118th Congress Immigration
H.R. 3734: Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act
Introduced
- Introduced (completed)
- Passed House (not reached)
- Passed Senate (not reached)
- To the President (not reached)
- Became law (not reached)
Summary
Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act
This bill establishes a new nonimmigrant visa for temporary nonagricultural workers (H-2C visa) to fill jobs that have remained open for a certain amount of time and are located in an area where the unemployment rate is 7.9% or less. This visa shall only be available for certain occupations, and those requiring a bachelor's degree or higher level of education shall not be eligible.
The bill imposes various requirements related to H-2C positions, such as requiring that the employer make certain efforts to recruit a U.S. worker beforehand. The employer must register the opening before filling it with an H-2C worker, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall maintain a publicly available registry of registered positions.
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For the first fiscal year after the bill's enactment, no more than 65,000 positions may be registered. For subsequent fiscal years, the number shall be increased or decreased depending on how many positions were registered the previous year and how quickly the allotment was filled. A certain number of allocations shall be reserved for small businesses.
An employer seeking to hire H-2C workers shall register with DHS and provide documentation establishing that the employer meets various qualifications. An employer may become ineligible for registration for certain actions, such as having been penalized for a pattern of willful violation of wage and hour laws.
H-2C workers shall not be entitled to certain federal public benefits.
The Bureau of the Census shall report to Congress on the impact of the H-2C program.
Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Roll calls
No roll call votes have been held on this bill.
Amendments
No amendments were offered to this bill.
Cosponsors
- Henry Cuellar D-TXOriginal
- Maria Salazar R-FL
- Ernest Gonzales R-TX
- Donald Davis D-NC
Who scored on this bill
- 1Lloyd Smucker SponsorDrew cross-party cosponsors, introduced2 events+6
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Other bills by Lloyd Smucker
History
- Introduced in the House by Lloyd Smucker.
Show the full action history (2 actions)
- Introduced in House
- Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Oversight and Accountability, 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.