Senate Judiciary Committee Has Released Updated Version of S. 744
On May 29, 2013, the Senate Judiciary Committee released an updated version of S. 744, the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act,” which reflects the amendments that were passed during the committee mark-up.
1. Section 3. Effective Date Triggers – Technical amendments clarifying the citations for the Employment Verification System in the bill and clarifying the name of Agricultural Worker visa in the bill.
2. Section 4. Southern Border Security Commission – Two grammatical corrections to the text.
3. Section 5. Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy and Southern Border Fencing Strategy – Two grammatical corrections to the text.
4. Section 6. Comprehensive Immigration Reform Trust Fund – Reorganization of the section to ensure that every fee that is collected within the legislation to pay for the cost of the legislation is included in the Trust Fund. Technical corrections to the appropriations language to ensure that funds are properly collected and distributed to meet the goals of the legislation. Increase in the upfront appropriation to the Department of Homeland Security and State Department to implement the legislation. Amendment to ensure that the appropriation is immediately paid back to the Treasury upon the collection of the fees enumerated in the bill.
Title I – Border Security
5. Section 1101. Definitions – Added a definition of the Northern Border.
6. Section 1102. Additional U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers- Two grammatical corrections to the text. Technical amendments clarifying the appropriations language and clarifying that the intent of this Section is to increase the fee for Visa Waiver visitors by $16 in order to fund the costs of 3,500 new Customs and Border Protection Officers. The Travel Promotion fee is permanently reauthorized for use in travel promotion activities.
7. Section 1104. Enhancement of Existing Border Security Operations-Clarified appropriations language and making five grammatical corrections to the text. Technical amendments clarifying the appropriations language.
8. Section 1105. Border Security on Certain Federal Lands-Grammatical change.
9. Section 1106. Equipment and Technology-Fixed subsection (a)(1) to make it consistent with subsection (a)(2) and (a)(3) and clarify that all unmanned systems are unarmed.
10. Section 1108. Southwest Border Region Prosecution Initiative-Clarified the intent of the language to match the intent of the drafters that reimbursement is for immigration-related criminal cases.
11. Section 1112. Training for Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Officers- Made two clarifying edits properly naming the governmental entities involved.
12. Section 1113. Department of Homeland Security Border Oversight Task Force-Technical amendment clarifying appointments to the task force and requiring that DHS provide an explanation to the public if it disagrees with any findings of the DHS task force.
13. Section 1116. Severability and Delegation-Clarifying that the Secretary of Homeland Security has the authority to work with and empower other federal agencies to implement the provisions of this legislation.
14. Section 2101. Registered Provisional Immigrant Status-Making 11 technical corrections improving the grammar of the section and fixing the appropriations language or legal cross-references in the section.
15. Section 2102. Adjustment of Status of Registered Provisional Immigrants-Making 11 technical corrections improving the grammar of the section and fixing the appropriations language or legal cross-references in the section. Clarifying that homeschooling can count toward the educational requirements. Clarifying the date of selective service enrollment.
16. Section 2103. The Dream Act-Clarifying that homeschooling can count toward the educational requirements. Made 8 technical corrections improving the grammar and legal citations of the section.
17. Section 2104. Additional Requirements- Making 9 technical corrections improving the grammar and legal citations of the section. Clarifying that information from an immigration application under this section shall be provided by the Secretary of Homeland Security to other law enforcement in connection with a criminal felony investigation even if that information is not requested.
18. Section 2106. Grant Program to Assist Eligible Applicants-Three stylistic technical edits.
19. Section 2107. Conforming Amendments to the Social Security Act-Clarifies that a state may terminate parental rights of a removed parent to a U.S. citizen child if the parent is unfit or unwilling to be a parent of the child. Requires States to notify parents in immigration detention of an intent to terminate parental rights. Several grammatical fixes.
20. Section 2108. Government Contracting and Acquisition of Real Property Interest-Three grammatical fixes.
21. Section 2202. Definitions-Amends the definition of agricultural employment to match the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.
22. Section 2211. Requirements for Blue Card Status-Clarifies that an application for blue card status may be submitted through certain third parties. Clarifies that qualified nonimmigrants who have participated in the H-2A Program may apply for blue card status from outside of the United States. Clarifies appropriations language, grammatical corrections to the text, and technical amendments clarifying the cross-referenced legal citations in the text. Clarifies proper use of employment records for agricultural employers.
23. Section 2212. Adjustment to Permanent Resident Status-Amends the legal citations for this section. Clarifies definitions in the section to match previous sections. Amends the appropriations language to conform with other sections of the bill. Amends the administrative and judicial review available to agricultural workers to match other sections of the text. Adds the definition of federal tax liability from other sections of the bill.
24. Section 2213. Use of Information-Amends the legal citation.
25. Section 2214. Reports on Blue Cards-Amends the legal citations.
26. Section 2231. Nonimmigrant Classification for Nonimmigrant Agricultural Workers-Amends the legal citations. Deletes requirement that the Secretary of Agricultural provide notice than an employer has accepted the terms and conditions of employment of a W-agricultural worker.
27. Section 2232. Establishment of Nonimmigrant Agricultural Worker Program- Amends the definition of agricultural employment to match the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. Amends the legal citations in the section. Adds a requirement of consultation with the Secretary of Labor regarding an adjustment of the agricultural worker cap. Clarifies that renewal of 3-year terms for agricultural workers is available. Clarifies the time the Secretary of Agriculture has to make a decision on petitions to increase worker numbers. Clarifies appropriations language and makes several grammatical and stylistic changes. Clarifies the review process (expedites the review process) by the Secretary of Homeland Security for petitions for foreign agricultural workers.
28. Section 2233. Transition of H-2A Worker Program- Makes several grammatical and stylistic changes and amends legal citations in the language. Clarifies that a current H-2A worker can stay for the shorter of 10 months or the time specified in the position.
29. Section 2301. Merit-Based Points Track One- Makes several grammatical and stylistic changes and amends legal citations in the language. Clarifies that foreign equivalents of U.S. degrees count for points system. Clarifies that Job Zone 3 immigrants can earn points in Tier 2. Amends the English proficiency points in Tier 2 to a standardized examination deemed appropriate by the Department of Education. Clarifies appropriations language and assesses an additional $1,500 fee on merit-based green cards. Clarifies that Registered Provisional Immigrants are not eligible to receive a merit-based immigrant visa under section 201(e).
30. Section 2302. Merit-Based Points Track Two-Makes several grammatical and stylistic changes and amends legal citations in the language. Clarifies that an alien had to be authorized for employment in order to be classified as a long-term alien worker.
31. Section 2303. Repeal of the Diversity Visa Program- Makes several grammatical and stylistic changes and amends legal citations in the language.
32. Section 2304. Worldwide Levels and Recapture of Unused Immigrant Visas- Makes several grammatical and stylistic changes and amends legal citations in the language.
33. Section 2305 Reclassification of Spouses and Minor Children of Lawful Permanent Residents as Immediate Relatives-At the advice of legislative counsel, reprints the entire section of current law in order to more easily and accurately accomplish the goal of reclassifying spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents as immediate relatives.
34. Section 2307. Allocation of Immigrant Visas – Makes several grammatical and stylistic changes and amends legal citations in the language. Clarifies that foreign equivalents of U.S. degrees count for green card purposes for doctorate degrees. Clarifies that aliens who have STEM advanced degrees are exempt from green card caps. Strikes duplicative language.
35. Section 2308. V Nonimmigrant Visas-Clarifies age restriction language and harmonizes tax definitions with the rest of the bill.
36. Section 2309. Fiancé and Fiancé Child Status Protection-Makes several grammatical and stylistic changes and amends legal citations in the language.
37. Section 2311. Modification of Adoption Age Requirements-Clarifies the age requirement in the legislation.
38. Section 2312. Relief for Orphans, Widows, and Widowers-Makes several grammatical and stylistic changes and amends legal citations in the language.
39. Section 2313. Discretionary Authority with Respect to Removal, Deportation, or Inadmissibility of Citizen and Resident Immediate Family Members- Makes several grammatical and stylistic changes and amends legal citations in the language.
40. Section 2314. Waivers of Inadmissibility-Adds the word child in one section where it was unintentionally excluded in the bill.
41. Section 2316. Global Health Care Cooperation- Makes a stylistic change.
42. Section 2317. Extension and Improvement of the Iraqi Special Immigrant Visa Program- Makes a stylistic change and a technical amendment to fix a legal citation.
43. Section 2402. Retaining Physicians Who Have Practiced in Medically Underserved Communities-Fixed legal citations.
44. Section 2403. Employment Protection for Physicians-Clarifies that alien physicians must use their J-1 waiver expeditiously after obtaining the waiver.
45. Section 2405. Amendments to the Procedures, Definitions, and Other Provisions Related to Physician Immigration-Deletes clarifications to the National Interest Waiver.
46. Section 2511. Office of Citizenship and New Americans-Provides consultation requirements with the Task Force on New Americans and makes stylistic changes and technical amendments to fix legal citations.
47. Section 2522. Purpose-Technical Change from Secretary to Federal Government.
48. Section 2523. Membership-Adds the National Security Advisor to the task force.
49. Section 2531. Establishment of United States Citizenship Foundation-Clarifies non-profit language.
50. Section 2533. Purposes and Section 2534. Authorized Activies-Edit to add “lawful” before permanent resident.
51. Section 2535 Council of Directors-Harmonized language with Section 501(c)(3).
52. Section 2537. Initial Entry, Adjustment, and Citizenship Assistance Grant Program-Clarified that this applies to agricultural workers.
53. Section 2551. Waiver of English Requirement for Senior New Americans-Clarified the disability exception to harmonize with current disability law.
54. Section 3101. Unlawful Employment of Unauthorized Aliens.-Makes several grammatical and stylistic changes and amends legal citations in the language. Deletes the good faith defense of failing to obtain a response from the system. Amends the language pertaining to remedies for labor law violations to ensure that remedies are available for employer’s violations of labor law. Provides for videoconference verification of remote workers. Provides for identification to be used from U.S. territories. Clarifies that an employee who withdraws their appeal no longer has to be employed by an employer. Requires the Secretary to protect the confidentiality of information that could be used to endanger the worker. Clarifies that E-verify remains in effect during the entire period of this legislation and never lapses.
55. Section 3102. Increasing Security and Integrity of Social Security Cards.-Amends the appropriations language. Make stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
56. Section 3105. Improved Prohibition on Discrimination Based on National Origin or Citizenship Status- Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications. Edits a typographical error on number of employees.
57. Section 3106. Rulemaking – Fixes legal citations.
58. Section 3201. Protection for Victims of Serious Violations of Labor and Employment Law or Crime-Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
59. Section 3202. Employment Verification System Education Funding-Adds the Attorney General to education fund.
60. Section 3204. Confidentiality for Victims of Crime.-Deletes the Section.
61. Section 3301.Funding- Clarifies and amends the appropriations language.
62. Section 3304. Identity-theft resistant manifest information for passengers, crew, and non-crew onboard departing aircraft and vessels-Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
63. Section 3305. Profiling- Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
64. Section 3401.Time limits and efficient adjudication of genuine asylum claims- Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
65. Section 3402.Refugee family protections- Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
66. Section 3403.Clarification on designation of certain refugees- Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
67. Section 3404.Asylum determination efficiency- Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
68. Section 3405. Stateless persons in the United States- Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
69. Section 3503. Office of Legal Access Programs- Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications and adds DOJ consultation.
70. Section 3504.Codifying Board of Immigration Appeals- Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
71. Section 3601. Definitions-Amended the definition of foreign labor contracting activity to limit it to recruiting, soliciting and related activities. Remove the Secretary of Labor from the enforcement of this program.
72. Section 3602. Disclosure-Amend the disclosure requirements to those limited to the knowledge of the recruiter.
73. Section 3605. Registration-Removes requirements for registration when an employer is self-recruiting. Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
74. Section 3608. Amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act-Adds the W-visa to the list of visas covered by the recruiting language.
75. Section 3609. Responsibilities of Secretary of State- Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
76. Section 3610.Enforcement provisions- Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications. Provides a safe harbor for employers who use a registered recruiter and do not act with reckless disregard of recruiter’s illegal acts.
77. Section 3701. Criminal Street Gangs-Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
78. Section 3702.Banning habitual drunk drivers from the United States-Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications. Clarifies that convictions had to occur on different dates and at least 1 conviction had to occur after passage of the bill.
79. Section 3717.Procedures for bond hearings and filing of notices to appear- Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
80. Section 3719. Gross Violations of Human Rights-Adds a duress exception. Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
81. Section 4101. Market Based H-1B Visa Limits- Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications. Adds biological and biomedical sciences to list of included STEM fields.
82. Section 4104. STEM Education and Training- Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications. Amends text to provide more access to STEM fund to women and minorities and to allow for loan-repayment for students and issuance of bonds by schools.
83. Section 4105. H-1B and L Visa Fees-Adds new fees on H-1B and L-1 employers to assist in funding the cost of this legislation.
84. Section 4211. Modification of application requirements-Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications. Clarifies prevailing wage requirements for nonprofit educational institutions and research organizations.
85. Section 4224. Information Sharing-Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
86. Section 4232. Requirements for information for H-1B and L nonimmigrants- Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications.
87. Section 4233. Filing Fee for H-1B Dependent Employers-Clarifies that fees do not sunset. Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications. Fixes the appropriations’ language.
88. Section 4301. Prohibition on Outplacement of L-Nonimmigrants-Clarifies the definition of outplacement not to include outplacement within a related corporate entity.
89. Section 4305. Filing Fee for L Nonimmigrants-Clarifies that fees do not sunset. Fixes legal citations. Makes stylistic and grammatical clarifications. Fixes the appropriations’ language.
90. Section 4401.Nonimmigrant visas for students-Fixes legal citations
91. Section 4402.Classification for specialty occupation workers from free trade countries- Fixes legal citations
92. Section 4404. Other changes to nonimmigrant visas-Provides procedural due process protections to aliens seeking entry for a motion picture or television production.
93. Section 4407. J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program Fee-Adds new fees on J-1 employers parallel to fees for similar visas.
94. Section 4408. F-1 Visa Fee- Adds new fees on F-1 aliens parallel to fees for similar visas.
95. Section 4503. Encouraging Canadian Tourism to the United States-Clarifies that extensions are permitted and that spouses of principal applicants do not need to be above the age of 55.
96. Section 4504. Retiree Visa- Adds a $1,000 fee parallel to fees for similar visas.
97. Section 4509. B-Visa Fee– Adds new $5 fees on B-visas parallel to fees for similar visas.
98. Section 4601. Extension of returning worker exemption to H-2B numerical limitation-Amends definition of certain H-2B professions using the H-2B program and the P-Visa program and providing the correct legal citation for the H-2B returning worker exemption.
99. Section 4701. Bureau of Immigration and Labor Market Research-Stylistic and grammatical edits and fixes to legal citations. Clarifies the fee language.
100. Section 4702. Nonimmigrant Classification for W-nonimmigrants-clarifies that W-1 status is for non-agricultural employees.
101. Section 4703. Admission of W Nonimmigrant Workers- Stylistic and Grammatical edits and fixes to legal citations. Requires employers to attest that they will substantially comply with all applicable labor and employment laws related to the W nonimmigrant’s employment. Clarifies that only animal production employers may exceed the cap and that all employers may promote workers to another position without losing a registered slot.
102. Section 4801. Nonimmigrant Invest Visas- Stylistic and grammatical edits and fixes to legal citations. Adding a $1,000 fee for investor visas parallel to fees for similar visas.
103. Section 4802 Invest Immigrant Visa- Stylistic and grammatical edits and fixes to legal citations.
104. Section 4803. Administration and Oversight- Stylistic and grammatical edits and fixes to legal citations. Adding a report on the success of the program.