[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 31 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 31

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reduce fraud in certain 
   visa programs for aliens working temporarily in the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 22, 2007

  Ms. Collins introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reduce fraud in certain 
   visa programs for aliens working temporarily in the United States.

    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 ``H-1B Visa Fraud Prevention Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. H-1B EMPLOYER REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Prohibition of Outplacement.--
            (1) In general.--Section 212(n) of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by amending subparagraph (F) 
                to read as follows:
            ``(F) The employer shall not place, outsource, lease, or 
        otherwise contract for the placement of an alien admitted or 
        provided status as an H-1B nonimmigrant with another employer 
        if the worksite of the receiving employer is located in a 
        different State;'' and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking subparagraph (E).
            (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply to applications filed on or after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
    (b) Immigration Documents.--Section 204 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1154) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(l) Employer To Share All Immigration Paperwork Exchanged With 
Federal Agencies.--Not later than 10 working days after receiving a 
written request from a former, current, or future employee or 
beneficiary, an employer shall provide the employee or beneficiary with 
the original (or a certified copy of the original) of all petitions, 
notices, and other written communication exchanged between the employer 
and the Department of Labor, the Department of Homeland Security, or 
any other Federal agency that is related to an immigrant or 
nonimmigrant petition filed by the employer for the employee or 
beneficiary.''.

SEC. 3. H-1B GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY AND REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Safeguards Against Fraud and Misrepresentation in Application 
Review Process.--Section 212(n)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)) is amended--
            (1) in the undesignated paragraph at the end, by striking 
        ``The employer'' and inserting the following:
            ``(H) The employer''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (H), as designated by paragraph (1) of 
        this subsection--
                    (A) by inserting ``and through the Department of 
                Labor's website, without charge.'' after ``D.C.'';
                    (B) by inserting ``, clear indicators of fraud, 
                misrepresentation of material fact,'' after 
                ``completeness'';
                    (C) by striking ``or obviously inaccurate'' and 
                inserting ``, presents clear indicators of fraud or 
                misrepresentation of material fact, or is obviously 
                inaccurate'';
                    (D) by striking ``within 7 days of'' and inserting 
                ``not later than 14 days after''; and
                    (E) by adding at the end the following: ``If the 
                Secretary's review of an application identifies clear 
                indicators of fraud or misrepresentation of material 
                fact, the Secretary may conduct an investigation and 
                hearing under paragraph (2).''.
    (b) Investigations by Department of Labor.--Section 212(n)(2) of 
such Act is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``The Secretary shall 
        conduct'' and all that follows and inserting ``Upon the receipt 
        of such a complaint, the Secretary may initiate an 
        investigation to determine if such a failure or 
        misrepresentation has occurred.'';
            (2) in subparagraph (C)(i)--
                    (A) by striking ``a condition of paragraph (1)(B), 
                (1)(E), or (1)(F)'' and inserting ``a condition under 
                subparagraph (B), (C)(i), (E), (F), (H), (I), or (J) of 
                paragraph (1)''; and
                    (B) by striking ``(1)(C)'' and inserting 
                ``(1)(C)(ii)'';
            (3) in subparagraph (G)--
                    (A) in clause (i), by striking ``if the Secretary'' 
                and all that follows and inserting ``with regard to the 
                employer's compliance with the requirements of this 
                subsection.'';
                    (B) in clause (ii), by striking ``and whose 
                identity'' and all that follows through ``failure or 
                failures.'' and inserting ``the Secretary of Labor may 
                conduct an investigation into the employer's compliance 
                with the requirements of this subsection.'';
                    (C) in clause (iii), by striking the last sentence;
                    (D) by striking clauses (iv) and (v);
                    (E) by redesignating clauses (vi), (vii), and 
                (viii) as clauses (iv), (v), and (vi), respectively;
                    (F) by amending clause (v), as redesignated, to 
                read as follows:
    ``(v) The Secretary of Labor shall provide notice to an employer of 
the intent to conduct an investigation. The notice shall be provided in 
such a manner, and shall contain sufficient detail, to permit the 
employer to respond to the allegations before an investigation is 
commenced. The Secretary is not required to comply with this clause if 
the Secretary determines that such compliance would interfere with an 
effort by the Secretary to investigate or secure compliance by the 
employer with the requirements of this subsection. A determination by 
the Secretary under this clause shall not be subject to judicial 
review.'';
                    (G) in clause (vi), as redesignated, by striking 
                ``An investigation'' and all that follows through ``the 
                determination.'' and inserting ``If the Secretary of 
                Labor, after an investigation under clause (i) or (ii), 
                determines that a reasonable basis exists to make a 
                finding that the employer has failed to comply with the 
                requirements under this subsection, the Secretary shall 
                provide interested parties with notice of such 
                determination and an opportunity for a hearing in 
                accordance with section 556 of title 5, United States 
                Code, not later than 120 days after the date of such 
                determination.''; and
                    (H) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(vii) The Secretary of Labor may impose a penalty under 
subparagraph (C) if the Secretary, after a hearing, finds a reasonable 
basis to believe that--
            ``(I) the employer has violated the requirements under this 
        subsection; and
            ``(II) the violation was not made in good faith.''; and
            (4) by striking subparagraph (H).
    (c) Information Sharing Between Department of Labor and Department 
of Homeland Security.--Section 212(n)(2) of such Act, as amended by 
this section, is further amended by inserting after subparagraph (G) 
the following:
            ``(H) The Director of United States Citizenship and 
        Immigration Services shall provide the Secretary of Labor with 
        any information contained in the materials submitted by H-1B 
        employers as part of the adjudication process that indicates 
        that the employer is not complying with H-1B visa program 
        requirements. The Secretary may initiate and conduct an 
        investigation and hearing under this paragraph after receiving 
        information of noncompliance under this subparagraph.''.
    (d) Audits.--Section 212(n)(2)(A) of such Act, as amended by this 
section, is further amended by adding at the end the following: ``The 
Secretary may conduct surveys of the degree to which employers comply 
with the requirements under this subsection and may conduct annual 
compliance audits of employers that employ H-1B nonimmigrants.''.
    (e) Penalties.--Section 212(n)(2)(C) of such Act, as amended by 
this section, is further amended--
            (1) in clause (i)(I), by striking ``$1,000'' and inserting 
        ``$2,000'';
            (2) in clause (ii)(I), by striking ``$5,000'' and inserting 
        ``$10,000''; and
            (3) in clause (vi)(III), by striking ``$1,000'' and 
        inserting ``$2,000''.
    (f) Information Provided to H-1B Nonimmigrants Upon Visa 
Issuance.--Section 212(n) of such Act, as amended by this section, is 
further amended by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
    ``(3)(A) Upon issuing an H-1B visa to an applicant outside the 
United States, the issuing office shall provide the applicant with--
            ``(i) a brochure outlining the employer's obligations and 
        the employee's rights under Federal law, including labor and 
        wage protections;
            ``(ii) the contact information for Federal agencies that 
        can offer more information or assistance in clarifying employer 
        obligations and workers' rights; and
            ``(iii) a copy of the employer's H-1B application for the 
        position that the H-1B nonimmigrant has been issued the visa to 
        fill.
    ``(B) Upon the issuance of an H-1B visa to an alien inside the 
United States, the officer of the Department of Homeland Security shall 
provide the applicant with--
            ``(i) a brochure outlining the employer's obligations and 
        the employee's rights under Federal law, including labor and 
        wage protections;
            ``(ii) the contact information for Federal agencies that 
        can offer more information or assistance in clarifying 
        employer's obligations and workers' rights; and
            ``(iii) a copy of the employer's H-1B application for the 
        position that the H-1B nonimmigrant has been issued the visa to 
        fill.''.

SEC. 4. H-1B WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS.

    Section 212(n)(2)(C)(iv) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1182(n)(2)(C)(iv)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``take, fail to take, or threaten to take 
        or fail to take, a personnel action, or'' before ``to 
        intimidate''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``An employer that 
        violates this clause shall be liable to the employees harmed by 
        such violation for lost wages and benefits.''.

SEC. 5. FRAUD ASSESSMENT.

    Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services 
shall submit to Congress a fraud risk assessment of the H-1B visa 
program.
                                 <all>