I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4151 To improve agricultural job opportunities, benefits, and security for aliens in the United States and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 2, 2019 Ms. ESHOO 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 provisions 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. 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 ‘‘Undocumented Taxpayers Opportunity 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. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H4151.IH H4151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4151 IH TITLE I—PROGRAM FOR EARNED STATUS ADJUSTMENT OF ALIEN TAXPAYERS Sec. 101. Provisional immigrant status. Sec. 102. Adjustment to permanent resident status. Sec. 103. Use of information. Sec. 104. Reports on provisional immigrants. 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 1 EARNED STATUS ADJUST- 2 MENT OF ALIEN TAXPAYERS 3 SEC. 101. PROVISIONAL IMMIGRANT STATUS. 4 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROVISIONAL IMMIGRANT 5 STATUS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 6 Secretary may grant provisional immigrant status to an 7 alien who— 8 (1)(A) has a tax liability that is greater than $0 9 which has been assessed and paid for each of the 5 10 immediately preceding taxable years; or 11 (B)(i) is the spouse or child of an alien de- 12 scribed in subparagraph (A); 13 (ii) was physically present in the United States 14 on or before the date of the enactment of this Act; 15 and 16 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4151.IH H4151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4151 IH (iii) has maintained continuous presence in the 1 United States from that date until the date on which 2 the alien is granted provisional immigrant status; 3 (2) is not ineligible under subsection (d)(2); 4 (3) submits a completed application before the 5 end of the period set forth in subsection (b)(3); 6 (4) passes the national security and law en- 7 forcement clearances required under subsection 8 (d)(1) to the satisfactory of the Secretary; and 9 (5) pays the required processing fees and pen- 10 alties in accordance with subsection (e). 11 (b) APPLICATION.— 12 (1) SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS.—An alien de- 13 scribed in subsection (a)(1) who is seeking provi- 14 sional immigrant status shall submit an applica- 15 tion— 16 (A) to the Secretary, with the assistance of 17 an attorney or a nonprofit religious, charitable, 18 social service, or similar organization recognized 19 by the Board of Immigration Appeals under 20 section 292.2 of title 8, Code of Federal Regu- 21 lations; or 22 (B) to a qualified entity if the applicant 23 consents to the forwarding of the application to 24 the Secretary. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4151.IH H4151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4151 IH (2) EVIDENCE OF APPLICATION FILING.—As 1 soon as practicable after receiving each application 2 for provisional immigrant status under paragraph 3 (1), the Secretary shall provide the applicant with a 4 document acknowledging the receipt of such applica- 5 tion. 6 (3) APPLICATION PERIOD.— 7 (A) INITIAL PERIOD.—Except as provided 8 in subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Secretary 9 shall accept applications for provisional immi- 10 grant status from aliens in the United States 11 during the 18-month period beginning on the 12 date on which the final rule is published in the 13 Federal Register pursuant to subsection (j). 14 (B) EXCEPTION.—Aliens described in sub- 15 section (a)(1)(C) may apply for provisional im- 16 migrant status from outside of the United 17 States. 18 (C) EXTENSION.—If the Secretary deter- 19 mines, during the initial period described in 20 subparagraph (A), that additional time is re- 21 quired to process applications for provisional 22 immigrant status or for other good cause, the 23 Secretary may extend the period for accepting 24 applications for an additional 18 months. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4151.IH H4151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4151 IH (4) APPLICATION.— 1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The application form 2 referred to in paragraph (1) shall collect such 3 information as the Secretary determines nec- 4 essary and appropriate. 5 (B) FAMILY APPLICATION.—The Secretary 6 shall establish a process through which an alien 7 may submit a single application under this sec- 8 tion on behalf of the alien and his or her spouse 9 and children who meet the requirements set 10 forth in subsection (a)(1)(B). 11 (5) ADJUDICATION.— 12 (A) INTERVIEW.—The Secretary may 13 interview applicants for provisional immigrant 14 status to determine whether they meet the eligi- 15 bility requirements set forth in this section. 16 (B) FAILURE TO SUBMIT SUFFICIENT EVI- 17 DENCE.—The Secretary may deny an applica- 18 tion for provisional immigrant status submitted 19 by an alien who fails to submit evidence of the 20 alien’s eligibility for such status. 21 (C) NOTICE.—If the Secretary denies an 22 application for provisional immigrant status, 23 the Secretary shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4151.IH H4151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 4151 IH (i) send a written notice to the appli- 1 cant that provides the applicant with the 2 basis for denial; and 3 (ii) provide the alien with an oppor- 4 tunity to cure the denial within a reason- 5 able time. 6 (D) AMENDED APPLICATION.—An alien 7 whose application for provisional immigrant sta- 8 tus is denied under subparagraph (B) may sub- 9 mit an amended application for such status to 10 the Secretary if the amended application— 11 (i) is submitted within the application 12 period described in paragraph (3); and 13 (ii) contains all the required informa- 14 tion and fees that were missing from the 15 initial application. 16 (E) ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES.—The Sec- 17 retary may utilize the procedures set forth in 18 sections 103.2 and 103.3 of title 8, Code of 19 Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of 20 the enactment of this Act, to adjudicate re- 21 quests for provisional immigrant status to the 22 extent such procedures are consistent with the 23 requirements under this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4151.IH H4151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 4151 IH (6) EVIDENCE OF PROVISIONAL IMMIGRANT 1 STATUS.— 2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 3 issue documentary evidence of provisional immi- 4 grant status to each alien whose application for 5 such status has been approved. 6 (B) DOCUMENTATION FEATURES.—Docu- 7 mentary evidence provided under subparagraph 8 (A)— 9 (i) shall be machine-readable and tam- 10 per-resistant; 11 (ii) shall contain a digitized photo- 12 graph; 13 (iii) shall, during the alien’s author- 14 ized period of admission, and any exten- 15 sion of such authorized admission, serve as 16 a valid travel and entry document for the 17 purpose of applying for admission to the 18 United States; 19 (iv) may be accepted during the pe- 20 riod of its validity by an employer as evi- 21 dence of employment authorization and 22 identity under section 274A(b)(1)(B) of 23 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 24 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)(B)); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4151.IH H4151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 4151 IH (v) shall include such other features 1 and information as the Secretary may pre- 2 scribe. 3 (c) SPECIAL RULES FOR PROVISIONAL IMMIGRANT 4 APPLICANTS AND ALIENS ELIGIBLE FOR PROVISIONAL 5 IMMIGRANT STATUS.— 6 (1) ALIENS APPREHENDED BEFORE OR DURING 7 THE APPLICATION PERIOD.—If an alien, who is ap- 8 prehended during the period beginning on the date 9 of the enactment of this Act and ending on the last 10 day of the application period described in paragraph 11 (3), appears prima facie eligible for provisional im- 12 migrant status, the Secretary— 13 (A) shall provide the alien with a reason- 14 able opportunity to submit an application for 15 such status under this section during such ap- 16 plication period; and 17 (B) may not remove the individual until a 18 final administrative determination is made on 19 the application. 20 (2) ALIENS IN REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Not- 21 withstanding any other provision of the Immigration 22 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) if an 23 alien is in removal, deportation, or exclusion pro- 24 ceedings during the period beginning on the date of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4151.IH H4151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 4151 IH the enactment of this Act and ending on the last day 1 of the application period described in subsection 2 (b)(3) and is prima facie eligible for provisional im- 3 migrant status under this section, upon motion by 4 the Secretary and with the consent of the alien or 5 upon motion by the alien, the Executive Office for 6 Immigration Review shall— 7 (A) terminate such proceedings without 8 prejudice to future proceedings; and 9 (B) permit the alien a reasonable oppor- 10 tunity to apply for such status. 11 (3) TREATMENT OF ALIENS PREVIOUSLY OR- 12 DERED REMOVED.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—If an alien who meets 14 the eligibility requirements set forth in sub- 15 section (a) is present in the United States and 16 has been ordered excluded, deported, or re- 17 moved, or ordered to depart voluntarily from 18 the United States under any provision of the 19 Immigration and Nationality Act— 20 (i) notwithstanding such order or sec- 21 tion 241(a)(5) of the Immigration and Na- 22 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(a)(5)), the 23 alien may apply for provisional immigrant 24 status under this section; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4151.IH H4151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 4151 IH (ii) if the alien is granted such status, 1 the alien may file a motion to reopen the 2 exclusion, deportation, removal, or vol- 3 untary departure order, which motion shall 4 be granted. 5 (B) LIMITATIONS ON MOTIONS TO RE- 6 OPEN.—The limitations on motions to reopen 7 set forth in section 240(c)(7) of the Immigra- 8 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(c)(7)) 9 shall not apply to motions filed under subpara- 10 graph (A)(ii). 11 (4) PERIOD PENDING ADJUDICATION OF APPLI- 12 CATION.—During the period beginning on the date 13 on which an alien applies for provisional immigrant 14 status under this section and ending on the date on 15 which the Secretary makes a final decision regarding 16 such application, the alien— 17 (A) is eligible to apply for advance parole; 18 (B) may not be detained by the Secretary 19 or removed from the United States unless the 20 Secretary makes a prima facie determination 21 that such alien is, or has become, ineligible for 22 provisional immigrant status under subsection 23 (d)(2); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4151.IH H4151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 4151 IH (C) shall not be considered unlawfully 1 present under section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Im- 2 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 3 1182(a)(9)(B)); and 4 (D) shall not be considered an unauthor- 5 ized alien (as defined in section 274A(h)(3) of 6 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 7 1324a(h)(3))). 8 (5) EFFECT OF DEPARTURE.—Section 101(g) 9 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 10 1101(g)) shall not apply to an alien granted— 11 (A) advance parole under paragraph (4)(A) 12 to reenter the United States; or 13 (B) provisional immigrant status. 14 (6) PROTECTION FROM DETENTION OR RE- 15 MOVAL DURING PROVISIONAL IMMIGRANT STATUS.— 16 An alien granted provisional immigrant status under 17 this section may not be detained by the Secretary or 18 removed from the United States unless— 19 (A) the alien is removable under section 20 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 21 U.S.C. 1227); or 22 (B) the alien’s provisional immigrant sta- 23 tus has been revoked. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4151.IH H4151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 4151 IH (7) DURATION OF STATUS.—Beginning on the 1 date that is eight years after the date on which reg- 2 ulations are published under subsection (j), no alien 3 may remain in provisional immigrant status. 4 (d) REQUIRED BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS AND 5 INELIGIBILITY.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.— 7 (A) BIOMETRIC AND BIOGRAPHIC DATA.— 8 The Secretary may not grant provisional immi- 9 grant status to an alien or an alien dependent 10 spouse or child under this section unless such 11 alien submits biometric and biographic data in 12 accordance with procedures established by the 13 Secretary. 14 (B) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURES.—The 15 Secretary shall provide an alternative procedure 16 for applicants who cannot provide the standard 17 biometric data required under subparagraph 18 (A) because of a physical impairment. 19 (C) DATA COLLECTION.—The Secretary 20 shall collect, from each alien applying for status 21 under this section, biometric, biographic, and 22 other data that the Secretary determines to be 23 appropriate in order to conduct a background 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4151.IH H4151 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 4151 IH investigation and determine the alien’s eligi- 1 bility for provisional immigrant status. 2 (2) GROUNDS FOR INELIGIBILITY.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 4 subparagraph (B), an alien is ineligible for pro- 5 visional immigrant status if the Secretary deter- 6 mines that the alien— 7 (i) ha [Text truncated for display. 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