I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3017 

To provide for a more structured and stable domestic agricultural labor 

market in the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011 

Mr. BERMAN (for himself, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mr. CONYERS, 

Mr. GUTIERREZ, Ms. CHU, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, and 

Mr. BACA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and 

Means, Education and the Workforce, and Agriculture, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for a more structured and stable domestic agricultural labor market 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 ‘‘Agricultural Labor Market Reform Act of 2011’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title, table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—EARNED ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR CERTAIN 

AGRICULTURAL WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES 

Subtitle A—Blue Card Status 

Sec. 101. Requirements for blue card status. 

Sec. 102. Treatment of aliens granted blue card status. 

Sec. 103. Adjustment to permanent residence. 

Sec. 104. Applications. 

Sec. 105. Waiver of numerical limitations and certain grounds for inadmissibility. 

Sec. 106. Administrative and judicial review. 

Sec. 107. Use of information. 

Sec. 108. Regulations, effective date, authorization of appropriations. 

Subtitle B—Correction of Social Security Records 

Sec. 111. Correction of Social Security records. 

TITLE II—MANDATORY USE OF E-VERIFY BY FARM LABOR 

CONTRACTORS 

Sec. 201. Amendments to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. 

Sec. 202. Amendments to the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. 

TITLE III—LABOR MARKET REFORMS 

Sec. 301. Trust fund for agricultural labor market reform. 

Sec. 302. Expenditures from trust fund. 

TITLE IV—EQUAL TREATMENT OF U.S. AND GUEST WORKERS 

UNDER THE H–2A PROGRAM 

Sec. 401. Amendments to the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Protection 

Act. 

Sec. 402. Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT.—The term 

4 ‘‘agricultural employment’’ has the meaning given 

5 such term in section 3 of the Migrant and Seasonal 

6 Agricultural Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 

7 1802), without regard to whether the specific service 


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1 or activity is temporary or seasonal, including the 

2 performance of agricultural labor or service de3 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immi4 gration and Nationality Act. 

5 (2) BLUE CARD STATUS.—The term ‘‘blue card 

6 status’’ means the status of an alien who has been 

7 lawfully admitted into the United States for tem8 porary residence under section 101(a). 

9 (3) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

10 means the Department of Homeland Security. 

11 (4) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ means 

12 any person or entity, including any farm labor con13 tractor and any agricultural association, that em14 ploys workers in agricultural employment. 

15 (5) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise provided, 

16 the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Home17 land Security. 

18 TITLE I—EARNED ADJUSTMENT 

19 OF STATUS FOR CERTAIN AG20 RICULTURAL WORKERS AND 

21 THEIR FAMILIES 

22 Subtitle A—Blue Card Status 

23 SEC. 101. REQUIREMENTS FOR BLUE CARD STATUS. 

24 (a) REQUIREMENT TO GRANT BLUE CARD STA25 TUS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 


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1 Secretary shall, pursuant to the requirements of this sec2 tion, grant blue card status to an alien who qualifies under 

3 this section if the Secretary determines that the alien— 

4 (1) during the 24-month period ending on De5 cember 31, 2010— 

6 (A) performed agricultural employment in 

7 the United States for at least 863 hours or 150 

8 work days; or 

9 (B) earned at least $7,500 from agricul10 tural employment in the United States; 

11 (2) applied for such status during the 18-month 

12 application period beginning on the first day of the 

13 seventh month that begins after the date of enact14 ment of this Act; 

15 (3) is otherwise admissible to the United States 

16 under section 212 of the Immigration and Nation17 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182), except as otherwise pro18 vided under section 105(b); and 

19 (4) has not been convicted of any felony or a 

20 misdemeanor, an element of which involves bodily in21 jury, threat of serious bodily injury, or harm to 

22 property in excess of $500. 

23 (b) AUTHORIZED TRAVEL.—An alien who is granted 

24 blue card status is authorized to travel outside the United 

25 States (including commuting to the United States from 


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1 a residence in a foreign country) in the same manner as 

2 an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. 

3 (c) AUTHORIZED EMPLOYMENT.—The Secretary 

4 shall provide an alien who is granted blue card status an 

5 employment authorized endorsement or other appropriate 

6 work permit, in the same manner as an alien lawfully ad7 mitted for permanent residence. 

8 (d) TERMINATION OF BLUE CARD STATUS.— 

9 (1) DEPORTABLE ALIENS.—The Secretary shall 

10 terminate blue card status granted to an alien if the 

11 Secretary determines that the alien is deportable. 

12 (2) OTHER GROUNDS FOR TERMINATION.—The 

13 Secretary shall terminate blue card status granted to 

14 an alien if— 

15 (A) the Secretary finds, by a preponder16 ance of the evidence, that the adjustment to 

17 blue card status was the result of fraud or will18 ful misrepresentation, as described in section 

19 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Nation20 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(C)(i)); or 

21 (B) the alien— 

22 (i) commits an act that makes the 

23 alien inadmissible to the United States 

24 under section 212 of the Immigration and 


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1 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182), except as 

2 provided under section 105(b); 

3 (ii) is convicted of a felony or 3 or 

4 more misdemeanors committed in the 

5 United States; 

6 (iii) is convicted of an offense, an ele7 ment of which involves bodily injury, threat 

8 of serious bodily injury, or harm to prop9 erty in excess of $500; or 

10 (iv) fails to perform the agricultural 

11 employment required under paragraph 

12 (1)(A) of section 103(a) unless the alien 

13 was unable to work in agricultural employ14 ment due to the extraordinary cir15 cumstances described in paragraph (3) of 

16 such section. 

17 (e) RECORD OF EMPLOYMENT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each employer of an alien 

19 granted blue card status shall annually— 

20 (A) provide a written record of employ21 ment to the alien; and 

22 (B) provide a copy of such record to the 

23 Secretary. 

24 (2) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary finds, 

2 after notice and opportunity for a hearing, that 

3 an employer of an alien granted blue card sta4 tus has failed to provide the record of employ5 ment required under paragraph (1) or has pro6 vided a false statement of material fact in such 

7 a record, the employer shall be subject to a civil 

8 penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000 per 

9 violation. 

10 (B) LIMITATION.—The penalty applicable 

11 under subparagraph (A) for failure to provide 

12 records shall not apply unless the alien has pro13 vided the employer with evidence of employment 

14 authorization granted under this section. 

15 (3) SUNSET.—The obligation under paragraph 

16 (1) shall terminate on the date that is 6 years after 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 (f) REQUIRED FEATURES OF IDENTITY CARD.—The 

19 Secretary shall provide each alien granted blue card sta20 tus, and the spouse and any child of each such alien resid21 ing in the United States, with a card that contains— 

22 (1) an encrypted, machine-readable, electronic 

23 identification strip that is unique to the alien to 

24 whom the card is issued; 


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1 (2) biometric identifiers, including fingerprints 

2 and a digital photograph; and 

3 (3) physical security features designed to pre4 vent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of the 

5 card for fraudulent purposes. 

6 (g) FINE.—An alien granted blue card status shall 

7 pay a fine of $100 to the Secretary. 

8 (h) MAXIMUM NUMBER.—The Secretary may not 

9 issue more than 1,000,000 blue cards during the 5-year 

10 period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 102. TREATMENT OF ALIENS GRANTED BLUE CARD 

12 STATUS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided 

14 under this section, an alien granted blue card status (in15 cluding a spouse or child of the alien granted derivative 

16 status) shall be considered to be an alien lawfully admitted 

17 for permanent residence for purposes of any law other 

18 than any provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

19 (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 

20 (b) DELAYED ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTAIN FEDERAL

21 PUBLIC BENEFITS.—Except as otherwise provided in law, 

22 an alien granted blue card status shall not be eligible, by 

23 reason of such status, for any form of assistance or benefit 

24 described in section 403(a) of the Personal Responsibility 

25 and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 


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1 U.S.C. 1613(a)) until 5 years after the date on which the 

2 alien is granted an adjustment of status under section 

3 103. 

4 SEC. 103. ADJUSTMENT TO PERMANENT RESIDENCE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

6 (b), the Secretary shall adjust the status of an alien grant7 ed blue card status to that of an alien lawfully admitted 

8 for permanent residence if the Secretary determines that 

9 the following requirements are satisfied: 

10 (1) QUALIFYING EMPLOYMENT.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara12 graph (B), the alien has performed at least— 

13 (i) 5 years of agricultural employment 

14 in the United States for at least 100 work 

15 days per year, during the 5-year period be16 ginning on the date of the enactment of 

17 this Act; or 

18 (ii) 3 years of agricultural employ19 ment in the United States for at least 150 

20 work days per year, during the 3-year pe21 riod beginning on the date of the enact22 ment of this Act. 

23 (B) 4-YEAR PERIOD OF EMPLOYMENT.— 

24 An alien shall be considered to meet the re25 quirements of subparagraph (A) if the alien has 


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1 performed 4 years of agricultural employment 

2 in the United States for at least 150 work days 

3 during 3 years of those 4 years and at least 

4 100 work days during the remaining year, dur5 ing the 4-year period beginning on the date of 

6 the enactment of this Act. 

7 (2) PROOF.—An alien may demonstrate compli8 ance with the requirement under paragraph (1) by 

9 submitting— 

10 (A) the record of employment described in 

11 section 101(e); or 

12 (B) documentation that may be submitted 

13 under section 104(c). 

14 (3) EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES.—In de15 termining whether an alien has met the requirement 

16 of paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary may credit the 

17 alien with not more than 12 additional months of 

18 agricultural employment in the United States to 

19 meet such requirement if the alien was unable to 

20 work in agricultural employment due to— 

21 (A) pregnancy, injury, or disease, if the 

22 alien can establish such pregnancy, disabling in23 jury, or disease through medical records; 

24 (B) illness, disease, or other special needs 

25 of a minor child, if the alien can establish such 


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1 illness, disease, or special needs through med2 ical records; 

3 (C) severe weather conditions that pre4 vented the alien from engaging in agricultural 

5 employment for a significant period of time; or 

6 (D) termination from agricultural employ7 ment, if the Secretary finds that the termi8 nation was without just cause and that the 

9 alien was unable to find alternative agricultural 

10 employment after a reasonable job search. 

11 (4) APPLICATION PERIOD.—The alien applies 

12 for adjustment of status not later than 7 years after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 (5) FINE.—The alien pays a fine of $400 to the 

15 Secretary. 

16 (b) GROUNDS FOR DENIAL OF ADJUSTMENT OF STA17 TUS.—The Secretary shall deny an alien granted blue card 

18 status an adjustment of status under this section if— 

19 (1) the Secretary finds, by a preponderance of 

20 the evidence, that the adjustment to blue card status 

21 was the result of fraud or willful misrepresentation, 

22 as described in section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immi23 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

24 1182(a)(6)(C)(i)); or 

25 (2) the alien— 


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1 (A) commits an act that makes the alien 

2 inadmissible to the United States under section 

3 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

4 U.S.C. 1182), except as provided under section 

5 105(b); 

6 (B) is convicted of a felony or 3 or more 

7 misdemeanors committed in the United States; 

8 (C) is convicted of an offense, an element 

9 of which involves bodily injury, threat of serious 

10 bodily injury, or harm to property in excess of 

11 $500; or 

12 (D) failed to perform the agricultural em13 ployment required under paragraph (1)(A) of 

14 subsection (a) unless the alien was unable to 

15 work in agricultural employment due to the ex16 traordinary circumstances described in para17 graph (3) of such subsection. 

18 (c) GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL.—Any alien granted 

19 blue card status who does not apply for adjustment of sta20 tus under this section before the expiration of the applica21 tion period described in subsection (a)(4) or who fails to 

22 meet the other requirements of subsection (a) by the end 

23 of the application period, is deportable and may be re24 moved under section 240 of the Immigration and Nation25 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a). 


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1 (d) PAYMENT OF TAXES.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date on 

3 which an alien’s status is adjusted under this sec4 tion, the alien shall establish that the alien does not 

5 owe any applicable Federal tax liability by estab6 lishing that— 

7 (A) no such tax liability exists; 

8 (B) all such outstanding tax liabilities have 

9 been paid; or 

10 (C) the alien has entered into an agree11 ment for payment of all outstanding liabilities 

12 with the Internal Revenue Service. 

13 (2) APPLICABLE FEDERAL TAX LIABILITY.—In 

14 paragraph (1) the term ‘‘applicable Federal tax li15 ability’’ means liability for Federal taxes, including 

16 penalties and interest, owed for any year during the 

17 period of employment required under subsection 

18 (a)(1) for which the statutory period for assessment 

19 of any deficiency for such taxes has not expired. 

20 (3) IRS COOPERATION.—The Secretary of the 

21 Treasury shall establish rules and procedures under 

22 which the Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall 

23 provide documentation to an alien upon request to 

24 establish the payment of all taxes required by this 

25 subsection. 


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1 (e) SPOUSES AND MINOR CHILDREN.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

3 provision of law, the Secretary shall confer the sta4 tus of lawful permanent resident on the spouse and 

5 minor child of an alien granted any adjustment of 

6 status under subsection (a), including any individual 

7 who was a minor child on the date such alien was 

8 granted blue card status, if the spouse or minor 

9 child applies for such status, or if the principal alien 

10 includes the spouse or minor child in an application 

11 for adjustment of status to that of a lawful perma12 nent resident. 

13 (2) TREATMENT OF SPOUSES AND MINOR CHIL14 DREN.— 

15 (A) GRANTING OF STATUS AND RE16 MOVAL.—The Secretary shall grant derivative 

17 status to the alien spouse and any minor child 

18 residing in the United States of an alien grant19 ed blue card status and shall not remove such 

20 derivative spouse or child during the period that 

21 the alien granted blue card status maintains 

22 such status, except as provided in paragraph 

23 (3). A grant of derivative status to such a 

24 spouse or child under this subparagraph shall 

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1 ceive blue card status under subsection (h) of 

2 section 101. 

3 (B) TRAVEL.—The derivative spouse and 

4 any minor child of an alien granted blue card 

5 status may travel outside the United States in 

6 the same manner as an alien lawfully admitted 

7 for permanent residence. 

8 (C) EMPLOYMENT.—The derivative spouse 

9 of an alien granted blue card status may apply 

10 to the Secretary for a work permit to authorize 

11 such spouse to engage in any lawful employ12 ment in the United States while such alien 

13 maintains blue card status. 

14 (3) GROUNDS FOR DENIAL OF ADJUSTMENT OF

15 STATUS AND REMOVAL.—The Secretary shall deny 

16 an alien spouse or child adjustment of status under 

17 paragraph (1) and may remove such spouse or child 

18 under section 240 of the Immigration and Nation19 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a) if the spouse or child— 

20 (A) commits an act that makes the alien 

21 spouse or child inadmissible to the United 

22 States under section 212 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

23 1182), except as provided under section 105(b); 


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1 (B) is convicted of a felony or 3 or more 

2 misdemeanors committed in the United States; 

3 or 

4 (C) is convicted of an offense, an element 

5 of which involves bodily injury, threat of serious 

6 bodily injury, or harm to property in excess of 

7 $500. 

8 SEC. 104. APPLICATIONS. 

9 (a) SUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall provide that— 

10 (1) applications for blue card status may be 

11 submitted— 

12 (A) to the Secretary if the applicant is rep13 resented by an attorney or a nonprofit religious, 

14 charitable, social service, or similar organization 

15 recognized by the Board of Immigration Ap16 peals under section 292.2 of title 8, Code of 

17 Federal Regulations; or 

18 (B) to a qualified designated entity if the 

19 applicant consents to the forwarding of the ap20 plication to the Secretary; and 

21 (2) applications for adjustment of status under 

22 section 103 shall be filed directly with the Secretary. 

23 (b) QUALIFIED DESIGNATED ENTITY DEFINED.—In 

24 this section, the term ‘‘qualified designated entity’’ means 

25 a qualified farm labor organization and any affiliated orVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:04 Sep 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3017.IH H3017

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1 ganization or an association of employers designated by 

2 the Secretary. 

3 (c) PROOF OF ELIGIBILITY.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—An alien may establish that 

5 the alien meets the requirement of section 101(a)(1) 

6 or 103(a)(1) through government employment 

7 records or records supplied by employers or collec8 tive bargaining organizations, and other reliable doc9 umentation as the alien may provide. The Secretary 

10 shall establish special procedures to properly credit 

11 work in cases in which an alien was employed under 

12 an assumed name. 

13 (2) DOCUMENTATION OF WORK HISTORY.— 

14 (A) BURDEN OF PROOF.—An alien apply15 ing for status under section 101(a) or 103(a) 

16 has the burden of proving by a preponderance 

17 of the evidence that the alien has worked the 

18 requisite number of hours or days required 

19 under section 101(a)(1) or 103(a)(1), as appli20 cable. 

21 (B) TIMELY PRODUCTION OF RECORDS.— 

22 If an employer or farm labor contractor employ23 ing such an alien has kept proper and adequate 

24 records respecting such employment, the alien’s 

25 burden of proof under subparagraph (A) may 


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1 be met by securing timely production of those 

2 records under regulations to be promulgated by 

3 the Secretary. 

4 (C) SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE.—An alien 

5 may meet the burden of proof under subpara6 graph (A) to establish that the alien has per7 formed the days or hours of work required by 

8 section 101(a)(1) or 103(a)(1) by producing 

9 sufficient evidence to show the extent of that 

10 employment as a matter of just and reasonable 

11 inference. 

12 (d) APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED TO QUALIFIED DES13 IGNATED ENTITIES.— 

14 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—Each qualified des15 ignated entity shall agree— 

16 (A) to forward to the Secretary an applica17 tion submitted to that entity pursuant to sub18 section (a)(1)(B) if the applicant has consented 

19 to such forwarding; 

20 (B) not to forward to the Secretary any 

21 such application if the applicant has not con22 sented to such forwarding; and 

23 (C) to assist an alien in obtaining docu24 mentation of the alien’s work history, if the 

25 alien requests such assistance. 


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1 (2) NO AUTHORITY TO MAKE DETERMINA2 TIONS.—No qualified designated entity may make a 

3 determination required by this subtitle to be made 

4 by the Secretary. 

5 (e) LIMITATION ON ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—Files 

6 and records collected or compiled by a qualified designated 

7 entity for the purposes of this section are confidential and 

8 the Secretary shall not have access to such a file or record 

9 relating to an alien without the consent of the alien, except 

10 as allowed by a court order issued pursuant to subsection 

11 (f). 

12 (f) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro14 vided in this section, the Secretary or any other offi15 cial or employee of the Department or a bureau or 

16 agency of the Department is prohibited from— 

17 (A) using information furnished by the ap18 plicant pursuant to an application filed under 

19 this title, the information provided by an appli20 cant to a qualified designated entity, or any in21 formation provided by an employer or former 

22 employer for any purpose other than to make a 

23 determination on the application or for impos24 ing the penalties described in subsection (g); 


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1 (B) making any publication in which the 

2 information furnished by any particular indi3 vidual can be identified; or 

4 (C) permitting a person other than a 

5 sworn officer or employee of the Department or 

6 a bureau or agency of the Department or, with 

7 respect to applications filed with a qualified 

8 designated entity, that qualified designated en9 tity, to examine individual applications. 

10 (2) REQUIRED DISCLOSURES.—The Secretary 

11 shall provide the information furnished under this 

12 title or any other information derived from such fur13 nished information to— 

14 (A) a duly recognized law enforcement en15 tity in connection with a criminal investigation 

16 or prosecution, if such information is requested 

17 in writing by such entity; or 

18 (B) an official coroner, for purposes of af19 firmatively identifying a deceased individual, 

20 whether or not the death of such individual re21 sulted from a crime. 

22 (3) CONSTRUCTION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this sub24 section shall be construed to limit the use, or 

25 release, for immigration enforcement purposes 


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1 or law enforcement purposes, of information 

2 contained in files or records of the Department 

3 pertaining to an application filed under this sec4 tion, other than information furnished by an 

5 applicant pursuant to the application, or any 

6 other information derived from the application, 

7 that is not available from any other source. 

8 (B) CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS.—Notwith9 standing any other provision of this subsection, 

10 information concerning whether the alien apply11 ing for blue card status or an adjustment of 

12 status under section 103 has been convicted of 

13 a crime at any time may be used or released for 

14 immigration enforcement or law enforcement 

15 purposes. 

16 (4) CRIME.—Any person who knowingly uses, 

17 publishes, or permits information to be examined in 

18 violation of this subsection shall be subject to a fine 

19 in an amount not to exceed $10,000. 

20 (g) PENALTIES FOR FALSE STATEMENTS IN APPLI21 CATIONS.— 

22 (1) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person who— 

23 (A) files an application for blue card status 

24 or an adjustment of status under section 103 

25 and knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals, 


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1 or covers up a material fact or makes any false, 

2 fictitious, or fraudulent statements or represen3 tations, or makes or uses any false writing or 

4 document knowing the same to contain any 

5 false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or 

6 entry; or 

7 (B) creates or supplies a false writing or 

8 document for use in making such an applica9 tion, 

10 shall be fined in accordance with title 18, United 

11 States Code, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or 

12 both. 

13 (2) INADMISSIBILITY.—An alien who is con14 victed of a crime under paragraph (1) shall be con15 sidered to be inadmissible to the United States on 

16 the ground described in section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of 

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

18 1182(a)(6)(C)(i)). 

19 (h) ELIGIBILITY FOR LEGAL SERVICES.—Section 

20 504(a)(11) of Public Law 104–134 (110 Stat. 1321–53 

21 et seq.) shall not be construed to prevent a recipient of 

22 funds under the Legal Services Corporation Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 2996 et seq.) from providing legal assistance di24 rectly related to an application for blue card status or an 

25 adjustment of status under section 103. 


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1 (i) APPLICATION FEES.— 

2 (1) FEE SCHEDULE.—The Secretary shall pro3 vide for a schedule of fees that— 

4 (A) shall be charged for the filing of an 

5 application for blue card status or for an ad6 justment of status under section 103; and 

7 (B) may be charged by qualified des8 ignated entities to help defray the costs of serv9 ices provided to such applicants. 

10 (2) PROHIBITION ON EXCESS FEES BY QUALI11 FIED DESIGNATED ENTITIES.—A qualified des12 ignated entity may not charge any fee in excess of, 

13 or in addition to, the fees authorized under para14 graph (1)(B) for services provided to applicants. 

15 (3) DISPOSITION OF FEES.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—There is established in 

17 the general fund of the Treasury a separate ac18 count, which shall be known as the ‘‘Agricul19 tural Worker Immigration Status Adjustment 

20 Account’’. Notwithstanding any other provision 

21 of law, there shall be deposited as offsetting re22 ceipts into the account all fees collected under 

23 paragraph (1)(A). 

24 (B) USE OF FEES FOR APPLICATION PROC25 ESSING.—Amounts deposited in the ‘‘AgriculVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:04 Sep 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3017.IH H3017

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1 tural Worker Immigration Status Adjustment 

2 Account’’ shall remain available to the Sec3 retary until expended for processing applica4 tions for blue card status or an adjustment of 

5 status under section 103. 

6 SEC. 105. WAIVER OF NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS AND CER7 TAIN GROUNDS FOR INADMISSIBILITY. 

8 (a) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS DO NOT APPLY.—The 

9 numerical limitations of sections 201 and 202 of the Im10 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151 and 1152) 

11 shall not apply to the adjustment of aliens to lawful per12 manent resident status under section 103. 

13 (b) WAIVER OF CERTAIN GROUNDS OF INADMIS14 SIBILITY.—In the determination of an alien’s eligibility for 

15 status under section 101(a) or an alien’s eligibility for ad16 justment of status under section 103(b)(2)(A) the fol17 lowing rules shall apply: 

18 (1) GROUNDS OF EXCLUSION NOT APPLICA19 BLE.—The provisions of paragraphs (5), (6)(A), (7), 

20 and (9) of section 212(a) of the Immigration and 

21 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)) shall not apply. 

22 (2) WAIVER OF OTHER GROUNDS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

24 subparagraph (B), the Secretary may waive any 

25 other provision of such section 212(a) in the 


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1 case of individual aliens for humanitarian pur2 poses, to ensure family unity, or if otherwise in 

3 the public interest. 

4 (B) GROUNDS THAT MAY NOT BE

5 WAIVED.—Subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), (D), 

6 (G), (H), and (I) of paragraph (2) and para7 graphs (3) and (4) of such section 212(a) may 

8 not be waived by the Secretary under subpara9 graph (A). 

10 (C) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

11 paragraph shall be construed as affecting the 

12 authority of the Secretary other than under this 

13 subparagraph to waive provisions of such sec14 tion 212(a). 

15 (3) SPECIAL RULE FOR DETERMINATION OF

16 PUBLIC CHARGE.—An alien is not ineligible for blue 

17 card status or an adjustment of status under section 

18 103 by reason of a ground of inadmissibility under 

19 section 212(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nation20 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(4)) if the alien dem21 onstrates a history of employment in the United 

22 States evidencing self-support without reliance on 

23 public cash assistance. 

24 (c) TEMPORARY STAY OF REMOVAL AND WORK AU25 THORIZATION FOR CERTAIN APPLICANTS.— 


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1 (1) BEFORE APPLICATION PERIOD.—Effective 

2 on the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

3 shall provide that, in the case of an alien who is ap4 prehended before the beginning of the application 

5 period described in section 101(a)(2) and who can 

6 establish a nonfrivolous case of eligibility for blue 

7 card status (but for the fact that the alien may not 

8 apply for such status until the beginning of such pe9 riod), until the alien has had the opportunity during 

10 the first 30 days of the application period to com11 plete the filing of an application for blue card status, 

12 the alien— 

13 (A) may not be removed; and 

14 (B) shall be granted authorization to en15 gage in employment in the United States and 

16 be provided an employment authorized endorse17 ment or other appropriate work permit for such 

18 purpose. 

19 (2) DURING APPLICATION PERIOD.—The Sec20 retary shall provide that, in the case of an alien who 

21 presents a nonfrivolous application for blue card sta22 tus during the application period described in section 

23 101(a)(2), including an alien who files such an ap24 plication within 30 days of the alien’s apprehension, 

25 and until a final determination on the application 


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1 has been made in accordance with this section, the 

2 alien— 

3 (A) may not be removed; and 

4 (B) shall be granted authorization to en5 gage in employment in the United States and 

6 be provided an employment authorized endorse7 ment or other appropriate work permit for such 

8 purpose. 

9 SEC. 106. ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be no administrative 

11 or judicial review of a determination respecting an applica12 tion for blue card status or adjustment of status under 

13 section 103 except in accordance with this section. 

14 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.— 

15 (1) SINGLE LEVEL OF ADMINISTRATIVE APPEL16 LATE REVIEW.—The Secretary shall establish an ap17 pellate authority to provide for a single level of ad18 ministrative appellate review of such a determina19 tion. 

20 (2) STANDARD FOR REVIEW.—Such administra21 tive appellate review shall be based solely upon the 

22 administrative record established at the time of the 

23 determination on the application and upon such ad24 ditional or newly discovered evidence as may not 

25 have been available at the time of the determination. 


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1 (c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

2 (1) LIMITATION TO REVIEW OF REMOVAL.— 

3 There shall be judicial review of such a determina4 tion only in the judicial review of an order of re5 moval under section 242 of the Immigration and 

6 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252). 

7 (2) STANDARD FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Such 

8 judicial review shall be based solely upon the admin9 istrative record established at the time of the review 

10 by the appellate authority and the findings of fact 

11 and determinations contained in such record shall be 

12 conclusive unless the applicant can establish abuse 

13 of discretion or that the findings are directly con14 trary to clear and convincing facts contained in the 

15 record considered as a whole. 

16 SEC. 107. USE OF INFORMATION. 

17 Beginning not later than the first day of the applica18 tion period described in section 101(a)(2), the Secretary, 

19 in cooperation with qualified designated entities (as that 

20 term is defined in section 104(b)), shall broadly dissemi21 nate information respecting the benefits that aliens may 

22 receive under this subtitle and the requirements that an 

23 alien is required to meet to receive such benefits. 


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1 SEC. 108. REGULATIONS, EFFECTIVE DATE, AUTHORIZA2 TION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

3 (a) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue regula4 tions to implement this subtitle not later than the first 

5 day of the seventh month that begins after the date of 

6 enactment of this Act. 

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subtitle shall take effect 

8 on the date that regulations required by subsection (a) are 

9 issued, regardless of whether such regulations are issued 

10 on an interim basis or on any other basis. 

11 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 

13 sums as may be necessary to implement this subtitle, in14 cluding any sums needed for costs associated with the ini15 tiation of such implementation, for fiscal years 2011 and 

16 2012. 

17 Subtitle B—Correction of Social 

18 Security Records 

19 SEC. 111. CORRECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY RECORDS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(e)(1) of the Social 

21 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 408(e)(1)) is amended— 

22 (1) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

23 the end; 

24 (2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘or’’ at 

25 the end; 


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1 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(D) who is granted blue card status under the 

4 Agricultural Labor Market Reform Act of 2011’’; 

5 and 

6 (4) by striking ‘‘1990.’’ and inserting ‘‘1990, or 

7 in the case of an alien described in subparagraph 

8 (D), if such conduct is alleged to have occurred be9 fore the date on which the alien was granted blue 

10 card status.’’. 

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

12 subsection (a) shall take effect on the first day of the sev13 enth month that begins after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act. 

15 TITLE II—MANDATORY USE OF 

16 E-VERIFY BY FARM LABOR 

17 CONTRACTORS 

18 SEC. 201. AMENDMENTS TO THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION 

19 REFORM AND IMMIGRANT RESPONSIBILITY 

20 ACT. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 401(e) of the Illegal Im22 migration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 

23 1996 (division C of Public Law 104–208; 8 U.S.C. 1324a 

24 note) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 

2 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(2) FARM LABOR CONTRACTORS.—Beginning 

6 on the date that is 6 months after the date of enact7 ment of the Agricultural Labor Market Reform Act 

8 of 2011, any farm labor contractor (as defined in 

9 section 3 of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural 

10 Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C.)) that hires work11 ers for agricultural employment (as defined in sec12 tion 2(1) of such Act) shall participate in the E13 Verify program to confirm the employment eligibility 

14 of all newly hired workers.’’. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 subsection (a) shall take effect on the first day of the sev17 enth month that begins after the enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 202. AMENDMENTS TO THE MIGRANT AND SEASONAL 

19 AGRICULTURAL WORKER PROTECTION ACT. 

20 (a) The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker 

21 Protection Act (Public Law 97–470) is amended by insert22 ing after section 105 (29 U.S.C. 1815) the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 106. PROHIBITION AGAINST EMPLOYING ILLEGAL 

2 ALIENS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No farm labor contractor shall 

4 hire any individual who is an alien not lawfully admitted 

5 for permanent residence or who has not been otherwise 

6 authorized by the Secretary of Homeland Security to ac7 cept employment. 

8 ‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE.—A farm labor contractor shall be 

9 considered to comply with subsection (a) if the farm labor 

10 contractor demonstrates that the farm labor contractor 

11 utilized the E-Verify program to confirm the employment 

12 eligibility of all workers hired beginning on the date that 

13 is 6 months after the date of enactment of the Agricultural 

14 Labor Market Reform Act of 2011. 

15 ‘‘(c) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any migrant or 

16 seasonal farmworker (including prospective employees) 

17 who has been discriminated against or otherwise aggrieved 

18 by a violation of this section may file suit pursuant to sec19 tion 504.’’. 

20 (b) The amendments made in subsection (a) shall 

21 apply to the hiring of an individual occurring on or after 

22 the first day of the seventh month beginning after the date 

23 of enactment. 


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1 TITLE III—LABOR MARKET 

2 REFORMS 

3 SEC. 301. TRUST FUND FOR AGRICULTURAL LABOR MAR4 KET REFORM. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

6 by regulation a trust fund the purpose of which is to pro7 vide funds for enhanced enforcement of labor standards 

8 in agricultural employment, for research and promotion 

9 of better labor management practices in agriculture and 

10 other measures which will increase worker productivity 

11 and reduce underemployment among farm workers. 

12 (b) PAYMENT OF FINES INTO TRUST FUND.—All 

13 fines received by the Secretary pursuant to sections 101(g) 

14 and 103(a)(5) shall be paid into the trust fund established 

15 by this subsection. 

16 (c) DISPOSITION.—The amount in the trust fund 

17 shall be divided equally between the Departments of Labor 

18 and Agriculture on an annual basis for the uses set forth 

19 in section 302. 

20 SEC. 302. EXPENDITURES FROM TRUST FUND. 

21 The monies allocated to the Department of Labor 

22 and Department of Agriculture under subsection 301(c) 

23 shall be expended as follows: 

24 (1) DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.—The Department 

25 of Labor shall expend all monies allocated to it 


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1 under subsection 301(c) for enforcement of the Mi2 grant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection 

3 Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Occupa4 tional Health and Safety Act in agricultural employ5 ment including outreach to farm workers, labor or6 ganizations, faith-based and community organiza7 tions serving farm workers. 

8 (2) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.—The De9 partment of Agriculture shall expend all monies allo10 cated to it under subsection 301(c) for research and 

11 promotion of labor-saving technology and labor man12 agement practices in agriculture including ways to 

13 enhance worker productivity, better retain workers, 

14 and more efficiently utilize the existing work force 

15 by reducing farmworker underemployment. 

16 (3) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Secretaries of 

17 Agriculture and Labor shall jointly establish an advi18 sory committee composed of an equal number of 

19 farm worker representatives appointed by the Sec20 retary of Labor and employer representatives ap21 pointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to advise the 

22 Secretary of Agriculture with respect to expenditures 

23 under paragraph (2). 


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1 TITLE IV—EQUAL TREATMENT 

2 OF U.S. AND GUEST WORKERS 

3 UNDER THE H–2A PROGRAM 

4 SEC. 401. AMENDMENTS TO THE MIGRANT AND SEASONAL 

5 AGRICULTURAL PROTECTION ACT. 

6 (a) Section 3 of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricul7 tural Worker Protection Act (Public Law 97–470) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (8), by amending subpara10 graph (B) to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(B) The term ‘migrant agricultural work12 er’ does not include any immediate family mem13 ber of an agricultural employer or farm labor 

14 contractor.’’; and 

15 (2) in paragraph (10), by amending subpara16 graph (B) to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(B) The term ‘seasonal agricultural work18 er’ does not include— 

19 ‘‘(i) any migrant agricultural worker; 

20 or 

21 ‘‘(ii) any immediate family member of 

22 an agricultural employer or farm labor 

23 contractor.’’. 

24 (b) The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 

25 apply to the employment, recruitment, referral, or utilizaVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:04 Sep 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3017.IH H3017

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1 tion of an individual occurring on or after the first day 

2 of the seventh month beginning after the date of enact3 ment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 402. AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE 

5 CODE. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Internal Revenue Code of 

7 1986 is amended by striking sections 3121(b)(1) and 

8 3306(c)(B)(1)(B). 

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

10 subsection (a) shall take effect beginning on the first Jan11 uary 1st that occurs after the date of the enactment of 

12 this Act. 

Æ 


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