S.Amdt. 3197

SA 3197. Mr. PAUL submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill H.R. 2, to provide for the reform and continuation of
agricultural and other programs of the Department of Agriculture
through fiscal year 2023, and for other purposes; which was ordered to
lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. ___. ELECTRONIC FILING AND APPEALS SYSTEM FOR H-2A
PETITIONS.

(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security
shall establish a process for filing petitions for
nonimmigrant visas under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)) that ensures that--
(1) petitioners may file such petitions through the website
of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services;
(2) any software developed to process such petitions
indicates to the petitioner any technical deficiency in the
application before submission; and
(3) any petitioner may file such petition in a paper format
if such petitioner prefers such format.
(b) Request for Evidence.--Section 218(h) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(h)) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
``(3) If U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issues a
Request for Evidence to an employer--
``(A) the employer may request such Request for Evidence to
be delivered in an online format; and
``(B) if the employer makes the request described in
subparagraph (A)--
``(i) the Request for Evidence shall be provided to the
employer in an online format; and
``(ii) not later than 10 business days after the employer
submits the requested evidence online, U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services shall provide an online response to the
employer--
``(I) indicating that the submitted evidence is sufficient;
or
``(II) explaining the reasons that such evidence is not
sufficient and providing the employer with an opportunity to
address any such deficiency.''.

SEC. ___. H-2A PROGRAM UPDATES.

(a) In General.--Section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)) is amended by inserting ``, labor as a
year-round equine worker, labor as a year-round livestock
worker (including as a dairy or poultry worker)'' before ``,
and the pressing of apples''.
(b) Joint Application; Deficiency Remedy.--Section
214(c)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1184(c)(1)) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(1)''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Multiple employers may submit a joint petition under
subparagraph (A) to import aliens as nonimmigrants described
in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a). Upon the approval of such
petition, each joint employer shall be subject to the
provisions under section 218 with respect to each alien
listed in such petition. If any individual party to such a
joint contract violates any condition for approval with
respect to the application or provisions under section 218
with respect to each alien listed in such petition, after
notice and opportunity for a hearing, the contract may be
modified to remove the party in violation from the contract
at no penalty to the remaining parties.
``(C) If a petition to import aliens as nonimmigrants
described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) is denied or if the
issuance of visas requested through such petition is delayed
due to a problem with the petition, the Director of U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services shall promptly notify
the petitioner of the reasons for such denial or delay and
provide the petitioner with reasonable time to remedy the
problem.
``(D) The period of authorized admission for a nonimmigrant
described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) under this
paragraph may not exceed the shorter of--
``(i) the period for which a petitioner under this
paragraph has contracted to employ the nonimmigrant; or
``(ii) three years.''.
(c) Labor Certification; Staggered Employment Dates.--
Section 218(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1188(h)), as amended by section ____(b), is further
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(4) An employer that is seeking to rehire aliens as H-2A
workers who previously worked for the employer as H-2A
workers may submit a simplified petition, to be developed by
the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, in
consultation with the Secretary of Labor, which shall include
a certification that the employer maintains compliance with
all applicable requirements with respect to the employment of
such aliens. Such petitions shall be approved upon completion
of applicable security screenings.
``(5) An employer that is seeking to hire aliens as H-2A
workers during different time periods in a given fiscal year
may submit a single petition to U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services that details the time period during
which each such alien is expected to be employed.
``(6) Upon receiving notification from an employer that the
employer's H-2A worker has prematurely abandoned employment
or has failed to appear for employment and such employer
wishes to replace such worker--
``(A) the Secretary of State shall promptly issue a visa
under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) to an eligible alien
designated by the employer to replace that worker; and
``(B) the Secretary of Homeland Security shall promptly
admit such alien into the United States upon completion of
applicable security screenings.''.
(d) Satisfaction of Housing Requirements by Voucher.--
Section 218(c)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1188(c)(4)) is amended--
(1) in the matter preceding the first proviso--
(A) by inserting ``or a voucher for housing'' after
``furnish housing'';
(B) by striking ``or to secure'' and inserting ``, to
secure'';
(C) by inserting ``, or to provide a voucher to be used by
workers in securing such housing'' before the semicolon;
(2) in the fourth proviso, by inserting ``or a voucher for
family housing'' after ``family housing'' the second place it
appears; and
(3) in the fifth proviso--
(A) by inserting ``or housing vouchers'' after ``secure
housing''; and
(B) by inserting ``or housing voucher'' after ``whether the
housing''.
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