[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 97 (Thursday, June 12, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H5332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               H2B VISAS

  (Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to raise 
awareness of an increasing problem with H2B Visa abuse in my hometown 
of Houston and elsewhere.
  Fraudulent recruiters are increasingly bringing in foreign workers 
for temporary, low skill positions by claming there is a labor shortage 
for this type of work.
  These recruiters frequently advertise positions with wages below what 
they should be paid, and when there are no responses the employers 
claim there is a labor shortage and bring in foreign workers to do that 
work.
  The Immigration and Nationality Act requires that the hiring of 
foreign workers will not adversely affect the wages and working 
conditions of U.S. workers working in the occupation in the area of 
intended employment.
  However, these regulations are not being strictly enforced.
  The Department of Labor has proposed new procedures based on its 
contention that its workload, and the workload of State workforce 
agencies, has greatly increased in recent years due to the H2B visa 
program and that an adequate rise in funding to meet that increased 
workload has not occurred.
  The proposed changes would cover many aspects of the H2B visa 
application process, including the moving of filing of State workforce 
agencies to the National Processing Centers. New requirements for 
employers to report on the status of their H2B employees should be 
enforced.
  I am extremely concerned about these changes, because current 
regulations are not being strictly enforced at the national level, or 
at the State workforce agency level and moving filings to the national 
processing center along with these other changes will not improve 
enforcement.
  This lack of enforcement is driving down wages, and preventing 
individuals from gaining experience necessary to move into higher 
paying jobs.
  Congress needs to act and should require recruiters to be certified 
or licensed to prevent temporary workers and their U.S. employers from 
being misled about the nature of their visas being defrauded or 
victimized by outrageous fees.
  This would allow oversight of the recruiting process which is a much-
needed addition to the program.
  Madam Speaker, I plan to work to see that this issue is addressed, 
that these rules are corrected, and I urge my colleague to join me in 
fixing this problem.

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