NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS ON H–2B WORKERS.

SEC. 402. NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS ON H–2B WORKERS.(a) In General.—Section 214(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)) is amended by adding at the end the following:“(9)(A) Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), an alien who has already been counted toward the numerical limitations of paragraph (1)(B) during any 1 of the 3 fiscal years prior to the fiscal year of the approved start date of a petition for a nonimmigrant worker described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b) shall not be counted toward such limitation for the fiscal year in which the petition is approved. Such an alien shall be considered a returning worker.“(B) A petition referred to in subparagraph (A) shall include, with respect to a returning worker—“(i) all information and evidence that the Secretary of Homeland Security determines is required to support a petition for status under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b);“(ii) the full name of the alien; and“(iii) a certification to the Department of Homeland Security that the alien is a returning worker.“(C) An H–2B visa or grant of nonimmigrant status for a returning worker shall be approved only if the alien is confirmed to be a returning worker by—“(i) the Department of State; or“(ii) if the alien is visa exempt or seeking to change to status under section 101 (a)(15)(H)(ii)(b), the Department of Homeland Security.”.(b) Effective Date.—(1) In general.—The amendment in subsection (a) shall take effect as if enacted on October 1, 2004, and shall expire on October 1, 2006.(2) Implementation.—Not later than 14 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall begin accepting and processing petitions filed on behalf of aliens described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, in a manner consistent with this section and the amendments made by this section. Notwithstanding section 214(g)(9)(B) of such Act, as added by subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall allocate additional numbers for fiscal year 2005 based on statistical 119 STAT. 319 estimates and projections derived from Department of State data.