United States 115th Congress Status: Died Bipartisan · 28 R · 7 D · 1 I cosponsors

HR 1627 — Small Business Assistance Act of 2017

Last action — Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. Died in session

This bill died with 115th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Small Business Assistance Act of 2017 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt returning workers from the nonimmigrant H-2B visa (temporary nonagricultural services) annual numerical limitations through FY2017. Such amendment shall take effect as if enacted on October 1, 2016.

Bill Text

Sections of law this bill changes

1 section in 1 law

From the bill's own amending language, matched to the official United States Code (current through Public Law 119-124).

Immigration and nationality · 8 U.S.C. ch. 12 1 section
  • § 1184 Admission of nonimmigrants Amends

    8 U.S.C. § 1184 — at 1184(g)(9)(A)

    The law today

    (a) Regulations (1) The admission to the United States of any alien as a nonimmigrant shall be for such time and under such conditions as the Attorney General may by regulations prescribe, including when he deems necessary the giving of a bond with sufficient surety in such sum and containing such conditions as the Attorney General shall prescribe, to insure that at the expiration of such time or upon failure to maintain the status under which he was admitted, or to maintain any status subsequently acquired under section 1258 of this title, such alien will depart from the United States. No alien admitted to Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands without a visa pursuant to section 1182(l) of this title may be authorized to enter or stay in the United States other than in Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or to remain in Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for a period exceeding 45 days from date of admission to Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. No alien admitted to the United States without a visa pursuant to section 1187 of this title may be authorized to remain in the United States as a nonimmigrant visitor for a period exceeding 90 days from the date of admission. (2) (A) The period of authorized status as a nonimmigrant described in section 1101(a)(15)(O) of this title shall be for such period as the Attorney General may specify in order to provide for the event (or events) for which the nonimmigrant is admitted. (B) The period of authorized status as a nonimmigrant described in section 1101(a)(15)(P) of this title shall be for such period as the Attorney General may specify in order to provide for the competition, event, or performance for which the nonimmigrant is admitted. In the case of nonimmigrants admitted as individual athletes under section 1101(a)(15)(P) of this title, the period of authorized status may be for an initial period (not to exceed 5 years) during which the nonimmigrant will perform as an athlete and such period may be extended by the Attorney General for an additional period of up to 5 years. (b) Presumption of status; written waiver Every alien (other than a nonimmigrant described in subparagraph (L) or (V) of section 1101(a)(15) of this title, and other than a nonimmigrant described in any provision of section 1101(a)(15)(H)(i) of this title except subclause (b1) of such section) shall be presumed to be an immigrant until he establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer, at the time of application for a visa, and the immigration officers, at the time of application for admission, that he is entitled to a nonimmigrant status under section 1101(a)(15) of this title. An alien who is an officer or employee of any foreign government or of any international organization entitled to enjoy privileges, exemptions, and immunities under the International Organizations Immunities Act [22 U.S.C. 288 et seq.], or an alien who is the attendant, servant, employee, or member of the immediate family of any such alien shall not be entitled to apply for or receive an immigrant visa, or to enter the United States as an immigrant unless he executes a written waiver in the same form and substance as is prescribed by section 1257(b) of this title. (c) Petition of importing employer (1) The question of importing any alien as a nonimmigrant under subparagraph (H), (L), (O), or (P)(i) of section 1101(a)(15) of this title (excluding nonimmigrants under section 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b1) of this title) in any specific case or specific cases shall be determined by the Attorney General, after consultation with appropriate agencies of the Government, upon petition of the importing employer. Such petition, shall be made and approved before the visa is granted. The petition shall be in such form and contain such information as the Attorney General shall prescribe. The approval of such a petition shall not, of itself, be construed as establi...

    269 other bills also change this section · Follow it → Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗

How this bill changes current law

1 change Share ↗

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill reinstates the returning worker exemption for H-2B visas by adjusting the fiscal years for which certain workers are exempt from counting against H-2B visa limits.

  • 8 U.S.C. 1184(g)(9)(A)

    during fiscal year 2013, 2014, or 2015 shall not again be counted toward such limitation during fiscal year 2016 → during fiscal year 2014, 2015, or 2016 shall not again be counted toward such limitation during fiscal year 2017

    This change updates the years for which returning workers are exempt from visa limitations, allowing more workers to be counted as returning without affecting visa caps.

Action History

  1. Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Introduced in House

  4. Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 35 co-sponsors · 511 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (35)

Not signed on (511)

511 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 511 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

immigration labor
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HR 1627 do?
Small Business Assistance Act of 2017 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt returning workers from the nonimmigrant H-2B visa (temporary nonagricultural services) annual numerical limitations through FY2017. Such amendment shall take effect as if enacted on October 1, 2016.
Who sponsors HR 1627?
HR 1627 is sponsored by Bergman, Jack (Republican), Keating, William R. (Democratic), Meehan, Patrick (Republican), Comstock, Barbara (Republican), Weber, Randy K. Sr. (Republican), Stewart, Chris (Republican), Pingree, Chellie (Democratic), Messer, Luke (Republican), Stefanik, Elise M. (Republican), Gibbs, Bob (Republican), Moolenaar, John R. (Republican), Johnson, Bill (Republican), Wagner, Ann (Republican), Westerman, Bruce (Republican), Poliquin, Bruce (Republican), Fitzpatrick, Brian K. (Republican), Nolan, Richard M. (Democratic), Jenkins, Lynn (Republican), Cramer, Kevin (Republican), Vela, Filemon (Democratic), Thompson, Glenn (Republican), Huizenga, Bill (Republican), Coffman, Mike (Republican), Faso, John J. (Republican), Polis, Jared (Democratic), Mullin, Markwayne (Republican), Bishop, Mike (Republican), Yoho, Ted S. (Republican), Young, Don (Republican), Mitchell, Paul (Independent), Shea-Porter, Carol (Democratic), Paulsen, Erik (Republican), Trott, David A. (Republican), Upton, Fred (Republican), Mast, Brian J. (Republican), and Ryan, Tim (Democratic).
What is the current status of HR 1627?
This bill died with 115th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track HR 1627?
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