I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1909 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the adjustment 
of status of essential workers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 16, 2021 
Mr. CASTRO of Texas (for himself, Mr. LIEU, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. BARRAGA´N, 
Mr. VELA, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. 
BLUMENAUER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. TORRES of New York, Ms. NOR-
TON, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. CORREA, Mr. SOTO, Mr. JOHN-
SON of Georgia, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. MENG, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, 
Mr. KHANNA, Mr. RUSH, Mr. JONES, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. BROWN, Mr. 
CARBAJAL, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. JACOBS of California, Ms. LEE of Cali-
fornia, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. 
GREEN of Texas, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Ms. 
LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. 
ESCOBAR, Ms. NEWMAN, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. DEGETTE, Mrs. 
BEATTY, Ms. DEAN, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. 
SA´NCHEZ, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. CHU, and Mr. 
SUOZZI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide 
for the adjustment of status of essential workers, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Citizenship for Essen-
tial Workers Act’’. 
SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS OF ESSENTIAL WORKERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title II of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255 et seq.) is 
amended by inserting after section 245A, the following: 
‘‘SEC. 245B. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR ESSENTIAL 
WORKERS. 
‘‘(a) ADJUSTMENT
OF
STATUS
FOR
ESSENTIAL 
WORKERS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
the Secretary of Homeland Security (referred to in this 
section as the ‘Secretary’) or the Attorney General shall 
adjust to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for per-
manent residence— 
‘‘(1) an alien who— 
‘‘(A) satisfies the eligibility requirements 
set forth in subsection (b); and 
‘‘(B) submits an application and satisfies 
the criminal and national security background 
checks and payment of applicable fees pursuant 
to the procedures set forth in subsection (d); 
and 
‘‘(2) the parents, spouse, sons, and daughters 
of such alien. 
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‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—An alien applying for status 
under subsection (a) shall satisfy the following require-
ments: 
‘‘(1) ALIENS WORKING IN CERTAIN SECTORS, 
INDUSTRIES, AND
OCCUPATIONS.—Except as pro-
vided in paragraph (2), the alien shall have, at any 
point during the period described in subsection (i), 
earned income for work in any of the following pri-
vate, public, or nonprofit sectors, industries, or occu-
pations: 
‘‘(A) Health care. 
‘‘(B) Emergency response. 
‘‘(C) Sanitation. 
‘‘(D) Restaurant ownership, food prepara-
tion, vending, catering, food packaging, food 
services, or delivery. 
‘‘(E) Hotel or retail. 
‘‘(F) Fish, poultry, and meat processing 
work. 
‘‘(G) Agricultural work, including labor 
that is seasonal in nature. 
‘‘(H) Commercial or residential land-
scaping. 
‘‘(I) Commercial or residential construction 
or renovation. 
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‘‘(J) Housing, residential, and commercial 
construction related activities or public works 
construction. 
‘‘(K) Domestic work in private households, 
including child care, home care, or house clean-
ing. 
‘‘(L) Natural disaster recovery, disaster re-
construction, and related construction. 
‘‘(M) Home and community-based work, 
including— 
‘‘(i) home health care; 
‘‘(ii) residential care; 
‘‘(iii) assistance with activities of daily 
living; 
‘‘(iv) any service provided by direct 
care workers (as defined in section 799B 
of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 295p)), personal care aides, job 
coaches, or supported employment pro-
viders; and 
‘‘(v) any other provision of care to in-
dividuals in their homes by direct service 
providers, personal care attendants, and 
home health aides. 
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