ties and an opportunity for a hearing on the complaint
within 60 days of the date of the determination.
‘‘(iv) If the Secretary of Labor finds, after notice and
opportunity for a hearing, that a facility (for which an at-
testation is made) has failed to meet a condition attested
to or that there was a misrepresentation of material fact
in the attestation, the Secretary shall notify the Attorney
General of such finding and may, in addition, impose such
other administrative remedies (including civil monetary
penalties in an amount not to exceed $1,000 per nurse per
violation, with the total penalty not to exceed $10,000 per
violation) as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
Upon receipt of such notice, the Attorney General shall not
approve petitions filed with respect to a facility during a
period of at least one year for nurses to be employed by
the facility.
‘‘(v) In addition to the sanctions provided for under
clause (iv), if the Secretary of Labor finds, after notice and
an opportunity for a hearing, that a facility has violated
the condition attested to under subparagraph (A)(iii) (re-
lating to payment of registered nurses at the prevailing
wage rate), the Secretary shall order the facility to provide
for payment of such amounts of back pay as may be re-
quired to comply with such condition.
‘‘(F)(i) The Secretary of Labor shall impose on a facil-
ity filing an attestation under subparagraph (A) a filing
fee, in an amount prescribed by the Secretary based on the
costs of carrying out the Secretary’s duties under this sub-
section, but not exceeding $250.
‘‘(ii) Fees collected under this subparagraph shall be
deposited in a fund established for this purpose in the
Treasury of the United States.
‘‘(iii) The collected fees in the fund shall be available
to the Secretary of Labor, to the extent and in such amounts
as may be provided in appropriations Acts, to cover the
costs described in clause (i), in addition to any other funds
that are available to the Secretary to cover such costs.
‘‘(3) The period of admission of an alien under section
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(c) shall be 3 years.
‘‘(4) The total number of nonimmigrant visas issued
pursuant 
to 
petitions 
granted 
under 
section
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(c) in each fiscal year shall not exceed 500.
The 
number 
of 
petitions 
granted 
under 
section
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(c) for each State in each fiscal year shall
not exceed the following:
‘‘(A) For States with populations of less than
10,000,000, based upon the 1990 decennial census of
population, 25 petitions.
‘‘(B) For States with populations of 10,000,000
or more, based upon the 1990 decennial census of
population, 50 petitions.
‘‘(5) A facility that has filed a petition under section
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(c) to employ a nonimmigrant to perform
nursing services for the facility—
‘‘(A) shall provide the nonimmigrant a wage
rate and working conditions commensurate with those
of nurses similarly employed by the facility;
‘‘(B) shall require the nonimmigrant to work
hours commensurate with those of nurses similarly
employed by the facility; and
‘‘(C) shall not interfere with the right of the non-
immigrant to join or organize a union.
‘‘(6) For purposes of this subsection and section
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(c), the term ‘facility’ means a subsection
(d) hospital (as defined in section 1886(d)(1)(B) of the So-
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(1)(B))) that meets
the following requirements:
‘‘(A) As of March 31, 1997, the hospital was lo-
cated in a health professional shortage area (as de-
fined in section 332 of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 254e)).
‘‘(B) Based on its settled cost report filed under
title XVIII of the Social Security Act for its cost re-
porting period beginning during fiscal year 1994—
‘‘(i) the hospital has not less than 190 li-
censed acute care beds;
‘‘(ii) the number of the hospital’s inpatient
days for such period which were made up of pa-
tients who (for such days) were entitled to bene-
fits under part A of such title is not less than
35 percent of the total number of such hospital’s
acute care inpatient days for such period; and
‘‘(iii) the number of the hospital’s inpatient
days for such period which were made up of pa-
tients who (for such days) were eligible for medi-
cal assistance under a State plan approved
under title XIX of the Social Security Act, is not
less than 28 percent of the total number of such
hospital’s acute care inpatient days for such pe-
riod.’’.
(c) REPEALER.—Clause (i) of section 101(a)(15)(H) of
the 
Immigration 
and 
Nationality 
Act 
(8 
U.S.C.
1101(a)(15)(H)(i)) is amended by striking subclause (a).
(d) IMPLEMENTATION.— Not later than 90 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor
(in consultation, to the extent required, with the Secretary
of Health and Human Services) and the Attorney General
shall promulgate final or interim final regulations to carry
out section 212(m) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(as amended by subsection (b)).
(e) 
LIMITING
APPLICATION
OF
NONIMMIGRANT
CHANGES TO 4-YEAR PERIOD.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to classification petitions filed for
nonimmigrant status only during the 4-year period begin-
ning on the date that interim or final regulation are first
promulgated under subsection (d).
SEC. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ALTERNATIVE REMEDY
FOR NURSING SHORTAGE.
Not later than the last day of the 4-year period de-
scribed in section 2(e), the Secretary of Health and Human
Services and the Secretary of Labor shall jointly submit to
the Congress recommendations (including legislative speci-
fications) with respect to the following:
(1) A program to eliminate the dependence of fa-
cilities described in section 212(m)(6) of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (as amended by section
2(b)) on nonimmigrant registered nurses by providing
for a permanent solution to the shortage of registered
nurses who are United States citizens or aliens law-
fully admitted for permanent residence.
(2) A method of enforcing the requirements im-
posed on facilities under sections 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(c)
and 212(m) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(as amended by section 2) that would be more effec-
tive 
than 
the 
process 
described 
in 
section
212(m)(2)(E) of such Act (as so amended).
SEC. 4. EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN NURSES AND PHYSICAL
THERAPISTS FROM CERTIFICATION REQUIRE-
MENTS FOR FOREIGN HEALTH-CARE WORK-
ERS.
Section 212(a)(5)(C) of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)(C)) is amended in the mat-
ter preceding clause (i) by striking ‘‘physician,’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘physician or an alien who has a full and unrestricted
license as a nurse or physical therapist in the State of in-
tended employment,’’.
Union Calendar No. 376
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2759
[Report No. 105–668]
A BILL
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act
with respect to the requirements for the admis-
sion of nonimmigrant nurses who will practice in
health professional shortage areas.
AUGUST 3, 1998
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commit-
tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
ordered to be printed