Paperwork Reduction for Farmers and H–2A Modernization Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 206 To streamline the application process for H–2A employers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 5, 2021 Mr. KELLY of Mississippi introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To streamline the application process for H–2A employers, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction 4 for Farmers and H–2A Modernization Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. H–2A PROGRAM UPDATES. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a)(15)(H) of the Im- 7 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)) 8 is amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H206.IH H206 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 2 HR 206 IH (1) by striking ‘‘an alien (i)(b) subject to’’ and 1 inserting the following: ‘‘an alien— 2 ‘‘(i)(b) subject to’’; 3 (2) by striking ‘‘or (ii)(a)’’ and all that follows 4 through ‘‘seasonal nature,’’ and inserting the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘(ii)(a) who has a residence in a foreign 7 country that the alien has no intention of aban- 8 doning and is coming temporarily to the United 9 States to perform agricultural labor or services 10 (as defined by the Secretary of Labor, by regu- 11 lation), of a temporary or seasonal nature, in- 12 cluding agricultural labor (as defined in section 13 3121(g) of the Internal Revenue Act of 1986), 14 agriculture (as defined in section 3(f) of the 15 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 16 203(f))), the pressing of apples for cider on a 17 farm, fish cutting and trimming, including 18 labor or services relating to landscaping and 19 groundskeeping, forestry- and conservation-re- 20 lated services, services relating primarily to the 21 cultivation, installation, and establishment of 22 horticultural commodities (without regard to 23 commodity source or location), labor as a year- 24 round equine worker, labor as a year-round live- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H206.IH H206 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 3 HR 206 IH stock worker (including as a dairy, cattle, or 1 poultry worker), labor in aquaculture, and the 2 processing of wild seafood, and all other labor 3 that falls within Standard Occupational Classi- 4 fication Code 37–3000 (Grounds Maintenance 5 Workers), 45–0000 (Farming, Fishing, and 6 Forestry Occupations), or 45–4000 (Forest, 7 Conservation, and Logging Workers);’’; and 8 (3) by striking ‘‘(iii) having a residence in a 9 foreign country which he has no intention of aban- 10 doning who’’ and inserting the following: 11 ‘‘(iii) who has a residence in a foreign 12 country that the alien has no intention of aban- 13 doning and’’. 14 (b) JOINT APPLICATION; DEFICIENCY REMEDY.— 15 Section 214(c)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 16 (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(1)) is amended— 17 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(1)’’; and 18 (2) by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(B) Multiple employers may submit a joint petition 20 under subparagraph (A) to import aliens as non- 21 immigrants described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a). 22 Upon the approval of such petition, each joint employer 23 shall be subject to the provisions under section 218 with 24 respect to each alien listed in such petition. If any indi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H206.IH H206 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 4 HR 206 IH vidual party to such a joint contract violates any condition 1 for approval with respect to the application or provisions 2 under section 218 with respect to each alien listed in such 3 petition, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, the 4 contract may be modified to remove the party in violation 5 from the contract at no penalty to the remaining parties. 6 ‘‘(C) If a petition to import aliens as nonimmigrants 7 described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) is denied or if 8 the issuance of visas requested through such petition is 9 delayed due to a problem with the petition, the Director 10 of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shall 11 promptly notify the petitioner of the reasons for such de- 12 nial or delay and provide the petitioner with reasonable 13 time to remedy the problem.’’. 14 (c) LABOR CERTIFICATION; STAGGERED EMPLOY- 15 MENT DATES.—Section 218(h) of the Immigration and 16 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(h)), as amended by sec- 17 tion 3(b), is further amended by adding at the end the 18 following: 19 ‘‘(4) An employer that is seeking to rehire aliens as 20 H–2A workers who previously worked for the employer as 21 H–2A workers may submit a simplified petition, to be de- 22 veloped by the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigra- 23 tion Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, 24 which shall include a certification that the employer main- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H206.IH H206 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 5 HR 206 IH tains compliance with all applicable requirements with re- 1 spect to the employment of such aliens. Such petitions 2 shall be approved upon completion of applicable security 3 screenings. 4 ‘‘(5) An employer that is seeking to hire aliens as 5 H–2A workers during different time periods in a given fis- 6 cal year may submit a single petition to U.S. Citizenship 7 and Immigration Services that details the time period dur- 8 ing which each such alien is expected to be employed. 9 ‘‘(6) Upon receiving notification from an employer 10 that the employer’s H–2A worker has prematurely aban- 11 doned employment or has failed to appear for employment 12 and such employer wishes to replace such worker— 13 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of State shall promptly issue 14 a visa under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) to an eligi- 15 ble alien designated by the employer to replace that 16 worker; and 17 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 18 promptly admit such alien into the United States 19 upon completion of applicable security screenings.’’. 20 SEC. 3. ELECTRONIC FILING AND APPEALS SYSTEM FOR H– 21 2A PETITIONS. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 23 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor 24 shall establish a process for filing petitions for non- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H206.IH H206 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 6 HR 206 IH immigrant visas under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the 1 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 2 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)) that ensures that— 3 (1) petitioners may file such petitions through 4 the Department of Labor’s website; 5 (2) any software developed to process such peti- 6 tions indicates to the petitioner any technical defi- 7 ciency in the application before submission; and 8 (3) any petitioner may file such petition in a 9 paper format if such petitioner prefers such format. 10 (b) REQUEST FOR EVIDENCE.—Section 218(h) of the 11 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(h)) is 12 amended by adding at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(3) If U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 14 issues a Request for Evidence to an employer— 15 ‘‘(A) the employer may request such Request 16 for Evidence to be delivered in an online format; and 17 ‘‘(B) if the employer makes the request de- 18 scribed in subparagraph (A)— 19 ‘‘(i) the Request for Evidence shall be pro- 20 vided to the employer in an online format; and 21 ‘‘(ii) not later than 10 business days after 22 the employer submits the requested evidence 23 online, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Serv- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H206.IH H206 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 7 HR 206 IH ices shall provide an online response to the em- 1 ployer— 2 ‘‘(I) indicating that the submitted evi- 3 dence is sufficient; or 4 ‘‘(II) explaining the reasons that such 5 evidence is not sufficient and providing the 6 employer with an opportunity to address 7 any such deficiency.’’. 8 SEC. 4. SAFE HARBOR FROM PENALTIES FOR DOCUMENT 9 FRAUD. 10 Section 274C of the Immigration and Nationality Act 11 (8 U.S.C. 1324c) is amended— 12 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub- 13 section (g) and moving such subsection so that it ap- 14 pears immediately following subsection (f); and 15 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol- 16 lowing: 17 ‘‘(c) SAFE HARBOR.—Any employer who uses a 18 third-party preparer to file an application for non- 19 immigrant visas for workers the employer intends to hire 20 shall not be subject to civil or criminal penalties under 21 this section for errors or omissions on such application if 22 the employer reasonably believed that the application was 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H206.IH H206 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 8 HR 206 IH accurate and in compliance with all applicable statutory 1 requirements.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Feb 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H206.IH H206 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS