Title: Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act of 2019
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act of 2019
This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to provide employment authorization for eligible asylum applicants. Currently, such individuals are not entitled to employment authorization but may be granted such by the Department of Justice.
Such employment authorization shall last for one year and be renewable for one-year terms during the period necessary to adjudicate the applicant's asylum claim.
The bill also shortens the waiting period for receiving employment authorization to 30 days from the filing of the asylum application.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2813 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2813

 To permit aliens seeking asylum to be eligible for employment in the 
                 United States and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 16, 2019

Ms. Pingree (for herself, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Omar, Mr. McGovern, and Ms. 
Ocasio-Cortez) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To permit aliens seeking asylum to be eligible for employment in the 
                 United States and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act 
of 2019''.

SEC. 2. EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION FOR ALIENS SEEKING ASYLUM.

    Paragraph (2) of section 208(d) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(d)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(2) Employment authorization.--
                    ``(A) Eligibility.--The Secretary of Homeland 
                Security shall authorize employment for an applicant 
                for asylum who is not in detention and whose 
                application for asylum has not been determined 
                frivolous.
                    ``(B) Application.--An applicant for asylum who is 
                not otherwise eligible for employment authorization 
                shall not be granted such authorization prior to 30 
                days after the date of filing of the application for 
                asylum.
                    ``(C) Term.--Employment authorization for an 
                applicant for asylum--
                            ``(i) shall be for a period of 1 year; and
                            ``(ii) shall be renewable for additional 1-
                        year periods for the entire continuous period 
                        necessary to adjudicate the applicant's asylum 
                        claim, including administrative or judicial 
                        review.''.
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