,,ii #aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dhac ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #h1 #bjbb,mr4 ,paul introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to streamline the application process for employers seeking ,h-#b;,a agricultural workers1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,paperwork ,reduction for ,farmers and ,h-#b;,a ,modernization ,act4 #b4 ,h-#b;,a program updates 7a7 ,in general ,section #aja7;a77#ae77;,h7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja7;a77#ae77;,h77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking an alien 7i77b7 subject to and inserting the following3 8an alien-- 7i7 7b7 subject to 2 7#b7 by striking or 7ii77a7 and all that follows through seasonal nature1 and inserting the following3 7ii7 7a7 who has a residence in a foreign country that the alien has no intention of abandoning and is coming temporarily to the ,united ,states to perform agricultural labor or services 7as defined by the ,secretary of ,labor1 by regulation71 of a temporary or seasonal nature1 including agricultural labor 7as defined in section #caba7;g7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,act of #aihf71 agriculture 7as defined in section #c7;f7 of the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of #aich 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #bjc7;f7771 the pressing of apples for cider on a farm1 fish cutting and trimming1 including labor or services relating to landscaping and groundskeeping1 forestry- and conservation-related services1 services relating primarily to the cultivation1 installation1 and establishment of horticultural commodities 7without regard to commodity source or location71 labor as a year-round equine worker1 labor as a year-round livestock worker 7including as a dairy1 cattle1 or poultry worker71 labor in aquaculture1 and the processing of wild seafood1 and all other labor that falls within ,standard ,occupational ,classification ,code #cg-cjjj 7,grounds ,maintenance ,workers71 #de-jjjj 7,farming1 ,fishing1 and ,forestry ,occupations71 or #de-djjj 7,forest1 ,conservation1 and ,logging ,workers72 2 and 7#c7 by striking 7iii7 having a residence in a foreign country which he has no intention of abandoning who and inserting the following3 7iii7 who has a residence in a foreign country that the alien has no intention of abandoning and 4 7b7 ,joint application2 deficiency remedy ,section #bad7;c77#a7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahd7;c77#a77 is amended-- 7#a7 by inserting 7,a7 after 7#a72 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7,b7 ,multiple employers may submit a joint petition under subparagraph 7,a7 to import aliens as nonimmigrants described in section #aja7;a77#ae77;,h77ii77a74 ,upon the approval of such petition1 each joint employer shall be subject to the provisions under section #bah with respect to each alien listed in such petition4 ,if any individual party to such a joint contract violates any condition for approval with respect to the application or provisions under section #bah with respect to each alien listed in such petition1 after notice and opportunity for a hearing1 the contract may be modified to remove the party in violation from the contract at no penalty to the remaining parties4 7,c7 ,if a petition to import aliens as nonimmigrants described in section #aja7;a77#ae77;,h77ii77a7 is denied or if the issuance of visas requested through such petition is delayed due to a problem with the petition1 the ,director of ,u4,s4 ,citizenship and ,immigration ,services shall promptly notify the petitioner of the reasons for such denial or delay and provide the petitioner with reasonable time to remedy the problem4 4 7c7 ,labor certification2 staggered employment dates ,section #bah7;h7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahh7;h77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#c7 ,an employer that is seeking to rehire aliens as ,h-#b;,a workers who previously worked for the employer as ,h-#b;,a workers may submit a simplified petition1 to be developed by the ,director of ,u4,s4 ,citizenship and ,immigration ,services1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,labor1 which shall include a certification that the employer maintains compliance with all applicable requirements with respect to the employment of such aliens4 ,such petitions shall be approved upon completion of applicable security screenings4 7#d7 ,an employer that is seeking to hire aliens as ,h-#b;,a workers during different time periods in a given fiscal year may submit a single petition to ,u4,s4 ,citizenship and ,immigration ,services that details the time period during which each such alien is expected to be employed4 7#e7 ,upon receiving notification from an employer that the employer's ,h-#b;,a worker has prematurely abandoned employment or has failed to appear for employment and such employer wishes to replace such worker-- 7,a7 the ,secretary of ,state shall promptly issue a visa under section #aja7;a77#ae77;,h77ii77a7 to an eligible alien designated by the employer to replace that worker2 and 7,b7 the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall promptly admit such alien into the ,united ,states upon completion of applicable security screenings4 4 #c4 ,electronic filing and appeals system for ,h-#b;,a petitions 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,labor shall establish a process for filing petitions for nonimmigrant visas under section #aja7;a77#ae77;,h77ii77a7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja7;a77#ae77;,h77ii77a77 that ensures that-- 7#a7 petitioners may file such petitions through the ,department of ,labor's website2 7#b7 any software developed to process such petitions indicates to the petitioner any technical deficiency in the application before submission2 and 7#c7 any petitioner may file such petition in a paper format if such petitioner prefers such format4 7b7 ,request for evidence ,section #bah7;h7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act1 as amended by section #b7;c71 is further amended by adding at the end the following3 7#f7 ,if ,u4,s4 ,citizenship and ,immigration ,services issues a ,request for ,evidence to an employer-- 7,a7 the employer may request such ,request for ,evidence to be delivered in an online format2 and 7,b7 if the employer makes the request described in subparagraph 7,a7-- 7i7 the ,request for ,evidence shall be provided to the employer in an online format2 and 7ii7 not later than #aj business days after the employer submits the requested evidence online1 ,u4,s4 ,citizenship and ,immigration ,services shall provide an online response to the employer-- 7,i7 indicating that the submitted evidence is sufficient2 or 7,,ii7 explaining the reasons that such evidence is not sufficient and providing the employer with an opportunity to address any such deficiency4 4 #d4 ,safe harbor from penalties for document fraud ,section #bgd;,c of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #acbd;c7 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating subsection 7c7 as subsection 7g7 and moving such subsection so that it appears immediately following subsection 7f72 and 7#b7 by inserting after subsection 7b7 the following3 7c7 ,safe harbor ,any employer that uses a third-party preparer to file an application for nonimmigrant visas for workers the employer intends to hire shall not be subject to civil or criminal penalties under this section for errors or omissions on such application if the employer reasonably believed that the application was accurate and in compliance with all applicable statutory requirements4 4