SEC. 2. NONIMMIGRANT CLASSIFICATION FOR H–2C NON-
IMMIGRANTS. 
Section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)) is amended 
by inserting ‘‘(c) who is coming temporarily to the United 
States to perform services or labor for a registered non- 
agricultural employer in a registered position (as those 
terms are defined in section 219A(a)) in accordance with 
the requirements under section 219A; or’’ before ‘‘(iii) 
have a residence’’. 
SEC. 3. ADMISSION OF H–2C NONIMMIGRANT WORKERS. 
(a) ADMISSION
OF H–2C NONIMMIGRANT WORK-
ERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of title II of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1181 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 219A. ADMISSION OF H–2C NONIMMIGRANT WORK-
ERS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) DEPARTMENT.—Except as otherwise spe-
cifically provided, the term ‘Department’ means the 
Department of Homeland Security. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE OCCUPATION.—The term ‘eligi-
ble occupation’ means an eligible occupation de-
scribed in subsection (e)(3). 
‘‘(3) EMPLOYER.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘employer’ 
means any person or operational unit of a for- 
profit or nonprofit entity that is operating inde-
pendently in a county or metropolitan statistical 
area and who hires an individual for employ-
ment in the United States. 
‘‘(B) 
TREATMENT
OF
SINGLE
EM-
PLOYER.—For purposes of determining the 
number of employees or United States workers 
employed by an employer, a single entity shall 
be treated as 1 employer. 
‘‘(4) ENDURING JOB OPENING.—The term ‘en-
during job opening’ refers to a job opening that— 
‘‘(A) remains unfilled on the first day of 
the month for 3 consecutive months; or 
‘‘(B) is unfilled for more than 60 days in 
a period of 90 consecutive days. 
‘‘(5) FULL EMPLOYMENT AREA.—The term ‘full 
employment area’ refers to any county or metropoli-
tan statistical area where the unemployment rate 
during the fiscal quarter during which an application 
is submitted by an employer is equal to or less than 
4.9 percent. 
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‘‘(6) H–2C NONIMMIGRANT.—The term ‘H–2C 
nonimmigrant’ means an alien admitted as a non-
immigrant pursuant to section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(c). 
‘‘(7) H–2C NONIMMIGRANT STATUS.—The term 
‘H–2C nonimmigrant status’ means status granted 
to an alien admitted as a nonimmigrant pursuant to 
section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(c). 
‘‘(8) INITIAL H–2C NONIMMIGRANT.—The term 
‘initial H–2C nonimmigrant’ means an alien— 
‘‘(A) issued an H–2C-nonimmigrant visa 
by the Secretary of State authorizing the ad-
mission of that alien to the United States for 
the first time as an H–2C nonimmigrant; and 
‘‘(B) does not include an alien on or after 
the date the alien commences employment in 
H–2C nonimmigrant status with a registered 
employer in a registered position. 
‘‘(9) LAY OFF.—The term ‘lay off’— 
‘‘(A) means to cause a worker to lose em-
ployment, other than through a discharge for 
inadequate performance, violation of workplace 
rules, cause, voluntary departure, voluntary re-
tirement, or the expiration of a grant or con-
tract; and 
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‘‘(B) does not include any situation in 
which the worker is offered and refused to ac-
cept, as an alternative to such loss of employ-
ment, a similar employment opportunity with 
the same employer at equivalent or higher com-
pensation and benefits than the position from 
which the employee was discharged. 
‘‘(10) METROPOLITAN
STATISTICAL
AREA.— 
The term ‘metropolitan statistical area’ means a ge-
ographic area designated as a metropolitan statis-
tical area by the Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget. 
‘‘(11) REGISTERED
EMPLOYER.—The term 
‘registered employer’ means an operational business 
unit of a nonagricultural employer that is operating 
independently in a full employment area and is des-
ignated by the Secretary as a registered employer 
under subsection (d). 
‘‘(12) REGISTERED POSITION.—The term ‘reg-
istered position’ means a position designated as a 
registered position under subsection (e). 
‘‘(13) 
SCARCITY
RECRUITMENT
FEE.—The 
term ‘scarcity recruitment fee’ refers to a payment 
equal to 5 percent of an H–2C immigrant’s esti-
mated annual compensation that a registered em-
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ployer remits to the Secretary as part of the employ-
er’s application for a registered position in order to 
demonstrate said employer’s inability to recruit a 
United States worker for the position. 
‘‘(14) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise spe-
cifically provided, the term ‘Secretary’ means the 
Secretary of Homeland Security. 
‘‘(15) SINGLE ENTITY.—The term ‘single enti-
ty’ means any group treated as a single employer 
under subsection (b), (c), (m), or (o) of section 414 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
‘‘(16) SMALL BUSINESS.—The term ‘small busi-
ness’ means an employer that employs 50 or fewer 
full-time equivalent employees. 
‘‘(17) UNITED
STATES
WORKER.—The term 
‘United States worker’ means an individual who is— 
‘‘(A) lawfully employed or seeking employ-
ment in the United States; and 
‘‘(B)(i) a national of the United States; 
‘‘(ii) an alien lawfully admitted for perma-
nent residence; or 
‘‘(iii) any other alien authorized to work in 
the United States with no limitation as to the 
alien’s employer. 
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‘‘(18) ZONE 1 OCCUPATION.—The term ‘zone 1 
occupation’ means an occupation that requires little 
or no preparation and is classified as a zone 1 occu-
pation on— 
‘‘(A) the Occupational Information Net-
work Database (O*NET) on the date of the en-
actment of this section; or 
‘‘(B) such Database or a similar successor 
database, as designated by the Secretary of 
Labor, after the date of the enactment of this 
section. 
‘‘(19) ZONE 2 OCCUPATION.—The term ‘zone 2 
occupation’ means an occupation that requires some 
preparation and is classified as a zone 2 occupation 
on— 
‘‘(A) the Occupational Information Net-
work Database (O*NET) on the date of the en-
actment of this section; or 
‘‘(B) such Database or a similar successor 
database, as designated by the Secretary of 
Labor, after the date of the enactment of this 
section. 
‘‘(20) ZONE 3 OCCUPATION.—The term ‘zone 3 
occupation’ means an occupation that requires me-
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dium preparation and is classified as a zone 3 occu-
pation on— 
‘‘(A) the Occupational Information Net-
work Database (O*NET) on the date of the en-
actment of this section; or 
‘‘(B) such Database or a similar successor 
database, as designated by the Secretary of 
Labor, after the date of the enactment of this 
section. 
‘‘(b) ADMISSION INTO THE UNITED STATES.—An 
alien is eligible to be admitted as an H–2C nonimmigrant 
if the alien— 
‘‘(1) has received an offer of employment from 
a registered employer; and 
‘‘(2) otherwise meets the requirements of this 
section. 
‘‘(c) H–2C NONIMMIGRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—An alien seeking to be an 
H–2C nonimmigrant shall submit an application to 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) ATTESTATION.—Each application sub-
mitted under paragraph (1) for an alien shall in-
clude an attestation as follows: 
‘‘(A) That the H–2C nonimmigrant will re-
port to such nonimmigrant’s initial employment 
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in a registered position not later than 14 days 
after such nonimmigrant is admitted. 
‘‘(B) That the H–2C nonimmigrant will 
accept only registered positions and abide by all 
terms and conditions of H–2C nonimmigrant 
status. 
‘‘(C) That the H–2C nonimmigrant will 
not bring a family member to the United States 
in violation of any provision of this Act. 
‘‘(3) APPLICATION
REVIEW.—The Secretary 
shall adjudicate an application submitted under 
paragraph (1) not later than 45 days after the re-
ceipt of such application. 
‘‘(4) FEES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each application sub-
mitted under paragraph (1) shall include a fee 
in the amount determined by the Secretary ad-
judicating such application to be necessary to 
cover the cost of adjudicating the application 
within 45 days. 
‘‘(B) PREMIUM
PROCESSING.—The Sec-
retary and the Secretary of State shall create 
an expedited process to review an application 
submitted under paragraph (1) for an addi-
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tional fee, in an amount determined by such 
Secretaries. 
‘‘(5) ELIGIBILITY
FOR
H–2C
NONIMMIGRANT 
STATUS.—No alien may be admitted as an H–2C 
nonimmigrant if the alien— 
‘‘(A) is inadmissible under this Act; 
‘‘(B) fails to pass a criminal background 
check or a national security background check; 
‘‘(C) is from a country determined by the 
Secretary of State to have repeatedly provided 
support for acts of international terrorism pur-
suant to— 
‘‘(i) section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export 
Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 
App. 2405(j)(1)(A)) (or successor statute); 
‘‘(ii) section 40(d) of the Arms Export 
Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2780(d)); or 
‘‘(iii) section 620A(a) of the Foreign 
Assistance 
Act 
of 
1961 
(22 
U.S.C. 
2371(a)); or 
‘‘(D) has not received an offer of employ-
ment from a registered employer in a registered 
position. 
‘‘(6) EMPLOYMENT.— 
‘‘(A) INITIAL EMPLOYMENT.— 
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‘‘(i) REPORTING TO EMPLOYMENT.— 
An initial H–2C nonimmigrant shall report 
to such nonimmigrant’s initial employment 
in a registered position not later than 14 
days after such nonimmigrant is admitted 
to the United States. 
‘‘(ii) 
REPORTING
TO
THE
SEC-
RETARY.—An initial H–2C nonimmigrant 
shall maintain contact with the Secretary 
after such H–2C nonimmigrant is admit-
ted to the United States but before report-
ing to the initial employment at an interval 
that is determined by the Secretary, but 
not less than every 7 days. 
‘‘(B) PERIODS
OF
UNEMPLOYMENT.—An 
H–2C nonimmigrant— 
‘‘(i) may be unemployed for a period 
of not more than 45 consecutive days of 
presence in the United States; and 
‘‘(ii) shall depart the United States if 
such H–2C nonimmigrant is unable to ob-
tain employment during such period. 
‘‘(7) INITIAL
PERIOD
OF
AUTHORIZED
PRES-
ENCE.—An H–2C nonimmigrant may be physically 
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present in the United States for an initial period of 
not more than a total of 36 months. 
‘‘(8) RENEWAL.—An H–2C nonimmigrant may 
renew his or her H–2C nonimmigrant status for not 
more than 2 additional consecutive periods of au-
thorized presence. 
‘‘(9) TRAVEL.—An H–2C nonimmigrant may 
travel outside the United States and be readmitted 
to the United States. 
‘‘(10) PENALTIES.—If an H–2C nonimmigrant 
fails to comply with any other term or condition of 
H–2C nonimmigrant status or remains in the 
United States for 10 days after the date of the expi-
ration of his or her period of authorized presence 
without status under the immigration laws, then the 
Secretary shall mandatorily— 
‘‘(A) subject such nonimmigrant to the 
revocation of employment authorization; and 
‘‘(B) initiate and pursue removal under 
section 237(a)(1)(C)(i). 
‘‘(d) REGISTERED EMPLOYER.— 
‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—An employer seeking to be 
a registered employer may submit an application to 
the Secretary. Each such application shall include 
the following: 
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‘‘(A) Documentation to establish that the 
employer is a bona fide employer operating in 
a full employment area. 
‘‘(B) Evidence that the employer is current 
in payment of payroll taxes. 
‘‘(C) The employer’s Federal tax identifica-
tion number or employer identification number 
issued by the Internal Revenue Service. 
‘‘(D) The number of H–2C nonimmigrants 
the employer estimates the employer will seek 
to employ annually. 
‘‘(2) REFERRAL FOR FRAUD INVESTIGATION.— 
The Secretary may refer an application submitted 
under paragraph (1) or subsection (e)(1)(A) to the 
Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate 
of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for po-
tential investigation if there is evidence of fraud par-
ticular to such application. 
‘‘(3) INELIGIBLE EMPLOYERS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 
other applicable penalties under law, the Sec-
retary shall deny an employer’s application to 
be a registered employer if the Secretary deter-
mines, after notice and an opportunity for a 
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