American Workforce Improvement and Jobs Protection Act
Latest action · May 20, 2004 Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 2, 2004
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
American Workforce Improvement and Jobs Protection Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt up to 20,000 aliens holding a master's or higher degree from the numerical limitation on H-1B (temporary employment in a specialty occupation) nonimmigrants in any fiscal year.
Makes permanent: (1) the attestation requirement concerning nondisplacement of U.S. workers applicable to H-1B-dependent employers and willful violators; (2) the filing fee applicable to H-1B petitioners; and (3) the Secretary of Labor's authority under the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act to investigate an employer's alleged failure to meet specified labor attestation conditions (by repealing a sunset provision in that Act).
Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to impose a fraud prevention and detection fee on H-1B or L (intracompany business personnel) petitioners for use in combating fraud and carrying out labor attestation enforcement activities. Establishes an H-1B and L Fraud Prevention and Detection Account for the deposit of such fees.
Renders ineligible for L visa status those aliens who will serve in a capacity involving specialized knowledge at the worksite of an employer other than the petitioning employer or its affiliate if: (1) the alien will be controlled principally by the unaffiliated employer; or (2) the placement with the unaffiliated employer is part of an arrangement merely to provide labor rather than to use the alien's specialized knowledge.
Eliminates the current reduction in the continuous employment requirement for aliens seeking L visa status pursuant to an employer's blanket petition.
Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to maintain statistics regarding L visa petitions.
Cosponsors 5
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Apr 2, 2004.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-VA | Bob Goodlatte | Original | Apr 2, 2004 |
| R-CA | Howard P. "Buck" McKeon | Original | Apr 2, 2004 |
| R-AZ | Jeff Flake | Original | Apr 2, 2004 |
| R-TX | John R. Carter | Original | Apr 2, 2004 |
| R-OH | Steve Chabot | Original | Apr 2, 2004 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 20, 2004Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims.
- Apr 2, 2004Introduced in House
- Apr 2, 2004Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Immigration.
- Administrative fees
- Admission of nonimmigrants
- Alien labor
- Aliens
- Americans in foreign countries
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Crime prevention
- Diplomats
- Economics and Public Finance
- Education
- Embassies
- Federal law enforcement officers
- Fraud
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Government statistics
- Government trust funds
- Governmental investigations
- Graduate education
- Higher education
- Immigration
- International Affairs
- Labor and Employment
- Recruiting of employees
- Skilled labor
- Temporary employment
- Transfer of employees
- Visas
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 2, 2004Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.