PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Dec 16, 2009
H-2B Program Reform Act of 2009 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make any alien seeking to enter the United States as an H-2B visa (nonagricultural temporary/seasonal worker) inadmissible unless the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) certifies to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) that: (1) there are not sufficient U.S. workers to perform such temporary labor or services; and (2) such alien's employment will not adversely affect similarly-employed U.S. workers' wages and working conditions.
Requires H-2B employers to file an application with the Secretary which shall include information regarding: (1) the numbers, occupational classifications, and employment locations of such nonimmigrants; (2) the recurring and temporary need for such labor and the inability to secure U.S. workers to meet such labor needs; and (3) instances of employment-related violations within the previous three years.
Limits labor contracting and construction entities registration eligibility.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Directs the Secretary to set the number of H-2B visas each employer would be approved to use. Requires an employer to pay a $100 application fee and a $100 per-worker fee.
Sets forth: (1) labor certification application provisions; (2) H-2B and U.S. worker protections; and (3) penalties, including temporary program removal, for compliance failures.
Establishes in the Treasury the Employment Certification Fee Account.
States that forest, conservation, and logging workers shall be considered: (1) H-2A nonimmigrant agricultural workers for employment purposes; and (2) seasonal agricultural workers under the Migrant Seasonal Worker Protection Act.
People & committees
Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-16] · D–CA
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
Referred to House Education and Labor
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to House Judiciary
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Mar 23, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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