Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act

This bill would create a new H-2C visa that lets foreign workers come to the United States temporarily to fill year-round, non-farm jobs that do not require a bachelor's degree. Employers must register, operate in a county or metro area with unemployment at or below 7.9 percent, advertise each job to U.S. workers, and pay the higher of their actual wage or the local prevailing wage. The number of approved positions would start at 65,000 per year and could range between 45,000 and 85,000, with at least one quarter set aside for small businesses. Workers could stay up to 36 months, renewable twice, could change employers after one year, and would not qualify for certain federal tax credits. The bill also sets fees, penalties, an electronic tracking system, required E-Verify use, and a Census Bureau study of the program's effects.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Lloyd Smucker Republican sponsor
• 10 cosponsors