§1375b Protections for Domestic Workers and Other Nonimmigrants

Summary

Require the Secretary of State, working with Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and the Labor Secretary, to make a short pamphlet and video that explain legal rights and help for people applying for job- or school-related nonimmigrant visas. The materials must be shown in consular waiting rooms where most such applicants go, and the State Department can add video equipment if needed. The State Department must talk with worker and anti-trafficking groups while making the pamphlet. The pamphlet and video must explain the visa process (including job portability), immigration and labor rights, that slavery, trafficking, sexual assault, extortion, blackmail, and worker abuse are illegal, victims’ rights (access to immigrant and labor groups, ability to sue in U.S. courts, right to report abuse without retaliation, the right to give a passport to an employer, and the need for an employment contract and its protections), and where to get help (including federal hotlines and the Operation Rescue and Restore hotline). The materials must be translated or dubbed into the main foreign languages used by applicants, with the languages reviewed every 2 years. The pamphlet must be distributed in all those languages no later than 180 days after December 23, 2008, and the video no later than 1 year after March 7, 2013. They must be posted on the State, Homeland Security, Justice, and Labor Department websites and at consular posts, and made available to government agencies, advocacy groups, and foreign labor brokers. A consular officer interviewing a visa applicant must confirm the applicant got, read, and understood the pamphlet. If not, the officer must give and explain the information in a language the applicant understands and offer to answer questions. The officer must tell applicants about their legal rights, that listed crimes are illegal, victims’ rights to help and to report abuse, and where to find victim services and hotlines. Defined terms (one line each): employment- or education-based nonimmigrant visa — a visa listed under subparagraph (A)(iii), (G)(v), (H), or (J) of section 1101(a)(15) of this title and any visa for a personal or domestic servant accompanying or joining an employer; severe forms of trafficking in persons — as defined in section 7102 of title 22; Secretary — the Secretary of State; abusing and exploiting — conduct that violates title 18 sections 1466A, 1589, 1591, 1592, 2251, or 2251A.