Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 641 To improve agricultural job opportunities, benefits, and security for aliens in the United States and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 17, 2019 Ms. LOFGREN (for herself, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. COX of Cali- fornia, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. COHEN, Mr. COSTA, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HARD- ER of California, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. HILL of California, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OMAR, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUSH, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SOTO, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. WELCH, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Mr. YARMUTH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To improve agricultural job opportunities, benefits, and secu- rity for aliens in the United States and for other pur- poses. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H641.IH H641 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 641 IH 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2019’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—PROGRAM FOR EARNED STATUS ADJUSTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL WORKERS Sec. 101. Blue card status. Sec. 102. Adjustment to permanent resident status. Sec. 103. Use of information. Sec. 104. Reports on blue cards. Sec. 105. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE II—CORRECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY RECORDS Sec. 201. Correction of Social Security records. TITLE III—DEFINITIONS Sec. 301. Definitions. TITLE I—PROGRAM FOR 8 EARNED STATUS ADJUST- 9 MENT OF AGRICULTURAL 10 WORKERS 11 SEC. 101. BLUE CARD STATUS. 12 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR BLUE CARD STATUS.—Not- 13 withstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary 14 may grant blue card status to an alien who— 15 (1)(A) has completed qualified work; 16 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H641.IH H641 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 641 IH (B)(i) is the spouse or child of an alien de- 1 scribed in subparagraph (A); 2 (ii) was physically present in the United States 3 on or before the date of the enactment of this Act; 4 and 5 (iii) has maintained continuous presence in the 6 United States from that date until the date on which 7 the alien is granted blue card status; or 8 (C) is, or has been, a nonimmigrant alien ad- 9 mitted to the United States for agricultural employ- 10 ment described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of 11 such Act who has completed qualified work; 12 (2) is not ineligible under subsection (d)(2); 13 (3) submits a completed application before the 14 end of the period set forth in subsection (b)(3); 15 (4) passes the national security and law en- 16 forcement clearances required under subsection 17 (d)(1) to the satisfactory of the Secretary; and 18 (5) pays the required processing fees and pen- 19 alties in accordance with subsection (e). 20 (b) APPLICATION.— 21 (1) SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS.—An alien de- 22 scribed in subsection (a)(1) who is seeking blue card 23 status shall submit an application— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H641.IH H641 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 641 IH (A) to the Secretary, with the assistance of 1 an attorney or a nonprofit religious, charitable, 2 social service, or similar organization recognized 3 by the Board of Immigration Appeals under 4 section 292.2 of title 8, Code of Federal Regu- 5 lations; or 6 (B) to a qualified entity if the applicant 7 consents to the forwarding of the application to 8 the Secretary. 9 (2) EVIDENCE OF APPLICATION FILING.—As 10 soon as practicable after receiving each application 11 for blue card status under paragraph (1), the Sec- 12 retary shall provide the applicant with a document 13 acknowledging the receipt of such application. 14 (3) APPLICATION PERIOD.— 15 (A) INITIAL PERIOD.—Except as provided 16 in subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Secretary 17 shall accept applications for blue card status 18 from aliens in the United States during the 18- 19 month period beginning on the date on which 20 the final rule is published in the Federal Reg- 21 ister pursuant to subsection (j). 22 (B) EXCEPTION.—Aliens described in sub- 23 section (a)(1)(C) may apply for blue card status 24 from outside of the United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H641.IH H641 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 641 IH (C) EXTENSION.—If the Secretary deter- 1 mines, during the initial period described in 2 subparagraph (A), that additional time is re- 3 quired to process applications for blue card sta- 4 tus or for other good cause, the Secretary may 5 extend the period for accepting applications for 6 an additional 18 months. 7 (4) APPLICATION.— 8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The application form 9 referred to in paragraph (1) shall collect such 10 information as the Secretary determines nec- 11 essary and appropriate. 12 (B) FAMILY APPLICATION.—The Secretary 13 shall establish a process through which an alien 14 may submit a single application under this sec- 15 tion on behalf of the alien and his or her spouse 16 and children who meet the requirements set 17 forth in subsection (a)(1)(B). 18 (5) ADJUDICATION.— 19 (A) INTERVIEW.—The Secretary may 20 interview applicants for blue card status to de- 21 termine whether they meet the eligibility re- 22 quirements set forth in this section. 23 (B) FAILURE TO SUBMIT SUFFICIENT EVI- 24 DENCE.—The Secretary may deny an applica- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H641.IH H641 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 641 IH tion for blue card status submitted by an alien 1 who fails to submit evidence of the alien’s eligi- 2 bility for such status. 3 (C) NOTICE.—If the Secretary denies an 4 application for blue card status, the Secretary 5 shall— 6 (i) send a written notice to the appli- 7 cant that provides the applicant with the 8 basis for denial; and 9 (ii) provide the alien with an oppor- 10 tunity to cure the denial within a reason- 11 able time. 12 (D) AMENDED APPLICATION.—An alien 13 whose application for blue card status is denied 14 under subparagraph (B) may submit an amend- 15 ed application for such status to the Secretary 16 if the amended application— 17 (i) is submitted within the application 18 period described in paragraph (3); and 19 (ii) contains all the required informa- 20 tion and fees that were missing from the 21 initial application. 22 (E) ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES.—The Sec- 23 retary may utilize the procedures set forth in 24 sections 103.2 and 103.3 of title 8, Code of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H641.IH H641 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 641 IH Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of 1 the enactment of this Act, to adjudicate re- 2 quests for blue card status to the extent such 3 procedures are consistent with the requirements 4 under this section. 5 (6) EVIDENCE OF BLUE CARD STATUS.— 6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 7 issue documentary evidence of blue card status 8 to each alien whose application for such status 9 has been approved. 10 (B) DOCUMENTATION FEATURES.—Docu- 11 mentary evidence provided under subparagraph 12 (A)— 13 (i) shall be machine-readable and tam- 14 per-resistant; 15 (ii) shall contain a digitized photo- 16 graph; 17 (iii) shall, during the alien’s author- 18 ized period of admission, and any exten- 19 sion of such authorized admission, serve as 20 a valid travel and entry document for the 21 purpose of applying for admission to the 22 United States; 23 (iv) may be accepted during the pe- 24 riod of its validity by an employer as evi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H641.IH H641 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 641 IH dence of employment authorization and 1 identity under section 274A(b)(1)(B) of 2 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 3 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)(B)); and 4 (v) shall include such other features 5 and information as the Secretary may pre- 6 scribe. 7 (c) SPECIAL RULES FOR BLUE CARD APPLICANTS 8 AND ALIENS ELIGIBLE FOR BLUE CARD STATUS.— 9 (1) ALIENS APPREHENDED BEFORE OR DURING 10 THE APPLICATION PERIOD.—If an alien, who is ap- 11 prehended during the period beginning on the date 12 of the enactment of this Act and ending on the last 13 day of the application period described in paragraph 14 (3), appears prima facie eligible for blue card status, 15 the Secretary— 16 (A) shall provide the alien with a reason- 17 able opportunity to submit an application for 18 such status under this section during such ap- 19 plication period; and 20 (B) may not remove the individual until a 21 final administrative determination is made on 22 the application. 23 (2) ALIENS IN REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Not- 24 withstanding any other provision of the Immigration 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H641.IH H641 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 641 IH and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) if an 1 alien is in removal, deportation, or exclusion pro- 2 ceedings during the period beginning on the date of 3 the enactment of this Act and ending on the last day 4 of the application period described in subsection 5 (b)(3) and is prima facie eligible for blue card status 6 under this section, upon motion by the Secretary 7 and with the consent of the alien or upon motion by 8 the alien, the Executive Office for Immigration Re- 9 view shall— 10 (A) terminate such proceedings without 11 prejudice to future proceedings; and 12 (B) permit the alien a reasonable oppor- 13 tunity to apply for such status. 14 (3) TREATMENT OF ALIENS PREVIOUSLY OR- 15 DERED REMOVED.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—If an alien who meets 17 the eligibility requirements set forth in sub- 18 section (a) is present in the United States and 19 has been ordered excluded, deported, or re- 20 moved, or ordered to depart voluntarily from 21 the United States under any provision of the 22 Immigration and Nationality Act— 23 (i) notwithstanding such order or sec- 24 tion 241(a)(5) of the Immigration and Na- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H641.IH H641 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 641 IH tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(a)(5)), the 1 alien may apply for blue card status under 2 this section; and 3 (ii) if the alien is granted such status, 4 the alien may file a motion to reopen the 5 exclusion, deportation, removal, or vol- 6 untary departure order, which motion shall 7 be granted. 8 (B) LIMITATIONS ON MOTIONS TO RE- 9 OPEN.—The limitations on motions to reopen 10 set forth in section 240(c)(7) of the Immigra- 11 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(c)(7)) 12 shall not apply to motions filed under subpara- 13 graph (A)(ii). 14 (4) PERIOD PENDING ADJUDICATION OF APPLI- 15 CATION.—During the period beginning on the date 16 on which an alien applies for blue card status under 17 this section and ending on the date on which the 18 Secretary makes a final decision regarding such ap- 19 plication, the alien— 20 (A) is eligible to apply for advance parole; 21 (B) may not be detained by the Secretary 22 or removed from the United States unless the 23 Secretary makes a prima facie determination 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H641.IH H641 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 641 IH that such alien is, or has become, ineligible for 1 blue card status under subsection (d)(2); 2 (C) shall not be considered unlawfully 3 present under section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Im- 4 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 5 1182(a)(9)(B)); and 6 (D) shall not be considered an unauthor- 7 ized alien (as defined in section 274A(h)(3) of 8 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 9 1324a(h)(3))). 10 (5) EFFECT OF DEPARTURE.—Section 101(g) 11 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 12 1101(g)) shall not apply to an alien granted— 13 (A) advance parole under paragraph (4)(A) 14 to reenter the United States; or 15 (B) blue card status. 16 (6) PROTECTION FROM DETENTION OR RE- 17 MOVAL DURING BLUE CARD STATUS.—An alien 18 granted blue card status under this section may not 19 be detained by the Secretary or removed from the 20 United States unless— 21 (A) the alien is removable under section 22 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 23 U.S.C. 1227); or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Feb 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H641.IH H641 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 641 IH (B) the alien’s blue card status has been 1 revoked. 2 (7) DURATION OF STATUS.—Beginning on the 3 date that is eight years after the date on which reg- 4 ulations are published under subsection (j), no alien 5 may remain in blue card status. 6 (d) REQUIRED BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS AND 7 INELIGIBILITY.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.— 9 (A) BIOMETRIC AND BIOGRAPHIC DATA.— 10 The Secretary may not grant blue card status 11 to an alien or an alien dependent spouse or 12 child under this section unless such alien sub- 13 mits biometric and biographic data in accord- 14 ance with procedures established by the Sec- 15 retary. 16 (B) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURES.—The 17 Secretary shall provide an alternative procedure 18 for applicants who cannot provide the standard 19 biometric data required under subparagraph 20 (A) because of [Text truncated for display. 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