[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10007 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10007
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize the admission
of nonimmigrant emergency medical technicians and paramedics.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 18, 2024
Mr. Higgins of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize the admission
of nonimmigrant emergency medical technicians and paramedics.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Paramedic and Emergency Medical
Technician Relief Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF H-1D VISAS FOR EMTS AND PARAMEDICS.
(a) Nonimmigrant Category.--Section 101(a)(15)(H)(i) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)) is amended
by striking ``; or'' at the end and inserting ``, or (d) who is coming
temporarily to the United States to perform services as an emergency
medical technician or paramedic, who meets the qualifications described
in section 212(u) , and with respect to whom the Secretary of Labor
determines and certifies to the Secretary of Homeland Security that an
unexpired attestation is on file and in effect under section 212(u)(2)
for the employer; or''.
(b) Requirements.--Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1182) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(u) Requirements for Admission of Nonimmigrant EMTs and
Paramedics.--
``(1) Qualifications.--The qualifications referred to in
section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(d), with respect to an alien who is
coming to the United States to perform services as an emergency
medical technician or paramedic, are that the alien--
``(A) has, at a minimum, obtained emergency medical
technician, paramedic, or equivalent pre-hospital care,
education or training in a foreign country or in the
United States;
``(B) not later than 12 weeks before the alien's
intended first date of employment in the United States,
has passed an appropriate examination (recognized in
regulations promulgated in consultation with the
Secretary of Health and Human Services) or has obtained
the appropriate certificate or license under State law
to practice as an emergency medical technician or
paramedic in the State of intended employment;
``(C) not later than 12 weeks before the alien's
intended first date of employment in the United States,
is fully qualified and eligible under the laws
(including such temporary or interim licensing
requirements which authorize the emergency medical
technician or paramedic to be employed) governing the
place of intended employment to engage in practice as
an emergency medical technician or a paramedic
immediately upon admission to the United States; and
``(D) not later than 12 weeks before the alien's
intended first date of employment in the United States,
has passed appropriate criminal record checks and other
background and database checks, as determined by the
Secretary of Homeland Security in coordination with the
Attorney General, including biometric data collection,
a review of the applicant's criminal and immigration
records, verification of the applicant's identity and
travel history, and an assessment of any potential risk
the applicant poses to public safety or national
security.
``(2) Attestation.--
``(A) The attestation referred to in section
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(d), with respect to an employer for
which an alien will perform services, is an attestation
as to the following:
``(i) The employment of the alien will not
adversely affect the wages and working
conditions of emergency medical technicians or
paramedics, as applicable, similarly employed.
``(ii) The alien employed by the employer
will be paid the wage rate for emergency
medical technicians or paramedics, as
applicable, similarly employed by the employer.
``(iii) The employer has taken and is
taking timely and significant steps designed to
recruit and retain sufficient emergency medical
technicians or paramedics, as applicable, who
are United States citizens or immigrants who
are authorized to perform such services.
``(iv) There is not a strike or lockout in
the course of a labor dispute, the employer did
not lay off and will not lay off an emergency
medical technician or a paramedic, as
applicable, employed by the employer within the
period beginning 90 days before and ending 90
days after the date of filing of any visa
petition, and the employment of such an alien
is not intended or designed to influence an
election for a bargaining representative for
emergency medical technicians or paramedics of
the employer.
``(v) At the time of the filing of the
petition for emergency medical technicians or
paramedics, as applicable, under section
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(d), notice of the filing has
been provided by the employer to the bargaining
representative of the emergency medical
technicians or paramedics employed by the
employer or, where there is no such bargaining
representative, notice of the filing has been
provided to the emergency medical technicians
or paramedics employed by the employer through
posting in conspicuous locations or electronic
notification to such employees.
``(vi) The employer will not, at any time,
employ a number of aliens issued visas or
otherwise provided nonimmigrant status under
section 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(d) of this title as
emergency medical technicians or paramedics
that exceeds 15 percent of the total number of
emergency medical technicians or paramedics,
respectively, employed by the employer.
``(vii) The employer is affiliated with an
emergency medical services education program
approved by the applicable licensing body of
the State in which the alien will work.
Nothing in clause (iii) shall be construed as
requiring an employer to have taken significant
steps described in such clause before the
effective date of the Paramedic and Emergency
Medical Technician Relief Act of 2023. A copy
of the attestation referred to in section
101(1)(15)(H)(i)(d) shall be provided, within
30 days of the date of filing, to emergency
medical technicians or paramedics, as
applicable, employed by the employer on the
date of filing.
``(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A)(iii), each
of the following shall be considered a significant step
reasonably designed to recruit and retain emergency
medical technicians or paramedics:
``(i) Operating a training program for
emergency medical technicians or paramedics or
financing (or providing participation in) a
training program for emergency medical
technicians or paramedics.
``(ii) Providing career development
programs and other methods of facilitating
nationals of the United States to become
emergency medical technicians or paramedics.
``(iii) Paying emergency medical
technicians or paramedics wages at a rate equal
to or higher than currently being paid to
emergency medical technicians or paramedics
similarly employed in the geographic area.
``(iv) Providing reasonable opportunities
for meaningful salary advancement by emergency
medical technicians or paramedics.
The steps described in this subparagraph shall not be
considered to be an exclusive list of the significant
steps that may be taken to meet the conditions of
subparagraph (A)(iii). Nothing in this subparagraph
shall require an employer to take more than one step if
the employer can demonstrate that taking a second step
is not reasonable.
``(C) Subject to subparagraph (E), an attestation
under subparagraph (A)--
``(i) shall expire on the date that is the
later of--
``(I) the end of the one-year
period beginning on the date of its
filing with the Secretary of Labor; or
``(II) the end of the period of
admission under section
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(d) of the last alien
with respect to whose admission it was
applied (in accordance with clause
(ii)); and
``(ii) shall apply to petitions filed
during the one-year period beginning on the
date of its filing with the Secretary of Labor
if the employer states in each such petition
that it continues to comply with the conditions
in the attestation.
``(D) An employer may meet the requirements under
this paragraph with respect to more than one emergency
medical technician or paramedic in a single petition.
``(E)(i) The Secretary of Labor shall compile and
make publicly available online a list identifying
employers which have filed petitions for nonimmigrants
under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(d) and, for each such
employer, a copy of the employer's attestation under
subparagraph (A) (and accompanying documentation) and
each such petition filed by the employer.
``(ii) The Secretary of Labor shall establish a
process, including reasonable time limits, for the
receipt, investigation, and disposition of complaints
respecting an employer's failure to meet conditions
attested to or an employer's misrepresentation of a
material fact in an attestation. Complaints may be
filed by any aggrieved person or organization
(including bargaining representatives, associations
deemed appropriate by the Secretary, and other
aggrieved parties as determined under regulations of
the Secretary). The Secretary shall conduct an
investigation under this clause if there is reasonable
cause to believe that an employer fails to meet
conditions attested to. Subject to the time limits
established under this clause, this subparagraph shall
apply regardless of whether an attestation is expired
or unexpired at the time a complaint is filed.
``(iii) Under such process, the Secretary shall
provide, within 180 days after the date such a
complaint is filed, for a determination as to whether
or not a basis exists to make a finding described in
clause (iv). If the Secretary determines that such a
basis exists, the Secretary shall provide for notice of
such determination to the interested parties and an
opportunity for a hearing on the complaint within 60
days of the date of the determination.
``(iv) If the Secretary of Labor finds, after
notice and opportunity for a hearing, that an employer
(for which an attestation is made) has failed to meet a
condition attested to or that there was a
misrepresentation of material fact in the attestation,
the Secretary of Labor shall notify the Secretary of
Homeland Security of such finding and may, in addition,
impose such other administrative remedies (including
civil monetary penalties in an amount not to exceed
$1,000 per emergency medical technician or paramedic
per violation, with the total penalty not to exceed
$10,000 per violation) as the Secretary of Labor
determines to be appropriate. Upon receipt of such
notice, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall not
approve petitions filed with respect to an employer
during a period of at least one year for emergency
medical technicians or paramedics, as applicable to be
employed by the employer.
``(v) In addition to the sanctions provided for
under clause (iv), if the Secretary of Labor finds,
after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, that an
employer has violated the condition attested to under
subparagraph (A)(ii) (relating to payment of emergency
medical technicians or paramedics at the prevailing
wage rate), the Secretary shall order the employer to
provide for payment of such amounts of back pay as may
be required to comply with such condition.
``(F)(i) The Secretary of Labor shall impose on an
employer filing an attestation under subparagraph (A) a
filing fee, in an amount prescribed by the Secretary
based on the costs of carrying out the Secretary's
duties under this subsection, but not exceeding $250.
``(ii) Fees collected under this subparagraph shall
be deposited in a fund established for this purpose in
the Treasury of the United States.
``(iii) The collected fees in the fund shall be
available to the Secretary of Labor, to the extent and
in such amounts as may be provided in appropriations
Acts, to cover the costs described in clause (i), in
addition to any other funds that are available to the
Secretary to cover such costs.
``(3) Period of admission.--The period of admission of an
alien under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(d) shall be 3 years, and
may be extended for an additional 3-year period.
``(4) Numerical limitation.--
``(A) In general.--The total number of aliens who
may be issued visas or otherwise provided nonimmigrant
status during any fiscal year under section
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(d) may not exceed 2,500. The numerical
limitation under this subparagraph shall be allocated
for a fiscal year so that the total number of aliens
subject to such numerical limit who enter the United
States pursuant to a visa or are accorded nonimmigrant
status under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(d) during the
first 6 months of such fiscal year is not more than
1,250.
``(B) Adjustment by secretary.--Beginning in the
fourth fiscal year that begins after the date of
enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary of Homeland
Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor
and other relevant stakeholders, may adjust the
numerical limitation under subparagraph (A), as the
Secretary finds appropriate. In making such
determination, the Secretary shall consider the
following:
``(i) The current and projected demand for
emergency medical technicians and paramedics in
the United States.
``(ii) The capacity of United States
educational and training institutions to
produce emergency medical technicians and
paramedics.
``(iii) The potential impact of the
admission of nonimmigrants under section
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(d) on the domestic labor
market, including wages, working conditions,
and employment opportunities for United States
workers.
``(iv) The need to balance the admission of
foreign emergency medical technicians and
paramedics with the protection of United States
workers and the promotion of domestic workforce
development initiatives.
The Secretary of Homeland Security is authorized