[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4065 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4065

    To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide certain 
            undocumented workers with temporary work visas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 17, 2005

 Mr. Osborne introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide certain 
            undocumented workers with temporary work visas.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Temporary Worker Registration and 
Visa Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. ISSUANCE OF TEMPORARY WORKER VISA FOR CERTAIN UNDOCUMENTED 
              WORKER REGISTRANTS.

    (a) In General.--The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by 
inserting after section 245A (8 U.S.C. 1255a) the following new 
section:

``SEC. 245B. ISSUANCE OF TEMPORARY WORKER VISA FOR CERTAIN UNDOCUMENTED 
              WORKER REGISTRANTS.

    ``(a) Registration Process for Certain Undocumented Workers.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
        register under this subsection an alien if the alien 
        demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the 
        alien meets the following requirements:
                    ``(A) Application.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The alien applies for 
                        such registration in a form and manner 
                        specified by the Secretary during the 
                        registration period under clause (ii).
                            ``(ii) Registration period.--The 
                        registration period under this clause shall be 
                        a 12-month period beginning on a date (not 
                        later than 180 days after the enactment of this 
                        section) designated by the Secretary.
                    ``(B) Continuous unlawful presence.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The alien has been 
                        continuously unlawfully present in the United 
                        States from January 1, 2005, through the date 
                        the application under subparagraph (A) is 
                        filed.
                            ``(ii) Unlawful presence not known.--The 
                        alien's unlawful presence in the United States 
                        is not known to officials of the Bureau of 
                        Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the 
                        Department of Homeland Security (as evidenced 
                        by documentary records) at any time prior to 
                        the alien's application for registration under 
                        this subsection.
                            ``(iii) Treatment of brief, casual, and 
                        innocent absences.--An alien shall not be 
                        considered to have failed to have maintained 
                        continuous physical presence in the United 
                        States for purposes of clause (i) by virtue of 
                        brief, casual, and innocent absences from the 
                        United States or a brief, temporary trip abroad 
                        required by emergency or extenuating 
                        circumstances outside the control of the alien
                            ``(iv) No authorization of admission.--
                        Nothing in this section shall be construed as 
                        authorizing an alien to apply for admission to, 
                        or to be admitted to, the United States in 
                        order to register under this subsection.
                    ``(C) Nonimmigrants.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In the case of an alien 
                        who entered the United States as a nonimmigrant 
                        before the date specified in subparagraph 
                        (B)(i), the alien's period of authorized stay 
                        as a nonimmigrant expired through the passage 
                        of time before such date.
                            ``(ii) Exchange visitors.--If the alien was 
                        at any time a nonimmigrant exchange alien (as 
                        described in section 101(a)(15)(J)), the alien 
                        was not subject to the two-year foreign 
                        residence requirement of section 212(e) or has 
                        fulfilled that requirement or received a waiver 
                        thereof.
                    ``(D) Admissible as temporary worker.--The alien--
                            ``(i) is admissible to the United States as 
                        an immigrant, except as otherwise provided 
                        under paragraph (3), and is not inadmissible 
                        under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 212(a) or 
                        deportable under paragraph (2)(A)(iii) or (4) 
                        of section 237(a);
                            ``(ii) has not been convicted of any felony 
                        or of three or more misdemeanors committed in 
                        the United States; and
                            ``(iii) has not assisted in the persecution 
                        of any person or persons on account of race, 
                        religion, nationality, membership in a 
                        particular social group, or political opinion.
                    ``(E) Biometric identifiers.--The alien provides 
                the Secretary with such biometric identifiers as the 
                Secretary may require for the issuance of a visa, in 
                accordance with section 303(b)(1) of the Enhanced 
                Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 (8 
                U.S.C. 1732(b)(1)).
                    ``(F) Registration fee.--The alien has paid such 
                registration fee as the Secretary shall specify.
                    ``(G) Abandonment of other applications for 
                relief.--The alien has withdrawn or has otherwise 
                abandoned or terminated any other application for 
                relief from removal under any law, which may have been 
                pending prior to the submission of the application 
                under subparagraph (A), and the alien has permanently 
                relinquished the opportunity subsequently to submit any 
                other such application for relief.
                    ``(H) Employment in the united states.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Except as provided in 
                        clause (ii), the alien was employed on a full-
                        time basis in the United States since the date 
                        specified in subparagraph (B)(i).
                            ``(ii) Exception for spouses and minor 
                        children of registrants.--Clause (i) shall not 
                        apply in the case of an alien who is the spouse 
                        or minor child of an alien who is registered 
                        (or in the process of registering) under this 
                        subsection.
            ``(2) Benefits of registration.--
                    ``(A) Work authorization.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall 
                        authorize an alien who is registered under this 
                        subsection to engage in employment in the 
                        United States during the term of the alien's 
                        registration and shall provide the alien with 
                        an `employment authorized' endorsement or other 
                        appropriate document signifying authorization 
                        of employment.
                            ``(ii) Granting upon prima facie showing of 
                        eligibility.--In the case of an alien who 
                        applies for registration under this subsection 
                        and who establishes a prima facie case of 
                        eligibility to be so registered, the Secretary 
                        shall provide such alien with the employment 
                        authorization described in clause (i) during 
                        the pendency of such application.
            ``(3) Waiver of certain grounds for removal.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in this 
                paragraph, the provisions of subparagraphs (A) and (B) 
                of subsection (d)(2) of section 245A shall apply to 
                determinations of eligibility for registration under 
                this subsection in the same manner as they apply to 
                determinations of admissibility for purposes of such 
                section.
                    ``(B) Modification of reference.--In applying 
                subparagraph (A), any reference in section 
                245A(d)(2)(A) to section 212(a)(7)(A) is deemed a 
                reference to section 212(a)(7)(B).
                    ``(C) Inapplicability of certain grounds for 
                subsequent removal.--For purposes of obtaining the 
                benefits described in this subsection, and for purposes 
                of any other determination under the immigration laws 
                of the United States, any ground for removal or denial 
                of admission (including grounds under sections 
                212(a)(6)(A) and 212(a)(9)(B)) applicable to an alien 
                registered under this subsection shall be disregarded 
                if the ground is reflected in the records of the 
                Department of Homeland Security or the Department of 
                State on the date on which the alien first applied for 
                such registration and if such ground is waived under 
                this paragraph.
            ``(4) Termination of registration.--
                    ``(A) Expiration.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), the period of registration of an 
                alien under this section shall expire at the end of the 
                6-month period beginning on the date of the approval of 
                such registration.
                    ``(B) Termination of registration.--The Secretary 
                of Homeland Security shall provide for the termination 
                of registration of an alien under this subsection--
                            ``(i) if it appears to the Secretary that 
                        the alien was in fact not eligible for such 
                        registration; or
                            ``(ii) if the alien commits an act that 
                        makes the alien inadmissible to the United 
                        States as a nonimmigrant under section 
                        101(a)(15)(W).
    ``(b) Provision of Temporary Worker Visa.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
        approve the issuance of a visa to an alien as a nonimmigrant 
        described in section 101(a)(15)(W) if the alien--
                    ``(A) is registered under subsection (a); and
                    ``(B) makes application for such visa at an 
                appropriate consular office outside the United States 
                in the alien's country of nationality or, in the case 
                of an alien having no nationality, in the alien's 
                country of last habitual residence outside the United 
                States, not later than 6 months after the date of 
                approval of such registration.
            ``(2) Period of authorized admission.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the 
                initial period of authorized admission as a 
                nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(W) shall 
                be 3 years.
                    ``(B) Employment required to maintain status.--
                            ``(i) In general.--An alien's admission as 
                        a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(W), 
                        other than as the spouse or child of such a 
                        nonimmigrant, is conditioned upon continuous 
                        employment in the United States.
                            ``(ii) Short breaks in employment permitted 
                        with notice.-- An alien does not violate clause 
                        (i) if--
                                    ``(I) the break in employment does 
                                not exceed 30 days (or such longer 
                                period as the Secretary may provide 
                                based on extraordinary circumstances); 
                                and
                                    ``(II) the Secretary is provided 
                                notice in a timely manner of the break 
                                in employment and of the resumption of 
                                employment.
                    ``(C) Extension.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The period of authorized 
                        admission as a nonimmigrant under section 
                        101(a)(15)(W) may be extended by the Secretary 
                        in 3-year increments. The Secretary may not 
                        authorize such extension for an alien if the 
                        alien violated subparagraph (B) for the 
                        previous period of authorized admission.
                            ``(ii) Extension fee.-- The Secretary shall 
                        impose a fee on applicants for an extension 
                        under clause (i).
                    ``(D) Termination of nonimmigrant status.--The 
                Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide for the 
                termination of nonimmigrant status granted an alien 
                under this subsection if it appears to the Secretary 
                that the alien was in fact not eligible for 
                registration under subsection (a).
    ``(c) Application of Certain Provisions.--
            ``(1) Confidentiality and false statement.--The provisions 
        of paragraphs (5) and (6) of subsection (c) of section 245A 
        shall apply to applications for registration under subsection 
        (a) in the same manner as they applied to applications for 
        adjustment under section 245A.
            ``(2) Temporary stay of deportation.--The provisions of 
        subsection (e)(1) of section 245A shall apply to aliens with 
        respect to the application period and registration under 
        subsection (a) in the same manner as they applied to the 
        application period and applications for adjustment under 
        subsection (a) of such section.
    ``(d) Construction.--
            ``(1) Limited follow-to-join authority for family 
        members.--Nothing in this section shall be construed as 
        authorizing, in the case of an alien registered under 
        subsection (a)--
                    ``(A) the registration of any family member of such 
                alien unless such family member meets the requirements 
                for such registration; or
                    ``(B) the issuance of a nonimmigrant visa under 
                section 101(a)(15)(W) to such family member unless such 
                family member qualifies for such a visa.
            ``(2) Change in nonimmigrant classification; adjustment of 
        status.--Nothing in this section shall be construed as 
        prohibiting the change of nonimmigrant classification, or 
        adjustment to lawful permanent resident status, of an alien who 

        is a nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(W).''.
    (b) New Nonimmigrant Visa Category.--Section 101(a)(15) of such Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (U), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (V), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(W) an alien who is coming temporarily to the United 
        States to be employed in accordance with subsection (b) of 
        section 245B, and the spouse and minor children of such alien 
        if accompanying or following to join the alien and qualified 
        under paragraph (1) of such subsection to be provided 
        nonimmigrant status under this subparagraph.''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for such Act is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 245A the 
following:

``Sec. 245B. Issuance of temporary worker visa for certain undocumented 
                            worker registrants.''.
                                 <all>