H.R. 2729: Carnivals are Real Entertainment Act

HR2729, the "Carnivals are Real Entertainment Act," creates a new nonimmigrant status in section 101(a)(15)(P)(iv) of the Immigration and Nationality Act for foreign workers coming to the United States temporarily and solely to perform jobs that are "integral and essential" to a mobile entertainment provider. The bill is tightly focused on traveling entertainment businesses, not permanent amusement parks or general event staffing.

The bill spells out what counts as a "mobile entertainment provider." It includes a carnival or circus that travels around the United States on a temporary or seasonal basis, and it also includes affiliated service providers such as food and game concessions that travel on a seasonal or temporary basis to serve State, county, and local fairs and festivals, or to support fundraising events sponsored by not-for-profit organizations. That means the measure reaches beyond rides alone and covers the broader traveling fair ecosystem.

It also defines the jobs covered in unusually concrete terms. "Functions that are integral and essential" include transporting, assembly, operation, disassembly, and maintenance of mobile entertainment attractions, structures, and equipment, including rides, games, novelties, and food or beverage concessions, plus other common industry functions necessary for safe and efficient operation. In plain English, the bill is trying to cover the full setup-to-teardown workforce that moves with a carnival or circus.

Instead of inventing a brand-new compliance system from scratch, the bill says mobile entertainment providers must follow the same program requirements that apply to H-2B nonimmigrants under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b), using the Department of Labor framework in 20 C.F.R. Part 655. It also puts both the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Labor on a firm implementation schedule: each must separately publish proposed rules in the Federal Register no later than 180 days after enactment, and final rules must be published no later than 1 year after enactment. The bill does not specify a dollar authorization, grant program, or new penalty amount in the text summarized here.