,i #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dbch ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #ac1 #bjad ,mr4 ,harris introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act to provide for requirements for employers of ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrants1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,h-#b;,b numerical limitations 7a7 ,in general ,section #bad7;g77#i77;,a7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahd7;g77#i77;,a77 is amended to read as follows3 7,a7 7i7 ,except as provided in clause 7ii71 and subject to subparagraphs 7,b7 and 7,c71 an alien who has already been counted toward the numerical limitation of paragraph 7#a77;,b7 shall not again be counted toward such limitation4 ,such an alien shall be considered a returning worker4 7ii7 ,an alien who has already been counted toward the numerical limitation of paragraph 7#a77;,b7 shall again be counted toward such limitation if such alien departs the ,united ,states for a period of time that is greater than one year1 and has not been counted toward such limitation in any of the #c years prior to such departure4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by subsection 7a7 shall take effect as if enacted on ,january #a1 #bjac4 #b4 ,additional requirements for ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant employers 7a7 ,in general ,chapter #b of title ,,ii of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaha et seq47 is amended by inserting after section #bah the following3 #bah;,a4 ,requirements for ,h-#b;,b employers 7a7 ,petition process 7#a7 ,in general ,an employer who seeks to employ an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant shall submit a petition to the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security in accordance with this subsection4 7#b7 ,contents ,a petition submitted under paragraph 7#a7 shall include each of the following3 7,a7 ,the number of named and unnamed ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrants the employer is seeking to employ during the applicable period of employment1 and the anticipated dates of entry 7which may be staggered74 7,b7 ,the geographic area of intended employment for the ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrants1 except that for itinerant industries that do not operate in a single fixed-site location1 an employer may provide a list of anticipated work locations1 which-- 7i7 may include an anticipated itinerary2 and 7ii7 may be subsequently amended by the employer1 with notice to the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security4 7,c7 ,the anticipated period during which such employees will be needed1 including expected beginning and ending dates4 7,d7 ,the written disclosure of employment terms and conditions which will be provided to the proposed ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant beneficiary of the petition before the date on which the ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant files a visa application4 7,e7 ,evidence that the employer made efforts to recruit available1 qualified1 willing1 and able ,united ,states workers for any position for which the employer seeks an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant worker1 which the employer shall be deemed to have satisfied if the employer-- 7i7 not later than #fj days before the employer's date of need for an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant1 submits the written disclosure of employment terms and conditions for such worker to the local office of the ,state workforce agency where the job is located1 or in the case of an itinerant employer1 where the job is to begin1 and authorizes the posting of the written disclosure on the appropriate ,department of ,labor ,electronic ,job ,registry for a period of #de days1 except that nothing in this clause shall require the employer to file an interstate job order under section #fec1 of title #bj1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations2 and 7ii7 keeps a record of all eligible1 able1 willing1 and qualified ,united ,states workers who apply for employment with the employer for the job for which an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant is sought4 7#c7 ,review 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall establish a procedure to process petitions filed under this subsection1 and shall review each petition submitted by an employer under this subsection for completeness or obvious inaccuracies4 7,b7 ,acceptance of petitions ,not later than #g days after an employer files a petition1 the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall-- 7i7 accept the petition unless the ,secretary determines that the petition is incomplete or obviously inaccurate2 7ii7 submit to the petitioner notice of acceptance or non-acceptance of the petition using electronic or other means assuring expedited delivery2 and 7iii7 in the case of an accepted petition1 submit to the ,united ,states consulate notice of acceptance of the petition using electronic or other means assuring expedited delivery1 if the petitioner has indicated that the alien beneficiary or beneficiaries will apply for a visa to the ,united ,states at such consulate4 7#d7 ,number of positions not reduced by hiring ,united ,states worker ,the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security may not reduce the number of positions that the ,secretary accepts for an employer pursuant to a petition under this subsection because the employer hires a ,united ,states worker before date on which the employer indicated it needed workers on the petition the employer submitted under this subsection4 7b7 ,transportation costs 7#a7 ,transportation to the place of employment ,not later than the date on which an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant completes #ej percent of the work period set forth in the petition1 an employer who hires an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant shall reimburse the ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant for the cost of transportation of the most economic and reasonable common carrier1 including documented and reasonable subsistence costs during the period of travel1 for that ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant1 from the ,united ,states consulate issuing the visa to the ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant or previous worksite in the ,united ,states1 if any1 to the place of such nonimmigrant's employment1 unless the ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant has been so reimbursed by another employer4 7#b7 ,transportation from the place of employment ,if an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant completes the work period set forth in the petition1 and is not traveling to another worksite in the ,united ,states1 not later than the time the ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant departs from the worksite1 the employer who hired an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant for that work period shall pay for the cost of transportation of the most economic and reasonable common carrier1 including an allowance for reasonable subsistence costs during the period of travel1 for that ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant1 from the place of employment to the ,united ,states consulate that issued the visa to the ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant4 7c7 ,no displacement of ,united ,states workers 7#a7 ,in general ,an employer may not displace a ,united ,states worker employed by the employer1 other than for good cause1 during the period of employment of the ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant and for a period of #cj days preceding such period in the occupation and at the location of employment for which the employer seeks to employ an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant4 7#b7 ,labor dispute ,an employer may not employ an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant for a specific job for which the employer is requesting an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant because the former occupant of the job is on strike or being locked out in the course of a labor dispute4 7d7 ,wages ,the wages to be paid to ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrants shall be the greater of-- 7#a7 the actual wage level paid by the employer to other employees with similar experience and qualifications for such position in the same location2 or 7#b7 the prevailing wage level for the occupational classification of the position in the geographic area in which the ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant will be employed1 based on the best information available at the time of filing the petition4 7e7 ,housing ,an employer is not required to provide housing or a housing allowance to an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant employee4 ,if an employer does provide housing or a housing allowance to an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant employee1 the employer may take a wage deduction or credit in an amount that is equal to the fair value of such housing in accordance with the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of #aich4 7f7 ,incentive for an employer ,to report an absconding ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant employee ,if an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant terminates employment prior to the end of the work period set forth in the job order1 and the employer provides timely notice of this termination to the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall promptly notify the ,secretary of ,state1 and the ,secretary of ,state shall make available to the employer one additional visa for each such terminating nonimmigrant in order for the employer to hire a replacement ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant for the same job opportunity without filing an additional petition4 7g7 ,definitions ,in this section1 the following definitions apply3 7#a7 ,the term ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant means an alien admitted to the ,united ,states pursuant to section #aja7;a77#ae77;,h77ii77,b74 7#b7 ,the term ,united ,states worker means an employee who-- 7,a7 is a citizen or national of the ,united ,states2 7,b7 is an alien who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence1 is admitted as a refugee under section #bjg of this title1 is granted asylum under section #bjh1 or is an immigrant otherwise authorized1 by this ,act or by the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 to be employed2 or 7,c7 an individual who is not an unauthorized alien 7as defined in section #bgd;,a7h77#c77 with respect to the proposed occupation of the ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant4 7#c7 ,the term best information available1 with respect to determining the prevailing wage for a position1 means-- 7,a7 a controlling collective bargaining agreement1 where the employer is a signatory to a collective bargaining agreement that sets wages for work performed by ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrants2 7,b7 if there is no controlling collective bargaining agreement as set forth in subparagraph 7,a71 the local1 ,state1 or ,federal prevailing wage laws or ordinances1 for any time period during which the ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant performs work on a project for which payment of such wages is required by such laws or ordinances1 and the employer has signed a contract agreeing to pay such wages on that project2 or 7,c7 if there is no controlling collective bargaining agreement as set forth in subparagraph 7,a7 and the ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant is not performing work governed by a prevailing wage law or ordinance as set forth in subparagraph 7,b7-- 7i7 the wage level commensurate with the experience1 training1 and supervision required for the job based on ,bureau of ,labor ,statistics data2 or 7ii7 a legitimate private wage survey of the wages paid for such positions in the geographic area in which the ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant will be employed4 7#d7 ,the term legitimate private wage survey means1 in the case of a petition under subsection 7a71 a survey of wages by an entity other than the ,federal ,government where-- 7,a7 the data has been collected during the #b-year period immediately preceding the date of the petition2 7,b7 if a published survey1 the survey has been published during the #b-year period immediately preceding the date of the petition2 7,c7 the employer job description is similar to the survey job description2 7,d7 the survey is across industries that employ workers in the occupation2 7,e7 the wage determination is based on a weighted or straight average of the relevant wages or the median of relevant wage levels2 and 7,f7 the survey identifies a statistically valid methodology that was used to collect the data4 7h7 ,rule of construction ,the benefits and wages provided to an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant1 the services an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant provides to the employer1 the employment opportunities afforded to an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant by the employer1 including those employment opportunities that require a ,united ,states worker or an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant to travel or relocate in order to accept or perform employment1 and other terms or conditions of the employment of an ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant provided for under this section are for the mutual benefit of the ,h-#b;,b nonimmigrant and the employer4 7i7 ,exclusive rulemaking authority ,the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall have the exclusive authority to make rules to implement this section4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #bah the following3 #bah;,a4 ,requirements for ,h-#b;,b ,nonimmigrant ,employers4 4