What This Bill Does
This bill creates a new temporary visa category for foreign workers employed by mobile entertainment companies. The bill allows workers who perform essential jobs for carnivals and circuses to enter and work in the United States temporarily.
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Who It Affects
- Foreign workers employed by carnivals and circuses
- Carnival and circus companies that travel in the United States
- Food and game concession companies that serve fairs and festivals
- The Department of Labor
- The Department of Homeland Security
- U.S. workers in similar positions
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Key Provisions
- The Department of Labor must certify that there are not enough available U.S. workers able and willing to do the job before foreign workers can be hired, and that hiring foreign workers will not lower wages or worsen conditions for U.S. workers. (Sec. 2(a)(2)(I)(i))
- The bill defines "integral and essential" functions for mobile entertainment companies to include transporting, assembling, operating, disassembling and maintaining rides, games, food stands and similar attractions, as well as other common necessary functions in the carnival industry. (Sec. 2(a)(2)(I)(ii))
- The bill defines "mobile entertainment provider" as a carnival or circus that travels around the U.S. on a temporary or seasonal basis, or companies providing services like food and game concessions that travel seasonally to fairs, festivals, or nonprofit fundraising events. (Sec. 2(a)(2)(I)(iii))
- The Secretary of Homeland Security and Secretary of Labor must publish proposed rules within 180 days after this bill becomes law, and must finalize those rules within one year. (Sec. 2(a)(3))
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, foreign workers can obtain temporary visas to perform jobs for carnivals, circuses and related traveling entertainment businesses, provided the Department of Labor certifies that American workers are unavailable for those positions.
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Important Definitions
- **Mobile entertainment provider**: A carnival or circus that travels around the U.S. temporarily or seasonally, or companies providing related services like food and game concessions that travel seasonally to fairs, festivals or nonprofit fundraising events.
- **Integral and essential functions**: Work involved in transporting, assembling, operating, disassembling and maintaining rides, games, food stands and other equipment used by mobile entertainment companies, plus other necessary functions common in the carnival industry.
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1787
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide nonimmigrant
status to mobile entertainment workers, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 24, 2023
Ms. LOFGREN (for herself and Ms. SALAZAR) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide
nonimmigrant status to mobile entertainment workers,
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 ‘‘Carnivals are Real En-
4
tertainment Act’’.
5
SEC. 2. MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT WORKERS.
6
(a) MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT WORKERS.—
7
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (P) of section
8
101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
9
(8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(P)) is amended—
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(A) in clause (iii)(II), by striking ‘‘or’’ at
1
the end;
2
(B) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause
3
(v);
4
(C) in clause (v), as redesignated by sub-
5
paragraph (B), by striking ‘‘clause (i), (ii), or
6
(iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (i), (ii), (iii), or
7
(iv)’’; and
8
(D) by inserting after clause (iii) the fol-
9
lowing:
10
‘‘(iv) seeks to enter the United States tem-
11
porarily and solely for the purpose of per-
12
forming functions that are integral and essen-
13
tial to the operation of a mobile entertainment
14
provider
(as
set
forth
in
section
15
214(c)(4)(I)(ii)); or’’.
16
(2) ADMISSION
OF
MOBILE
ENTERTAINMENT
17
WORKERS.—Paragraph (4) of section 214(c) of the
18
Immigration
and
Nationality
Act
(8
U.S.C.
19
1184(c)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
20
lowing:
21
‘‘(I) The following shall apply to the ad-
22
mission
of
any
alien
under
section
23
101(a)(15)(P)(iv):
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•HR 1787 IH
‘‘(i) The Department of Labor shall
1
certify a mobile entertainment position
2
under this subparagraph if—
3
‘‘(I) there are not sufficient
4
United States workers who are able,
5
willing, and qualified, and who will be
6
available at the time and place need-
7
ed, to perform the labor or services
8
required; and
9
‘‘(II) the employment of the alien
10
in such labor or services will not ad-
11
versely affect the wages and working
12
conditions of workers in the United
13
States similarly employed.
14
‘‘(ii)
For
purposes
of
section
15
101(a)(15)(P)(iv), functions that are inte-
16
gral and essential to the operation of a mo-
17
bile entertainment provider include trans-
18
porting, assembly, operation, disassembly,
19
and maintenance of mobile entertainment
20
attractions, structures, and equipment, in-
21
cluding rides, games, novelties, and food or
22
beverage concessions, as well as other func-
23
tions that are common in the mobile enter-
24
tainment industry and are necessary for
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•HR 1787 IH
the safe and efficient operation of the mo-
1
bile entertainment provider.
2
‘‘(iii) For purposes of this subpara-
3
graph, the term ‘mobile entertainment pro-
4
vider’ means—
5
‘‘(I) a carnival or circus that
6
travels around the United States on a
7
temporary or seasonal basis; or
8
‘‘(II) a provider of services nor-
9
mally affiliated with a carnival or cir-
10
cus, such as food and game conces-
11
sions, that travels around the United
12
States on a seasonal or temporary
13
basis to provide services to State,
14
county, and local fairs and festivals,
15
or support events sponsored by not-
16
for-profit
organizations
for
fund-
17
raising.’’.
18
(3) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 180 days
19
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
20
retary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of
21
Labor shall separately publish in the Federal Reg-
22
ister proposed rules implementing the provisions of
23
this section and the amendments made by this sec-
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tion, and shall finalize such rules not later than 1
1
year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
2
Æ
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