CONTINUED VALIDITY OF LABOR CERTIFICATIONS AND CLASSIFICATION PETITIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES.

SEC. 624. CONTINUED VALIDITY OF LABOR CERTIFICATIONS AND CLASSIFICATION PETITIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES. (a) Labor Certification.— Section 212(a)(5)(A) (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “(iii) Professional athletes.— “(I) In general.— A certification made under clause (i) with respect to a professional athlete shall remain valid with respect to the athlete after the athlete changes employer, if the new employer is a team in the same sport as the team which employed the athlete when the athlete first applied for the certification. “(II) Definition.— For purposes of subclause (I), the term ‘professional athlete’ means an individual who is employed as an athlete by— 110 STAT. 3009–699 “(aa) a team that is a member of an association of 6 or more professional sports teams whose total combined revenues exceed $10,000,000 per year, if the association governs the conduct of its members and regulates the contests and exhibitions in which its member teams regularly engage; or “(bb) any minor league team that is affiliated with such an association.”. (b) Classification Petitions.— Section 204 (8 U.S.C. 1154) is amended by adding at the end the following: “(i) Professional Athletes.— “(1) In general.— A petition under subsection (a)(4)(D) for classification of a professional athlete shall remain valid for the athlete after the athlete changes employers, if the new employer is a team in the same sport as the team which was the employer who filed the petition. “(2) Definition.— For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘professional athlete’ means an individual who is employed as an athlete by— “(A) a team that is a member of an association of 6 or more professional sports teams whose total combined revenues exceed $10,000,000 per year, if the association governs the conduct of its members and regulates the contests and exhibitions in which its member teams regularly engage; or “(B) any minor league team that is affiliated with such an association.”.