 paragraph (2), a D–3 nonimmigrant whose employ19 ment is lawfully terminated by his or her employer, 

20 or by an association of employers, before the end of 

21 the period described in subsection (c) shall depart 

22 the United States not later than 10 days after the 

23 effective date of such termination. The employer or 

24 association of employers, as applicable, shall pay for 


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1 the cost of transportation and subsistence necessary 

2 to return the alien to his or her country of origin. 

3 (2) CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT.—An employer or 

4 association of employers may employ a D–3 non5 immigrant described in paragraph (1) or a D–3 non6 immigrant who amicably terminates employment 

7 with another employer if the employer or associa8 tion— 

9 (A) enters into a written agreement with 

10 the D–3 nonimmigrant that complies with the 

11 requirements under section 4; and 

12 (B) submits a copy of such agreement to 

13 the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Sec14 retary of Labor, and such State and local enti15 ties as may be required for compliance with 

16 State and local licensing and oversight of the 

17 employer. 

18 SEC. 4. PETITION REQUIREMENTS AND EMPLOYER RE19 SPONSIBILITIES. 

20 (a) PETITION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employer or association 

22 of employers may not employ an alien crewman on 

23 a longline fishing vessel unless— 

24 (A) the employer or association has filed a 

25 petition with the Secretary of State to employ 


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1 the alien as a D–3 nonimmigrant on a longline 

2 fishing vessel; and 

3 (B) the Secretary of State has approved 

4 the petition. 

5 (2) FORM; CONTENTS.—The petition required 

6 under paragraph (1) shall be in such form as deter7 mined by the Secretary of State, in consultation with 

8 the Secretary of Homeland Security, and shall in9 clude— 

10 (A) the name, contact information, and 

11 mailing address of the place of business of— 

12 (i) the employer; or 

13 (ii) if the petition is submitted by an 

14 association of employers, the employers 

15 that are members of the association; 

16 (B) an attestation that workers who will be 

17 issued visas under section 101(a)(15)(D)(iii) of 

18 the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added 

19 by section 3(a), are being employed in accord20 ance with section 8103(b)(2)(B) of title 46, 

21 United States Code; 

22 (C) the number of visas sought by the em23 ployer or association of employers; 

24 (D) the name, place of business, and de25 scription of services provided by any foreign 


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1 third party engaged by the employer or associa2 tion of employers; and 

3 (E) such other information as the Sec4 retary of State deems necessary. 

5 (3) VISA ISSUANCE.—Upon receipt of a com6 pleted petition from an employer pursuant to para7 graph (1), the Secretary of State is authorized to 

8 issue the requested number of D–3 nonimmigrant 

9 visas to aliens to meet the employer’s need. 

10 (4) ROLE OF ASSOCIATIONS OF EMPLOYERS.— 

11 (A) FILING BY ASSOCIATIONS OF EMPLOY12 ERS.—A petition to employ an alien or aliens as 

13 D–3 nonimmigrants under this subsection may 

14 be filed by an association of employers. 

15 (B) TREATMENT OF ASSOCIATIONS ACTING

16 AS EMPLOYERS.—If an association is a joint or 

17 sole employer of D–3 nonimmigrants, the visas 

18 issued pursuant to an approved petition sub19 mitted by the association under this subsection 

20 may be used for the certified job opportunities 

21 of any of its members and such workers may be 

22 transferred among its members. 

23 (5) TRANSITIONAL VISAS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Employers or associa25 tions of employers shall petition the Secretary 


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1 of State for temporary nonimmigrant visas for 

2 all alien crewmembers employed by the em3 ployer or association as of the date of the en4 actment of this Act. The Secretary of State 

5 shall issue such temporary visas to such alien 

6 crewmembers in accordance with this para7 graph. 

8 (B) NATIONAL SECURITY REVIEWS.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

10 ensure that the presence of alien crew11 members for whom D–3 nonimmigrant 

12 visas are sought under this subsection does 

13 not pose a national security threat. 

14 (ii) EVALUATIONS.—In evaluating the 

15 potential national security threat of alien 

16 crewmembers under this subparagraph, the 

17 Secretary may— 

18 (I) conduct individual or group 

19 interviews of alien crewmembers in 

20 Hawaii; and 

21 (II) take any other action the 

22 Secretary determines necessary to de23 termine whether alien crewmembers 

24 pose a national security threat. 


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1 (iii) ACTION.—If the Secretary deter2 mines that an alien crewmember poses a 

3 national security threat, the Secretary 

4 shall take appropriate action in accordance 

5 with Federal law. 

6 (iv) EXPEDITIOUS REVIEWS.—The 

7 Secretary shall conduct interviews and re8 lated evaluations under this subparagraph 

9 as expeditiously as possible to minimize the 

10 disruption to the commercial fishing work11 force. 

12 (C) PERIOD OF VALIDITY.—Visas issued 

13 under subparagraph (A) shall be valid for the 

14 longer of— 

15 (i) 1 year; or 

16 (ii) the period beginning on the date 

17 of issuance and ending 90 days after the 

18 date on which the Secretary of State issues 

19 regulations or other written guidance relat20 ing to the issuance of visas to D–3 immi21 grants in accordance with section 

22 101(a)(15)(D)(iii) of the Immigration and 

23 Nationality Act, as added by section 3(a). 

24 (D) PETITION.—Not later than 90 days 

25 after the issuance of the regulations or other 


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1 written guidance described in subparagraph 

2 (C)(ii) or within an alternate timeframe deter3 mined by the Secretary of State, employers and 

4 associations of employers shall petition for D– 

5 3 nonimmigrant visas for all of their alien crew6 members, including those who were issued tem7 porary visas under subparagraph (A). Employ8 ers or associations of employers may not seek 

9 compensation or reimbursement from D–3 non10 immigrants for costs associated with applica11 tions for transitional visas or D–3 non12 immigrant visas. 

13 (b) LABOR AGREEMENTS.— 

14 (1) COMPONENTS.—After the approval of a pe15 tition and the issuance of D–3 nonimmigrant visas, 

16 but before proceeding on a voyage of a longline fish17 ing vessel, an employer or association of employers 

18 shall enter into a written agreement directly with 

19 each D–3 nonimmigrant, in accordance with section 

20 10601 of title 46, United States Code, that de21 scribes— 

22 (A) the responsibilities of, and costs to be 

23 covered by, the employer or association of em24 ployers during the contract period; 


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1 (B) the job duties to be performed and the 

2 expected work during the contract period; 

3 (C) the terms of the wage, share, or other 

4 compensation the employer or association of 

5 employers will provide to the employee during 

6 the contract period; 

7 (D) the responsibility of the employer or 

8 association of employers— 

9 (i) to pay for or reimburse the em10 ployee in his or her first workweek for all 

11 visa, visa processing, border crossing, and 

12 other related fees (including those man13 dated by the Government) incurred by the 

14 employee, other than passport expenses or 

15 other charges primarily for the benefit of 

16 the employee; 

17 (ii) to pay all recruitment costs; and 

18 (iii) to provide, or reimburse the em19 ployee for the costs of, transportation and 

20 subsistence to and from the United States; 

21 (E) the terms of payment and provision or 

22 reimbursement for transportation and subsist23 ence costs from the United States if the worker 

24 is dismissed or otherwise fails to complete con25 tract term; 


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1 (F) the crewmember’s rights (with respect 

2 to occupational safety and health protections)— 

3 (i) to freely report any labor, safety, 

4 or health abuses without fear of retalia5 tion; 

6 (ii) to have access to remediation, as 

7 needed; 

8 (iii) to free and timely access to their 

9 passports or other identity documents; and 

10 (iv) to adequate living conditions 

11 aboard the vessel, including access to food, 

12 water, medical care, and other necessary 

13 provisions; 

14 (G) a summary of the remedies for viola15 tions of the terms of the labor agreement avail16 able to the employee in accordance with para17 graph (2); and 

18 (H) other agreed terms and conditions of 

19 employment. 

20 (2) ENFORCEMENT OF AGREEMENTS.—Employ21 ers or associations of employers and D–3 non22 immigrants have the right to avail themselves of ap23 propriate legal recourse in the United States, includ24 ing voluntary arbitration, in the event of disputes 


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1 arising due to nonperformance of any provision of 

2 an agreement. 

3 (3) LANGUAGE BARRIERS AND RECORD4 KEEPING.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Employers or associa6 tions of employers shall secure such language 

7 services as may be necessary to ensure that D– 

8 3 nonimmigrants understand the terms of the 

9 labor agreement described in paragraph (1) 

10 that is presented to them before embarking on 

11 their first voyage on a longline fishing vessel 

12 and may not seek compensation or reimburse13 ment from D–3 nonimmigrants for the provi14 sion of such services. 

15 (B) RECORD RETENTION REQUIRE16 MENTS.—A signed copy of each labor agree17 ment shall be kept on file by the employer in 

18 English and in the language of the D–3 non19 immigrant. Copies of signed labor agreements 

20 shall be submitted to the Secretary of Home21 land Security, the Secretary of Labor, and such 

22 State and local entities as may be required for 

23 compliance with State and local licensing and 

24 oversight of the employer or association of em25 ployers. 


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1 (4) RECRUITMENT COSTS AND OVERSIGHT.— 

2 (A) EMPLOYEE REIMBURSEMENT.—Em3 ployers or associations of employers shall pay or 

4 reimburse each D–3 nonimmigrant, in his or 

5 her first workweek, for all visa, visa processing, 

6 border crossing, and other related fees (includ7 ing those mandated by the Government) in8 curred by the D–3 nonimmigrant, but are not 

9 required to reimburse D–3 nonimmigrants for 

10 passport expenses or other charges primarily 

11 for the benefit of the D–3 nonimmigrants. 

12 (B) OTHER COSTS AND OVERSIGHT.—Em13 ployers or associations of employers may engage 

14 agents or firms in the United States or else15 where to recruit D–3 nonimmigrants only if the 

16 employer or association— 

17 (i) solely assumes all costs associated 

18 with such recruitment services, including— 

19 (I) fees for the employers’ attor20 neys and agents; 

21 (II) placement and referral fees; 

22 and 

23 (III) other fees required to be 

24 paid directly to the third party pro25 viding recruitment services; and 


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1 (ii) discloses the agents or firms used 

2 for such recruitment to the Secretary of 

3 State. 

4 (C) REPORT ON THIRD-PARTY RECRUIT5 MENT PRACTICES.— 

6 (i) REVIEW.—The Secretary of Labor 

7 shall review and evaluate the laws and 

8 business practices governing third-party re9 cruitment of workers in Southeast Asian 

10 countries to determine whether third-party 

11 recruitment firms in such countries engage 

12 in— 

13 (I) forced labor practices, includ14 ing debt bondage; or 

15 (II) practices that violate Inter16 national Labour Organization stand17 ards or other relevant standards with 

18 respect to the recruitment of workers 

19 for jobs in the United States. 

20 (ii) REPORT.—The Secretary of Labor 

21 shall submit a report to Congress that— 

22 (I) summarizes the findings of 

23 the review conducted pursuant to 

24 clause (i); and 

25 (II) may include— 


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1 (aa) suggested legislation or 

2 other recommendations for Con3 gress and executive branch agen4 cies; or 

5 (bb) recommendations for 

6 private sector businesses regard7 ing best practices for avoiding 

8 third-party recruitment firms in 

9 countries that the Secretary de10 termines allow for, or engage in, 

11 forced labor practices that violate 

12 international law or other rel13 evant standards and practices. 

14 SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT AND OVERSIGHT. 

15 (a) EXAMINATIONS; REFERRALS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant of the 

17 Coast Guard, in conjunction with the Secretary of 

18 Labor, shall ensure that employers operating vessels 

19 that employ D–3 nonimmigrants are subject to reg20 ular dockside examinations not less than biennially 

21 to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regu22 lations affecting the safety and health of seamen, in23 cluding D–3 nonimmigrants, aboard longline fishing 

24 vessels that have their home port or an operating 

25 base in Hawaii. 


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1 (2) ADDITIONAL EXAMINATIONS.—The Sec2 retary of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the 

3 Secretary of Labor— 

4 (A) may conduct additional examinations, 

5 as they consider necessary to ensure compliance 

6 with labor agreement terms and conditions or 

7 health and safety conditions; and 

8 (B) shall conduct additional examinations 

9 upon receipt of information from a D–3 non10 immigrant, or from such State or local entity as 

11 may be responsible for licensing and oversight 

12 of the employer, that an employer may be vio13 lating the requirements under this Act or appli14 cable health and safety requirements. 

15 (b) PENALTIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.—The Sec16 retary of Labor and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

17 are authorized to take such actions, including imposing 

18 appropriate penalties and seeking appropriate injunctive 

19 relief and specific performance of contractual obligations, 

20 as may be necessary to ensure employer compliance with 

21 the terms and conditions of employment required under 

22 this Act. 

23 SEC. 6. RULEMAKING. 

24 The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland 

25 Security, and the Secretary of Labor are authorized to 


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1 issue such regulations and written guidance as may be 

2 necessary to carry out the activities required under this 

3 Act. 

4 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

6 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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