Summary of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009

This summary highlights key provisions of the CIR ASAP Act and will be supplemented in the coming weeks as the IPC conducts deeper analysis of the proposals contained in the Act.

Strengthening America’s Workforce

Title V. Strengthening America’s Workforce

Commission on Immigration and Labor Markets: The bill creates an independent federal Commission on Immigration and Labor Markets that:

• Will develop employment based-immigration policies for the promotion of economic growth, competitiveness, and wage and labor protections.
• Will create a federal research agenda on the economic impact of immigration, analyze and publish employment related immigration data, and make recommendation to Congress for setting new levels of employment based migration as well as the numerical levels and characteristics of procedures for future flows of workers to be admitted into the United States.

Security and Prosperity Account: Many of the fees and fines generated by new programs within this bill will be deposited in a new Security and Prosperity Account.

• Funds in this account will be used to assist state based worker training programs, fund the Electronic Employment Verification System, fund the Commission on Immigration and Labor Markets, create additional funding programs to assist and train American workers, fund border security, detention and enforcement activities and reduce visa backlogs.

American Worker Recruit and Match System: Establishes the American Worker Recruit and Match System (AWRMS), a searchable database tied into state workforce agency networks that allows employers to post job opportunities in fields that have traditionally relied on unauthorized labor. AWRMS will match employers with qualified individuals who post their profiles on the website.

Revisions to Temporary Worker Programs: The bill seeks to increases protections on foreign recruitment and makes other changes to existing temporary worker programs:

• Requires written notice of terms of employment to ensure that foreign recruiters do not mislead prospective employees. Requires employers to identify recruiters working on their behalf to Secretary of labor, to give notice of possible violations, and to be liable for recruitment violations.
• Expands requirements for recruiting American workers before hiring foreign nationals, increases authority for Department of Labor to investigate potential fraud and abuse, authorizes annual audits of employers who rely heavily on H-1B program and increases penalties for violations.
• Authorizes DHS to audit L-1 visa participants. Penalties will be assessed for violations of the provisions of the L-1 visa program.

H-2B visa program: The bill establishes stricter requirements for recruitment of American workers and prohibits participation of employers who have conducted a mass lay-off in the past year and increases worker protections.

EB-5 Investor Visas: The bill:

• Permanently reauthorizes the EB-5 visa program and expands it to make available 10,000 visas.
• Permits expedited processing for an additional $2500 fee.
• Expands current definition of Targeted Employment Area to include among other characteristics rural areas, areas of high unemployment, counties with 20 percent or more population decrease since 1970.
• Authorizes DHS to study and recommend new strategies for job creation. Creates a new venture capitalist visa.