II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4069 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for terms and 

conditions for nonimmigrant workers performing agricultural labor or 

services, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22, 2024 

Mr. BENNET (for himself, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. 

FETTERMAN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. 

WELCH, and Mr. HICKENLOOPER) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide 

for terms and conditions for nonimmigrant workers performing agricultural labor or services, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Affordable and Secure Food Act of 2024’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—SECURING THE DOMESTIC AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE 

Subtitle A—Temporary Status for Certified Agricultural Workers 

Sec. 101. Certified agricultural worker status. 

Sec. 102. Terms and conditions of certified status. 

Sec. 103. Extensions of certified status. 

Sec. 104. Determination of continuous presence. 

Sec. 105. Employer obligations. 

Sec. 106. Administrative and judicial review. 

Subtitle B—Optional Earned Residence for Long-Term Workers 

Sec. 111. Optional adjustment of status for long-term agricultural workers. 

Sec. 112. Payment of taxes. 

Sec. 113. Adjudication and decision; review. 

Subtitle C—General Provisions 

Sec. 121. Definitions. 

Sec. 122. Rulemaking; Fees. 

Sec. 123. Background checks. 

Sec. 124. Protection for children. 

Sec. 125. Limitation on removal. 

Sec. 126. Documentation of agricultural work history. 

Sec. 127. Employer protections. 

Sec. 128. Correction of social security records; conforming amendments. 

Sec. 129. Disclosures and privacy. 

Sec. 130. Penalties for false statements in applications. 

Sec. 131. Dissemination of information. 

Sec. 132. Exemption from numerical limitations. 

Sec. 133. Reports to Congress. 

Sec. 134. Grant program to assist eligible applicants. 

Sec. 135. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE II—ENSURING AN AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE FOR THE 

FUTURE 

Subtitle A—Reforming the H–2A Temporary Worker Program 

Sec. 201. Comprehensive and streamlined electronic H–2A platform. 

Sec. 202. H–2A program requirements. 

Sec. 203. Agency roles and responsibilities. 

Sec. 204. Worker protection and compliance. 

Sec. 205. Report on wage protections. 

Sec. 206. Portable H–2A visa pilot program. 

Sec. 207. Improving access to permanent residence. 

Subtitle B—Preservation and Construction of Farm Worker Housing 

Sec. 220. Short title. 

Sec. 221. New farm worker housing. 

Sec. 222. Loan and grant limitations. 

Sec. 223. Operating assistance subsidies. 

Sec. 224. Rental assistance contract authority. 

Sec. 225. Eligibility for rural housing vouchers. 


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Sec. 226. Permanent establishment of housing preservation and revitalization 

program. 

Sec. 227. Amount of voucher assistance. 

Sec. 228. Funding for multifamily technical improvements. 

Sec. 229. Plan for preserving affordability of rental projects. 

Sec. 230. Covered housing programs. 

Sec. 231. Eligibility of certified workers. 

Subtitle C—Foreign Labor Recruiter Accountability 

Sec. 251. Definitions. 

Sec. 252. Registration of foreign labor recruiters. 

Sec. 253. Enforcement. 

Sec. 254. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE III—ELECTRONIC VERIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT 

ELIGIBILITY 

Sec. 301. Electronic employment eligibility verification system. 

Sec. 302. Mandatory electronic verification for the agricultural industry. 

Sec. 303. Coordination with E–Verify Program. 

Sec. 304. Fraud and misuse of documents. 

Sec. 305. Technical and conforming amendments. 

Sec. 306. Protection of Social Security Administration programs. 

Sec. 307. Report on the implementation of the electronic employment 

verification system. 

Sec. 308. Modernizing and streamlining the employment eligibility verification 

process. 

Sec. 309. Rulemaking; Paperwork Reduction Act. 

1 TITLE I—SECURING THE DOMES2 TIC AGRICULTURAL WORK3 FORCE 

4 Subtitle A—Temporary Status for 

5 Certified Agricultural Workers 

6 SEC. 101. CERTIFIED AGRICULTURAL WORKER STATUS. 

7 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFIED AGRICULTURAL

8 WORKER STATUS.— 

9 (1) PRINCIPAL ALIENS.—The Secretary may 

10 grant certified agricultural worker status to an alien 

11 who submits a completed application, including the 


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1 required processing fees, before the end of the period 

2 set forth in subsection (c) and who— 

3 (A) performed agricultural labor or serv4 ices in the United States for at least 1,035 

5 hours (or 180 work days) during the 2-year pe6 riod preceding the date of the introduction of 

7 this Act; 

8 (B) on the date of the introduction of this 

9 Act— 

10 (i) is inadmissible or deportable from 

11 the United States; or 

12 (ii) is under a grant of deferred en13 forced departure, has been paroled into the 

14 United States, or has temporary protected 

15 status under section 244 of the Immigra16 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a); 

17 (C) subject to section 104, has been con18 tinuously present in the United States since the 

19 date of the introduction of this Act and until 

20 the date on which the alien is granted certified 

21 agricultural worker status; and 

22 (D) is not otherwise ineligible for certified 

23 agricultural worker status as provided in sub24 section (b). 


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1 (2) DEPENDENT SPOUSE AND CHILDREN.—The 

2 Secretary may grant certified agricultural dependent 

3 status to the spouse or child of an alien granted cer4 tified agricultural worker status under paragraph 

5 (1) if the spouse or child is not ineligible for cer6 tified agricultural dependent status as provided in 

7 subsection (b). 

8 (b) GROUNDS FOR INELIGIBILITY.— 

9 (1) GROUNDS OF INADMISSIBILITY.—Except as 

10 provided in paragraph (3), an alien is ineligible for 

11 certified agricultural worker or certified agricultural 

12 dependent status if the Secretary determines that 

13 the alien is inadmissible under section 212(a) of the 

14 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

15 1182(a)), except that in determining inadmis16 sibility— 

17 (A) paragraphs (4), (5), (7), and (9)(B) of 

18 such section shall not apply; 

19 (B) subparagraphs (A), (C), (D), (F), and 

20 (G) of such section 212(a)(6) and paragraphs 

21 (9)(C) and (10)(B) of such section 212(a) shall 

22 not apply unless based on the act of unlawfully 

23 entering the United States after the date of in24 troduction of this Act; and 


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1 (C) paragraphs (6)(B) and (9)(A) of such 

2 section 212(a) shall not apply unless the rel3 evant conduct began on or after the date of fil4 ing of the application for certified agricultural 

5 worker status. 

6 (2) ADDITIONAL CRIMINAL BARS.—Except as 

7 provided in paragraph (3), an alien is ineligible for 

8 certified agricultural worker status or certified agri9 cultural dependent status if the Secretary deter10 mines that (other than any offense under State law 

11 for which an essential element is the alien’s immi12 gration status, simple possession of cannabis or can13 nabis-related paraphernalia, any offense involving 

14 cannabis or cannabis-related paraphernalia which is 

15 no longer prosecutable in the State in which the con16 viction was entered, any offense involving civil dis17 obedience without violence, and any minor traffic of18 fense) the alien has been convicted of— 

19 (A) any felony offense; 

20 (B) an aggravated felony (as defined in 

21 section 101(a)(43) of the Immigration and Na22 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)) at the 

23 time of the conviction); 

24 (C) 2 misdemeanor offenses involving 

25 moral turpitude (as described in section 


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1 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) of the Immigration and Na2 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(I))), 

3 unless an offense is waived by the Secretary 

4 under paragraph (3)(B); or 

5 (D) 3 or more misdemeanor offenses not 

6 occurring on the same date, and not arising out 

7 of the same act, omission, or scheme of mis8 conduct. 

9 (3) WAIVERS FOR CERTAIN GROUNDS OF INAD10 MISSIBILITY.—For humanitarian purposes, family 

11 unity, or if otherwise in the public interest, the Sec12 retary may waive the grounds of inadmissibility 

13 under— 

14 (A) paragraph (1), (6)(E), or (10)(D) of 

15 section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nation16 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)); or 

17 (B) subparagraphs (A) and (D) of section 

18 212(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

19 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)), unless inadmis20 sibility is based on a conviction that would oth21 erwise render the alien ineligible under subpara22 graph (A), (B), or (D) of paragraph (2). 

23 (c) APPLICATION.— 

24 (1) APPLICATION PERIOD.—Except as provided 

25 in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall accept initial 


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1 applications for certified agricultural worker status 

2 during the 18-month period beginning on the date 

3 on which the interim final rule is published in the 

4 Federal Register pursuant to section 122(a). 

5 (2) EXTENSION.—If the Secretary determines, 

6 during the initial period described in paragraph (1), 

7 that additional time is required to process initial ap8 plications for certified agricultural worker status or 

9 for other good cause, the Secretary may extend the 

10 period for accepting applications for up to an addi11 tional 12 months. 

12 (3) SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—An alien may file an 

14 application with the Secretary under this sec15 tion with the assistance of an attorney or a 

16 nonprofit religious, charitable, social service, or 

17 similar organization recognized by the Board of 

18 Immigration Appeals under section 292.2 of 

19 title 8, Code of Federal Regulations. The Sec20 retary shall also create a procedure for accept21 ing applications filed by qualified designated en22 tities with the consent of the applicant. 

23 (B) FARM SERVICE AGENCY OFFICES.— 

24 The Secretary, in consultation with the Sec25 retary of Agriculture, shall establish a process 


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1 for the filing of applications under this section 

2 at Farm Service Agency offices throughout the 

3 United States. 

4 (4) EVIDENCE OF APPLICATION FILING.—As 

5 soon as practicable after receiving an application for 

6 certified agricultural worker status, the Secretary 

7 shall provide the applicant with a document acknowl8 edging the receipt of such application. Such docu9 ment shall serve as interim proof of the alien’s au10 thorization to accept employment in the United 

11 States and shall be accepted by an employer as evi12 dence of employment authorization under section 

13 274A(b)(1)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality 

14 Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)(C)), if the employer is 

15 employing the holder of such document to perform 

16 agricultural labor or services, pending a final admin17 istrative decision on the application. 

18 (5) EFFECT OF PENDING APPLICATION.—Dur19 ing the period beginning on the date on which an 

20 alien applies for certified agricultural worker status 

21 under this subtitle, and ending on the date on which 

22 the Secretary makes a final administrative decision 

23 regarding such application, the alien and any de24 pendents included in the application— 


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1 (A) may apply for advance parole, which 

2 shall be granted upon demonstrating a legiti3 mate need to travel outside the United States 

4 for a temporary purpose; 

5 (B) may not be detained by the Secretary 

6 or removed from the United States unless the 

7 Secretary makes a prima facie determination 

8 that such alien is, or has become, ineligible for 

9 certified agricultural worker status; 

10 (C) may not be considered unlawfully 

11 present under section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Im12 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

13 1182(a)(9)(B)); and 

14 (D) may not be considered an unauthor15 ized alien (as defined in section 274A(h)(3) of 

16 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

17 1324a(h)(3))). 

18 (6) WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATION.—The Sec19 retary shall, upon receipt of a request from the ap20 plicant to withdraw an application for certified agri21 cultural worker status under this subtitle, cease 

22 processing of the application, and close the case. 

23 Withdrawal of the application shall not prejudice 

24 any future application filed by the applicant for any 

25 immigration benefit under this Act or under the ImVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4069.IS S4069

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1 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

2 seq.). 

3 (7) PROCESSING FEE.—A principal alien, his or 

4 her spouse, or his or her child who submits an appli5 cation for certified agricultural worker states under 

6 this subtitle shall pay a $250 processing fee, which 

7 shall be deposited into the Immigration Examina8 tions Fee Account pursuant to section 286(m) of the 

9 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

10 1356(m)). 

11 (d) ADJUDICATION AND DECISION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 123, the 

13 Secretary shall render a decision on an application 

14 for certified agricultural worker status not later than 

15 180 days after the date the application is filed. 

16 (2) NOTICE.—Before denying an application for 

17 certified agricultural worker status, the Secretary 

18 shall provide the alien with— 

19 (A) written notice that describes the basis 

20 for ineligibility or the deficiencies in the evi21 dence submitted; and 

22 (B) at least 90 days to contest ineligibility 

23 or submit additional evidence. 

24 (3) AMENDED APPLICATION.—An alien whose 

25 application for certified agricultural worker status is 


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1 denied under this section may submit an amended 

2 application for such status to the Secretary if the 

3 amended application is submitted within the applica4 tion period described in subsection (c) and contains 

5 all the required information and fees that were miss6 ing from the initial application. 

7 (e) ALTERNATIVE H–2A STATUS.—An alien who 

8 does not meet the required period of agricultural labor or 

9 services under subsection (a)(1)(A), but is otherwise eligi10 ble for certified agricultural worker status under such sub11 section, shall be eligible for classification as a non12 immigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the 

13 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

14 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)) upon approval of a petition sub15 mitted by a sponsoring employer, if the alien has per16 formed at least 575 hours or 100 work days of agricultural 

17 labor or services during the 3-year period preceding the 

18 date of the introduction of this Act. The Secretary shall 

19 create a procedure to provide for such classification with20 out requiring the alien to depart the United States and 

21 obtain a visa abroad. 

22 SEC. 102. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF CERTIFIED STATUS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

24 (1) APPROVAL.—Upon approval of an applica25 tion for certified agricultural worker status, or an 


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1 extension of such status pursuant to section 103, the 

2 Secretary shall issue— 

3 (A) documentary evidence of such status to 

4 the applicant; and 

5 (B) documentary evidence of certified agri6 cultural dependent status to any qualified de7 pendent included on such application. 

8 (2) DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE.—In addition to 

9 any other features and information as the Secretary 

10 may prescribe, the documentary evidence described 

11 in paragraph (1)— 

12 (A) shall be machine-readable and tamper13 resistant; 

14 (B) shall contain a digitized photograph; 

15 (C) shall serve as a valid travel and entry 

16 document for purposes of applying for admis17 sion to the United States; and 

18 (D) shall be accepted during the period of 

19 its validity by an employer as evidence of em20 ployment authorization and identity under sec21 tion 274A(b)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Na22 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)(B)). 

23 (3) VALIDITY PERIOD.—Certified agricultural 

24 worker and certified agricultural dependent status 


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shall be valid for 51 1 ⁄2 years beginning on the date of 

2 approval. 

3 (4) TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION.—An alien with 

4 certified agricultural worker or certified agricultural 

5 dependent status may— 

6 (A) travel within and outside of the United 

7 States, including commuting to the United 

8 States from a residence in a foreign country; 

9 and 

10 (B) be admitted to the United States upon 

11 return from travel abroad without first obtain12 ing a visa if the alien is in possession of— 

13 (i) valid, unexpired documentary evi14 dence of certified agricultural worker or 

15 certified agricultural worker dependent sta16 tus as described in subsection (a); or 

17 (ii) a travel document that has been 

18 approved by the Secretary and was issued 

19 to the alien after the alien’s original docu20 mentary evidence was lost, stolen, or de21 stroyed. 

22 (b) ABILITY TO CHANGE STATUS.— 

23 (1) CHANGE TO CERTIFIED AGRICULTURAL

24 WORKER STATUS.—Notwithstanding section 101(a), 

25 an alien with valid certified agricultural dependent 


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1 status may apply to change to certified agricultural 

2 worker status, at any time, if the alien— 

3 (A) submits a completed application, in4 cluding the required processing fees; and 

5 (B) is not ineligible for certified agricul6 tural worker status under section 101(b). 

7 (2) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this title pro8 hibits an alien granted certified agricultural worker 

9 or certified agricultural dependent status from 

10 changing status to any other immigrant or non11 immigrant classification for which the alien may be 

12 eligible. 

13 (c) PUBLIC BENEFITS, TAX BENEFITS, AND

14 HEALTH CARE SUBSIDIES.—Aliens granted certified agri15 cultural worker or certified agricultural dependent sta16 tus— 

17 (1) shall be considered lawfully present in the 

18 United States for all purposes for the duration of 

19 their status; 

20 (2) shall be eligible for Federal means-tested 

21 public benefits to the same extent as other individ22 uals who are not qualified aliens under section 431 

23 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Oppor24 tunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641); 


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1 (3) are entitled to the premium assistance tax 

2 credit authorized under section 36B of the Internal 

3 Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 36B); 

4 (4) shall not be subject to the rules applicable 

5 to individuals who are not lawfully present set forth 

6 in section 1402(e) of the Patient Protection and Af7 fordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18071(e)); and 

8 (5) shall not be subject to the rules applicable 

9 to individuals not lawfully present set forth in sec10 tion 5000A(d)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

11 1986 (26 U.S.C. 5000A(d)(3)). 

12 (d) REVOCATION OF STATUS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may revoke 

14 certified agricultural worker or certified agricultural 

15 dependent status if, after providing notice to the 

16 alien and the opportunity to provide evidence to con17 test the proposed revocation, the Secretary deter18 mines that the alien no longer meets the eligibility 

19 requirements for such status under section 101(b). 

20 (2) INVALIDATION OF DOCUMENTATION.—Upon 

21 the Secretary’s final determination to revoke an 

22 alien’s certified agricultural worker or certified agri23 cultural dependent status, any documentation issued 

24 by the Secretary to such alien under subsection (a) 


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1 shall automatically be rendered invalid for any pur2 pose except for departure from the United States. 

3 SEC. 103. EXTENSIONS OF CERTIFIED STATUS. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR EXTENSIONS OF STATUS.— 

5 (1) PRINCIPAL ALIENS.—The Secretary may 

6 extend certified agricultural worker status for additional periods of 5 1 7 ⁄2 years to an alien who submits 

8 a completed application, including the required proc9 essing fees, within the 120-day period beginning 60 

10 days before the expiration of the fifth year of the 

11 immediately preceding grant of certified agricultural 

12 worker status, if the alien— 

13 (A) except as provided in section 126(c), 

14 has performed agricultural labor or services in 

15 the United States for at least 690 hours (or 

16 120 work days) for each of the prior 5 years in 

17 which the alien held certified agricultural work18 er status; and 

19 (B) has not become ineligible for certified 

20 agricultural worker status under section 101(b). 

21 (2) DEPENDENT SPOUSE AND CHILDREN.—The 

22 Secretary may grant or extend certified agricultural 

23 dependent status to the spouse or child of an alien 

24 granted an extension of certified agricultural worker 

25 status under paragraph (1) if the spouse or child is 


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1 not ineligible for certified agricultural dependent sta2 tus under section 101(b). 

3 (3) WAIVER FOR LATE FILINGS.—The Sec4 retary may waive an alien’s failure to timely file be5 fore the expiration of the 120-day period described 

6 in paragraph (1) if the alien demonstrates that the 

7 delay was due to extraordinary circumstances be8 yond the alien’s control or for other good cause. 

9 (b) STATUS FOR WORKERS WITH PENDING APPLICA10 TIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Certified agricultural worker 

12 status of an alien who timely files an application to 

13 extend such status under subsection (a) (and the 

14 status of the alien’s dependents) shall be automati15 cally extended through the date on which the Sec16 retary makes a final administrative decision regard17 ing such application. 

18 (2) DOCUMENTATION OF EMPLOYMENT AU19 THORIZATION.—As soon as practicable after receipt 

20 of an application to extend certified agricultural 

21 worker status under subsection (a), the Secretary 

22 shall issue a document to the alien acknowledging 

23 the receipt of such application. An employer of the 

24 worker may not refuse to accept such document as 

25 evidence of employment authorization under section 


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1 274A(b)(1)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality 

2 Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)(C)), pending a final ad3 ministrative decision on the application. 

4 (c) NOTICE.—Prior to denying an application to ex5 tend certified agricultural worker status, the Secretary 

6 shall provide the alien with— 

7 (1) written notice that describes the basis for 

8 ineligibility or the deficiencies of the evidence sub9 mitted; and 

10 (2) at least 90 days to contest ineligibility or 

11 submit additional evidence. 

12 SEC. 104. DETERMINATION OF CONTINUOUS PRESENCE. 

13 (a) EFFECT OF NOTICE TO APPEAR.—The contin14 uous presence in the United States of an applicant for cer15 tified agricultural worker status under section 101 shall 

16 not terminate when the alien is served a notice to appear 

17 under section 239(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 

18 Act (8 U.S.C. 1229(a)). 

19 (b) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN BREAKS IN PRES20 ENCE.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graphs (2) and (3), an alien shall be considered to 

23 have failed to maintain continuous presence in the 

24 United States under this subtitle if the alien de25 parted the United States for any period exceeding 


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1 90 days, or for any periods, in the aggregate, ex2 ceeding 180 days. 

3 (2) EXTENSIONS FOR EXTENUATING CIR4 CUMSTANCES.—The Secretary may extend the time 

5 periods described in paragraph (1) for an alien who 

6 demonstrates that the failure to timely return to the 

7 United States was due to extenuating circumstances 

8 beyond the alien’s control, including the serious ill9 ness of the alien, or death or serious illness of a 

10 spouse, parent, son or daughter, grandparent, or sib11 ling of the alien. 

12 (3) TRAVEL AUTHORIZED BY THE SEC13 RETARY.—Any period of travel outside of the United 

14 States by an alien that was authorized by the Sec15 retary shall not be counted toward any period of de16 parture from the United States under paragraph 

17 (1). 

18 SEC. 105. EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS. 

19 (a) RECORD OF EMPLOYMENT.—An employer of an 

20 alien in certified agricultural worker status shall provide 

21 such alien with a written record of employment each year 

22 during which the alien provides agricultural labor or serv23 ices to such employer as a certified agricultural worker. 

24 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines, 

2 after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, that 

3 an employer of an alien with certified agricultural 

4 worker status has knowingly failed to provide the 

5 record of employment required under subsection (a), 

6 or has provided a false statement of material fact in 

7 such a record, the employer shall be subject to a civil 

8 penalty in an amount not to exceed $400 per viola9 tion. 

10 (2) LIMITATION.—The penalty under paragraph 

11 (1) for failure to provide employment records shall 

12 not apply unless the alien has provided the employer 

13 with evidence of employment authorization described 

14 in section 102 or 103. 

15 (3) DEPOSIT OF CIVIL PENALTIES.—Civil pen16 alties collected under this paragraph shall be depos17 ited into the Immigration Examinations Fee Ac18 count under section 286(m) of the Immigration and 

19 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(m)). 

20 SEC. 106. ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

21 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 

22 establish a process by which an applicant may seek admin23 istrative review of a denial of an application for certified 

24 agricultural worker status under this subtitle, an applica25 tion to extend such status, or a revocation of such status. 


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1 (b) ADMISSIBILITY IN IMMIGRATION COURT.—Each 

2 record of an alien’s application for certified agricultural 

3 worker status under this subtitle, application to extend 

4 such status, revocation of such status, and each record 

5 created pursuant to the administrative review process 

6 under subsection (a) is admissible in immigration court, 

7 and shall be included in the administrative record. 

8 (c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Notwithstanding any other 

9 provision of law, judicial review of the Secretary’s decision 

10 to deny an application for certified agricultural worker 

11 status, an application to extend such status, or the deci12 sion to revoke such status, shall be limited to the review 

13 of an order of removal under section 242 of the Immigra14 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1252). 

15 Subtitle B—Optional Earned 

16 Residence for Long-Term Workers 

17 SEC. 111. OPTIONAL ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR LONG18 TERM AGRICULTURAL WORKERS. 

19 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STA20 TUS.— 

21 (1) PRINCIPAL ALIENS.—The Secretary may 

22 adjust the status of an alien from that of a certified 

23 agricultural worker to that of a lawful permanent 

24 resident if the alien submits a completed application, 


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1 including the required processing and penalty fees, 

2 and the Secretary determines that— 

3 (A) except as provided in section 126(c), 

4 the alien performed agricultural labor or serv5 ices for not less than 575 hours or 100 work 

6 days each year— 

7 (i) for at least 10 years; and 

8 (ii) for at least 4 years while in cer9 tified agricultural worker status; and 

10 (B) the alien has not become ineligible for 

11 certified agricultural worker status under sec12 tion 101(b). 

13 (2) DEPENDENT ALIENS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The spouse and each 

15 child of an alien described in paragraph (1) 

16 whose status has been adjusted to that of a 

17 lawful permanent resident may be granted law18 ful permanent residence under this subtitle if— 

19 (i) the qualifying relationship to the 

20 principal alien existed on the date on which 

21 such alien was granted adjustment of sta22 tus under this subtitle; and 

23 (ii) the spouse or child is not ineligible 

24 for certified agricultural worker dependent 

25 status under section 101(b). 


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1 (B) PROTECTIONS FOR SPOUSES AND

2 CHILDREN.—The Secretary shall establish pro3 cedures to allow the spouse or child of a cer4 tified agricultural worker to self-petition for 

5 lawful permanent residence under this subtitle 

6 in cases involving— 

7 (i) the death of the certified agricul8 tural worker, so long as the spouse or child 

9 submits a petition not later than 2 years 

10 after the date of the worker’s death; or 

11 (ii) the spouse or a child being bat12 tered or subjected to extreme cruelty by 

13 the certified agricultural worker. 

14 (3) DOCUMENTATION OF WORK HISTORY.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—An applicant for ad16 justment of status under this section shall not 

17 be required to resubmit evidence of work his18 tory that has been previously submitted to the 

19 Secretary in connection with an approved exten20 sion of certified agricultural worker status. 

21 (B) PRESUMPTION OF COMPLIANCE.—The 

22 Secretary shall presume that the work require23 ment has been met if the applicant attests, 

24 under penalty of perjury, that he or she— 

25 (i) has satisfied the requirement; 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (ii) demonstrates presence in the 

2 United States during the most recent 10- 

3 year period; and 

4 (iii) presents documentation dem5 onstrating compliance with the work re6 quirement while the applicant was in cer7 tified agricultural worker status. 

8 (b) PENALTY FEE.—In addition to any processing 

9 fee that the Secretary may assess in accordance with sec10 tion 122(b), a principal alien seeking adjustment of status 

11 under this subtitle shall pay a $750 penalty fee, which 

12 shall be deposited into the Immigration Examinations Fee 

13 Account pursuant to section 286(m) of the Immigration 

14 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(m)). 

15 (c) EFFECT OF PENDING APPLICATION.—During the 

16 period beginning on the date on which an alien applies 

17 for adjustment of status under this subtitle, and ending 

18 on the date on which the Secretary makes a final adminis19 trative decision regarding such application, the alien and 

20 any dependents included on the application— 

21 (1) may apply for advance parole, which shall 

22 be granted upon demonstrating a legitimate need to 

23 travel outside the United States for a temporary 

24 purpose; 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (2) may not be detained by the Secretary or re2 moved from the United States unless the Secretary 

3 makes a prima facie determination that such alien 

4 is, or has become, ineligible for adjustment of status 

5 under subsection (a); 

6 (3) may not be considered unlawfully present 

7 under section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Immigration and 

8 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(B)); and 

9 (4) may not be considered an unauthorized 

10 alien (as defined in section 274A(h)(3) of the Immi11 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

12 1324a(h)(3))). 

13 (d) EVIDENCE OF APPLICATION FILING.—As soon as 

14 practicable after receiving an application for adjustment 

15 of status under this subtitle, the Secretary shall provide 

16 the applicant with a document acknowledging the receipt 

17 of such application. Such document shall serve as interim 

18 proof of the alien’s authorization to accept employment 

19 in the United States and shall be accepted by an employer 

20 as evidence of employment authorization under section 

21 274A(b)(1)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

22 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(1)(C)), pending a final administrative 

23 decision on the application. 

24 (e) WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATION.—The Secretary 

25 shall, upon receipt of a request to withdraw an application 


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1 for adjustment of status under this subtitle, cease proc2 essing of the application, and close the case. Withdrawal 

3 of the application shall not prejudice any future applica4 tion filed by the applicant for any immigration benefit 

5 under this Act or under the Immigration and Nationality 

6 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 

7 SEC. 112. PAYMENT OF TAXES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—An alien may not be granted ad9 justment of status under this subtitle unless the applicant 

10 has satisfied any applicable Federal tax liability. 

11 (b) COMPLIANCE.—An alien may demonstrate com12 pliance with subsection (a) by submitting such documenta13 tion as the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary 

14 of the Treasury, may require by regulation. 

15 SEC. 113. ADJUDICATION AND DECISION; REVIEW. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the requirements of 

17 section 123, the Secretary shall render a decision on an 

18 application for adjustment of status under this subtitle not 

19 later than 180 days after the date on which the application 

20 is filed. 

21 (b) NOTICE.—Prior to denying an application for ad22 justment of status under this subtitle, the Secretary shall 

23 provide the alien with— 


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1 (1) written notice that describes the basis for 

2 ineligibility or the deficiencies of the evidence sub3 mitted; and 

4 (2) at least 90 days to contest ineligibility or 

5 submit additional evidence. 

6 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 

7 establish a process by which an applicant may seek admin8 istrative review of a denial of an application for adjust9 ment of status under this subtitle. 

10 (d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Notwithstanding any other 

11 provision of law, an alien may seek judicial review of a 

12 denial of an application for adjustment of status under 

13 this title in an appropriate United States district court. 

14 Subtitle C—General Provisions 

15 SEC. 121. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this title: 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro18 vided, any term used in this title that is used in the 

19 immigration laws shall have the meaning given such 

20 term in the immigration laws (as such term is de21 fined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nation22 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101)). 

23 (2) AGRICULTURAL LABOR OR SERVICES.—The 

24 term ‘‘agricultural labor or services’’ means— 


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1 (A) agricultural labor or services (as such 

2 term is used in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii) of the 

3 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

4 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii))), without regard to whether 

5 the labor or services are of a seasonal or tem6 porary nature; and 

7 (B) agricultural employment (as such term 

8 is defined in section 3 of the Migrant and Sea9 sonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (29 

10 U.S.C. 1802)), and including employment with 

11 any agricultural cooperative, without regard to 

12 whether the specific service or activity is tem13 porary or seasonal. 

14 (3) APPLICABLE FEDERAL TAX LIABILITY.— 

15 The term ‘‘applicable Federal tax liability’’ means all 

16 Federal income taxes assessed in accordance with 

17 section 6203 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

18 beginning on the date on which the applicant was 

19 authorized to work in the United States as a cer20 tified agricultural worker. 

21 (4) APPROPRIATE UNITED STATES DISTRICT

22 COURT.—The term ‘‘appropriate United States dis23 trict court’’ means the United States District Court 

24 for the District of Columbia or the United States 


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•S 4069 IS

1 district court with jurisdiction over the alien’s prin2 cipal place of residence. 

3 (5) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ has the meaning 

4 given such term in section 101(b)(1) of the Immi5 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)). 

6 (6) CONVICTED OR CONVICTION.—The term 

7 ‘‘convicted’’ or ‘‘conviction’’ does not include a judg8 ment that has been expunged or set aside, that re9 sulted in a rehabilitative disposition, or the equiva10 lent. 

11 (7) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ means 

12 any person or entity, including any labor contractor 

13 or any agricultural association, that employs workers 

14 in agricultural labor or services. 

15 (8) QUALIFIED DESIGNATED ENTITY.—The 

16 term ‘‘qualified designated entity’’ means— 

17 (A) a qualified farm labor organization or 

18 an association of employers designated by the 

19 Secretary; or 

20 (B) any other entity that the Secretary 

21 designates as having substantial experience, 

22 demonstrated competence, and a history of 

23 long-term involvement in the preparation and 

24 submission of application for adjustment of staVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4069.IS S4069

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1 tus under title II of the Immigration and Na2 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.). 

3 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

5 (10) WORK DAY.—The term ‘‘work day’’ means 

6 any day in which the individual is employed 5.75 or 

7 more hours in agricultural labor or services. 

8 SEC. 122. RULEMAKING; FEES. 

9 (a) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 180 days after the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall pub11 lish in the Federal Register, an interim final rule imple12 menting this title. Notwithstanding section 553 of title 5, 

13 United States Code, the rule shall be effective, on an in14 terim basis, immediately upon publication, but may be 

15 subject to change and revision after public notice and op16 portunity for comment. The Secretary shall finalize such 

17 rule not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

18 of this Act. 

19 (b) FEES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may require 

21 an alien applying for any benefit under this title to 

22 pay a reasonable fee that is commensurate with the 

23 cost of processing the application. 

24 (2) FEE WAIVER; INSTALLMENTS.— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es2 tablish procedures to allow an alien to— 

3 (i) request a waiver of any fee that 

4 the Secretary may assess under this title if 

5 the alien demonstrates to the satisfaction 

6 of the Secretary that the alien is unable to 

7 pay the prescribed fee; or 

8 (ii) pay any fee or penalty that the 

9 Secretary may assess under this title in in10 stallments. 

11 (B) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this sec12 tion shall be read to prohibit an employer from 

13 paying any fee or penalty that the Secretary 

14 may assess under this title on behalf of an alien 

15 and the alien’s spouse or children. 

16 SEC. 123. BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

17 (a) SUBMISSION OF BIOMETRIC AND BIOGRAPHIC

18 DATA.—The Secretary may not grant or extend certified 

19 agricultural worker or certified agricultural dependent sta20 tus under subtitle A, or grant adjustment of status to that 

21 of a lawful permanent resident under subtitle B, unless 

22 the alien submits biometric and biographic data, in accord23 ance with procedures established by the Secretary. The 

24 Secretary shall provide an alternative procedure for aliens 


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•S 4069 IS

1 who cannot provide all required biometric or biographic 

2 data because of a physical impairment. 

3 (b) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—The Secretary shall use 

4 biometric, biographic, and other data that the Secretary 

5 determines appropriate to conduct security and law en6 forcement background checks and to determine whether 

7 there is any criminal, national security, or other factor 

8 that would render the alien ineligible for status under this 

9 title. An alien may not be granted any such status under 

10 this title unless security and law enforcement background 

11 checks are completed to the satisfaction of the Secretary. 

12 SEC. 124. PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

14 (b), for purposes of eligibility for certified agricultural de15 pendent status or lawful permanent resident status under 

16 this title, a determination of whether an alien is a child 

17 shall be made using the age of the alien on the date on 

18 which the initial application for certified agricultural 

19 worker status is filed with the Secretary of Homeland Se20 curity. 

21 (b) LIMITATION.—Subsection (a) shall apply for no 

22 more than 10 years after the date on which the initial 

23 application for certified agricultural worker status is filed 

24 with the Secretary of Homeland Security. 


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1 SEC. 125. LIMITATION ON REMOVAL. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—An alien who appears to be prima 

3 facie eligible for status under this title shall be given a 

4 reasonable opportunity to apply for such status. Such an 

5 alien may not be placed in removal proceedings or removed 

6 from the United States until a final administrative deci7 sion establishing ineligibility for such status is rendered. 

8 (b) ALIENS IN REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Notwith9 standing any other provision of the law, the Attorney Gen10 eral shall (upon motion by the Secretary with the consent 

11 of the alien, or motion by the alien) terminate removal 

12 proceedings, without prejudice, against an alien who ap13 pears to be prima facie eligible for status under this title, 

14 and provide such alien a reasonable opportunity to apply 

15 for such status. 

16 (c) EFFECT OF FINAL ORDER.—An alien present in 

17 the United States who has been ordered removed or has 

18 been permitted to depart voluntarily from the United 

19 States may, notwithstanding such order or permission to 

20 depart, apply for status under this title. Such alien shall 

21 not be required to file a separate motion to reopen, recon22 sider, or vacate the order of removal. If the Secretary ap23 proves the application, the Secretary shall notify the At24 torney General of such approval, and the Attorney General 

25 shall cancel the order of removal. If the Secretary renders 

26 a final administrative decision to deny the application, the 


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•S 4069 IS

1 order of removal or permission to depart shall be effective 

2 and enforceable to the same extent as if the application 

3 had not been made, only after all available administrative 

4 and judicial remedies have been exhausted. 

5 (d) EFFECT OF DEPARTURE.—Section 101(g) of the 

6 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(g)) shall 

7 not apply to an alien who departs the United States— 

8 (1) with advance permission to return to the 

9 United States granted by the Secretary under this 

10 title; or 

11 (2) after having been granted certified agricul12 tural worker status or lawful permanent resident 

13 status under this title. 

14 SEC. 126. DOCUMENTATION OF AGRICULTURAL WORK HIS15 TORY. 

16 (a) BURDEN OF PROOF.—An alien applying for cer17 tified agricultural worker status under subtitle A or ad18 justment of status under subtitle B has the burden of 

19 proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the alien 

20 has worked the requisite number of hours or days required 

21 under section 101, 103, or 111, as applicable. The Sec22 retary shall establish special procedures to properly credit 

23 work in cases in which an alien was employed under an 

24 assumed name. 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (b) EVIDENCE.—An alien may meet the burden of 

2 proof under subsection (a) by producing sufficient evi3 dence to show the extent of such employment as a matter 

4 of just and reasonable inference. Such evidence may in5 clude— 

6 (1) an annual record of certified agricultural 

7 worker employment as described in section 105(a), 

8 or other employment records from employers; 

9 (2) employment records maintained by collective 

10 bargaining associations; 

11 (3) tax records or other government records; 

12 (4) sworn affidavits from individuals who have 

13 direct knowledge of the alien’s work history; or 

14 (5) any other documentation designated by the 

15 Secretary for such purpose. 

16 (c) EXCEPTIONS FOR EXTRAORDINARY CIR17 CUMSTANCES.— 

18 (1) IMPACT OF COVID–19.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

20 grant certified agricultural worker status to an 

21 alien who is otherwise eligible for such status if 

22 such alien is able to only partially satisfy the 

23 requirement under section 101(a)(1)(A) as a re24 sult of reduced hours of employment or other 

25 restrictions associated with the public health 


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•S 4069 IS

1 emergency declared by the Secretary of Health 

2 and Human Services under section 319 of the 

3 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) 

4 with respect to COVID–19. 

5 (B) LIMITATION.—The exception described 

6 in subparagraph (A) shall apply only to agricul7 tural labor or services required to be performed 

8 during the period that— 

9 (i) begins on the first day of the pub10 lic health emergency described in subpara11 graph (A); and 

12 (ii) ends 90 days after the date on 

13 which such public health emergency termi14 nates. 

15 (2) EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES.—In de16 termining whether an alien has met the requirement 

17 under section 103(a)(1)(A) or 111(a)(1)(A), the Sec18 retary may credit the alien with not more than 690 

19 hours (or 120 work days) of agricultural labor or 

20 services in the United States if the alien was unable 

21 to perform the required agricultural labor or services 

22 due to— 

23 (A) pregnancy, parental leave, illness, dis24 ease, disabling injury, or physical limitation of 

25 the alien; 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (B) injury, illness, disease, or other special 

2 needs of the alien’s child or spouse; 

3 (C) severe weather conditions that pre4 vented the alien from engaging in agricultural 

5 labor or services; 

6 (D) reduced hours of employment or other 

7 restrictions associated with a public health 

8 emergency declared by the Secretary of Health 

9 and Human Services under section 319 of the 

10 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); or 

11 (E) termination from agricultural employ12 ment, if the Secretary determines that— 

13 (i) the termination was without just 

14 cause; and 

15 (ii) the alien was unable to find alter16 native agricultural employment after a rea17 sonable job search. 

18 (3) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION.—A deter19 mination under paragraph (1)(E) shall not be con20 clusive, binding, or admissible in a separate or sub21 sequent judicial or administrative action or pro22 ceeding between the alien and a current or prior em23 ployer of the alien or any other party. 

24 (4) HARDSHIP WAIVER.— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—As part of the rule2 making described in section 122(a), the Sec3 retary shall establish procedures allowing for a 

4 partial waiver of the requirement under section 

5 111(a)(1)(A) for a certified agricultural worker 

6 if such worker— 

7 (i) has continuously maintained cer8 tified agricultural worker status since the 

9 date such status was initially granted; 

10 (ii) has partially completed the re11 quirement under section 111(a)(1)(A); and 

12 (iii) is no longer able to engage in ag13 ricultural labor or services safely and effec14 tively because of— 

15 (I) a permanent disability suf16 fered while engaging in agricultural 

17 labor or services; or 

18 (II) deteriorating health or phys19 ical ability combined with advanced 

20 age. 

21 (B) DISABILITY.—In establishing the pro22 cedures described in subparagraph (A), the Sec23 retary shall consult with the Secretary of 

24 Health and Human Services and the Commis25 sioner of Social Security to define ‘‘permanent 


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•S 4069 IS

1 disability’’ for purposes of a waiver under sub2 paragraph (A)(iii)(I). 

3 (d) EQUINES.—In determining whether an alien has 

4 met the work requirement described in 103(a)(1)(A) or 

5 111(a)(1)(A), the Secretary may credit the alien for per6 forming activities related to equines, including the breed7 ing, grooming, training, care, feeding, management, com8 petition, and racing of equines. 

9 SEC. 127. EMPLOYER PROTECTIONS. 

10 (a) CONTINUING EMPLOYMENT.—An employer that 

11 continues to employ an alien knowing that the alien in12 tends to apply for certified agricultural worker status 

13 under subtitle A shall not violate section 274A(a)(2) of 

14 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

15 1324a(a)(2)) by continuing to employ the alien for the du16 ration of the application period described in section 

17 101(c), and with respect to an alien who applies for cer18 tified agricultural status, for the duration of the period 

19 during which the alien’s application is pending final deter20 mination. 

21 (b) USE OF EMPLOYMENT RECORDS.—Copies of em22 ployment records or other evidence of employment pro23 vided by an alien or by an alien’s employer in support of 

24 an alien’s application for certified agricultural worker or 

25 adjustment of status under this title may not be used in 


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•S 4069 IS

1 a civil or criminal prosecution or investigation of that em2 ployer under section 274A of the Immigration and Nation3 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) or the Internal Revenue Code 

4 of 1986 for the prior unlawful employment of that alien 

5 regardless of the outcome of such application. 

6 (c) ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS.—Employers that 

7 provide unauthorized aliens with copies of employment 

8 records or other evidence of employment in support of an 

9 application for certified agricultural worker status or ad10 justment of status under this title shall not be subject to 

11 civil and criminal liability pursuant to such section 274A 

12 for employing such unauthorized aliens. Records or other 

13 evidence of employment provided by employers in response 

14 to a request for such records for the purpose of estab15 lishing eligibility for status under this title may not be 

16 used for any purpose other than establishing such eligi17 bility. 

18 (d) LIMITATION ON PROTECTION.—The protections 

19 for employers under this section shall not apply if the em20 ployer provides employment records to the alien that are 

21 determined to be fraudulent. 

22 SEC. 128. CORRECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY RECORDS; 

23 CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(e)(1) of the Social 

25 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 408(e)(1)) is amended— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (1) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘or’’ at 

4 the end; 

5 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(D) who is granted certified agricultural work8 er status, certified agricultural dependent status, or 

9 lawful permanent resident status under title I of the 

10 Affordable and Secure Food Act of 2024,’’; and 

11 (4) in the undesignated matter following sub12 paragraph (D), as added by paragraph (3), by strik13 ing ‘‘1990.’’ and inserting ‘‘1990, or in the case of 

14 an alien described in subparagraph (D), if such con15 duct is alleged to have occurred before the date on 

16 which the alien was granted status under title I of 

17 the Affordable and Secure Food Act of 2024.’’. 

18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 subsection (a) shall take effect on the first day of the sev20 enth month that begins after the date of the enactment 

21 of this Act. 

22 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (1) SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.—Section 210(a)(1) 

24 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 410(a)(1)) is 

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•S 4069 IS

1 lowing: ‘‘(other than aliens granted certified agricul2 tural worker status or certified agricultural depend3 ent status under title I of the Affordable and Secure 

4 Food Act of 2024’’. 

5 (2) INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986.—Sec6 tion 3121(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

7 1986 is amended by inserting before the semicolon 

8 the following: ‘‘(other than aliens granted certified 

9 agricultural worker status or certified agricultural 

10 dependent status under title I of the Affordable and 

11 Secure Food Act of 2024’’. 

12 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

13 by this subsection shall apply with respect to service 

14 performed after the date of the enactment of this 

15 Act. 

16 (d) AUTOMATED SYSTEM TO ASSIGN SOCIAL SECU17 RITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS.—Section 205(c)(2)(B) of the 

18 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(B)) is amended 

19 by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(iv) The Commissioner of Social Se21 curity shall, to the extent practicable, co22 ordinate with the Secretary of the Depart23 ment of Homeland Security to implement 

24 an automated system for the Commissioner 

25 to assign social security account numbers 


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•S 4069 IS

1 to aliens granted certified agricultural 

2 worker status or certified agricultural de3 pendent status under title I of the Afford4 able and Secure Food Act of 2024. An 

5 alien who is granted such status, and who 

6 was not previously assigned a social secu7 rity account number, shall request assign8 ment of a social security account number 

9 and a social security card from the Com10 missioner through such system. The Sec11 retary shall collect and provide to the Com12 missioner such information as the Commis13 sioner deems necessary for the Commis14 sioner to assign a social security account 

15 number, which information may be used by 

16 the Commissioner for any purpose for 

17 which the Commissioner is otherwise au18 thorized under Federal law. The Commis19 sioner may maintain, use, and disclose 

20 such information only as permitted by the 

21 Privacy Act and other Federal law.’’. 

22 SEC. 129. DISCLOSURES AND PRIVACY. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not disclose 

24 or use information provided in an application for certified 

25 agricultural worker status or adjustment of status under 


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•S 4069 IS

1 this title (including information provided during adminis2 trative or judicial review) for the purpose of immigration 

3 enforcement. 

4 (b) REFERRALS PROHIBITED.—The Secretary, based 

5 solely on information provided in an application for cer6 tified agricultural worker status or adjustment of status 

7 under this title (including information provided during ad8 ministrative or judicial review), may not refer an applicant 

9 to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Cus10 toms and Border Protection, or any designee of either 

11 such entity. 

12 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding subsections (a) 

13 and (b), information provided in an application for cer14 tified agricultural worker status or adjustment of status 

15 under this title may be shared with Federal security and 

16 law enforcement agencies— 

17 (1) for assistance in the consideration of an ap18 plication under this title; 

19 (2) to identify or prevent fraudulent claims or 

20 schemes; 

21 (3) for national security purposes; or 

22 (4) for the investigation or prosecution of any 

23 felony not related to immigration status. 


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1 (d) PENALTY.—Any person who knowingly uses, pub2 lishes, or permits information to be examined in violation 

3 of this section shall be fined not more than $10,000. 

4 (e) PRIVACY.—The Secretary shall ensure that ap5 propriate administrative and physical safeguards are in 

6 place to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity 

7 of personally identifiable information collected, main8 tained, and disseminated pursuant to this title. 

9 SEC. 130. PENALTIES FOR FALSE STATEMENTS IN APPLICA10 TIONS. 

11 (a) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person who— 

12 (1) files an application for certified agricultural 

13 worker status or adjustment of status under this 

14 title and knowingly falsifies, conceals, or covers up 

15 a material fact or makes any false, fictitious, or 

16 fraudulent statements or representations, or makes 

17 or uses any false writing or document knowing the 

18 same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent 

19 statement or entry; or 

20 (2) creates or supplies a false writing or docu21 ment for use in making such an application, 

22 shall be fined in accordance with title 18, United States 

23 Code, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. 

24 (b) INADMISSIBILITY.—An alien who is convicted 

25 under subsection (a) shall be deemed inadmissible to the 


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•S 4069 IS

1 United States under section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immi2 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(C)(i)). 

3 (c) DEPOSIT.—Fines collected under subsection (a) 

4 shall be deposited into the Immigration Examinations Fee 

5 Account pursuant to section 286(m) of the Immigration 

6 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(m)). 

7 SEC. 131. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than the first 

9 day of the application period described in section 101(c)— 

10 (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security, in co11 operation with qualified designated entities, shall 

12 broadly disseminate information described in sub13 section (b); and 

14 (2) the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation 

15 with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the 

16 Secretary of Labor, shall disseminate to agricultural 

17 employers a document containing the information 

18 described in subsection (b) for posting at employer 

19 worksites. 

20 (b) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The information de21 scribed in this subsection shall include— 

22 (1) the benefits that aliens may receive under 

23 this title; and 

24 (2) the requirements that an alien must meet to 

25 receive such benefits. 


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1 SEC. 132. EXEMPTION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS. 

2 The numerical limitations under title II of the Immi3 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.) shall 

4 not apply to the adjustment of aliens to lawful permanent 

5 resident status under this title, and such aliens shall not 

6 be counted toward any such numerical limitation. 

7 SEC. 133. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

8 Not later than 180 days after the publication of the 

9 final rule under section 122(a), and annually thereafter 

10 for the following 10 years, the Secretary shall submit a 

11 report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 

12 and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep13 resentatives that identifies, for the previous fiscal year— 

14 (1) the number of principal aliens who applied 

15 for certified agricultural worker status under subtitle 

16 A, and the number of dependent spouses and chil17 dren included in such applications; 

18 (2) the number of principal aliens who were 

19 granted certified agricultural worker status under 

20 subtitle A, and the number of dependent spouses 

21 and children who were granted certified agricultural 

22 dependent status; 

23 (3) the number of principal aliens who applied 

24 for an extension of their certified agricultural worker 

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•S 4069 IS

1 ent spouses and children included in such applica2 tions; 

3 (4) the number of principal aliens who were 

4 granted an extension of certified agricultural worker 

5 status under subtitle A, and the number of depend6 ent spouses and children who were granted certified 

7 agricultural dependent status under such an exten8 sion; 

9 (5) the number of principal aliens who applied 

10 for adjustment of status under subtitle B, and the 

11 number of dependent spouses and children included 

12 in such applications; 

13 (6) the number of principal aliens who were 

14 granted lawful permanent resident status under sub15 title B, and the number of spouses and children who 

16 were granted such status as dependents; 

17 (7) the number of principal aliens included in 

18 petitions described in section 101(e), and the num19 ber of dependent spouses and children included in 

20 such applications; and 

21 (8) the number of principal aliens who were 

22 granted H–2A status pursuant to petitions described 

23 in section 101(e), and the number of dependent 

24 spouses and children who were granted H–4 status. 


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1 SEC. 134. GRANT PROGRAM TO ASSIST ELIGIBLE APPLI2 CANTS. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

4 a program to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eli5 gible nonprofit organizations to assist eligible applicants 

6 under this title by providing them with the services de7 scribed in subsection (c). 

8 (b) ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—In this 

9 section, the term ‘‘eligible nonprofit organization’’ means 

10 an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the In11 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 (excluding a recipient of 

12 funds under title X of the Economic Opportunity Act of 

13 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2996 et seq.)) that has demonstrated 

14 qualifications, experience, and expertise in providing qual15 ity services to farm workers or aliens. 

16 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Grant funds awarded under 

17 this section may be used for the design and implementa18 tion of programs that provide— 

19 (1) information to the public regarding the eli20 gibility and benefits of certified agricultural worker 

21 status authorized under this title; and 

22 (2) assistance, within the scope of authorized 

23 practice of immigration law, to individuals submit24 ting applications for certified agricultural worker 

25 status or adjustment of status under this title, in26 cluding— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (A) screening prospective applicants to as2 sess their eligibility for such status; 

3 (B) completing applications, including pro4 viding assistance in obtaining necessary docu5 ments and supporting evidence; and 

6 (C) providing any other assistance that the 

7 Secretary determines useful to assist aliens in 

8 applying for certified agricultural worker status 

9 or adjustment of status under this title. 

10 (d) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—In addition to any funds 

11 appropriated to carry out this section, the Secretary shall 

12 use up to $10,000,000 from the Immigration Examina13 tions Fee Account under section 286(m) of the Immigra14 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(m)) to carry out 

15 this section. 

16 (e) ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES.—Section 504(a)(11) 

17 of Public Law 104–134 (110 Stat. 1321–53 et seq.) shall 

18 not be construed to prevent a recipient of funds under title 

19 X of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

20 2996 et seq.) from providing legal assistance directly re21 lated to an application for status under this title or to 

22 an alien granted such status. 

23 SEC. 135. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec25 retary, such sums as may be necessary to implement this 


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•S 4069 IS

1 title, including any amounts needed for costs associated 

2 with the initiation of such implementation, for each of the 

3 fiscal years 2024 through 2026. 

4 TITLE II—ENSURING AN AGRI5 CULTURAL WORKFORCE FOR 

6 THE FUTURE 

7 Subtitle A—Reforming the H–2A 

8 Temporary Worker Program 

9 SEC. 201. COMPREHENSIVE AND STREAMLINED ELEC10 TRONIC H–2A PLATFORM. 

11 (a) STREAMLINED H–2A PLATFORM.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

14 of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Sec15 retary of Labor, the Secretary of Agriculture, the 

16 Secretary of State, and United States Digital Serv17 ice, shall ensure the establishment of an electronic 

18 platform through which a petition for an H–2A 

19 worker may be filed. Such platform shall— 

20 (A) serve as a single point of access for an 

21 employer to input all information and sup22 porting documentation required for obtaining 

23 labor certification from the Secretary of Labor 

24 and the adjudication of the H–2A petition by 

25 the Secretary of Homeland Security; 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (B) serve as a single point of access for the 

2 Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary 

3 of Labor, and State workforce agencies to con4 currently perform their respective review and 

5 adjudicatory responsibilities in the H–2A proc6 ess; 

7 (C) facilitate communication between em8 ployers and agency adjudicators, including by 

9 allowing employers to— 

10 (i) receive and respond to notices of 

11 deficiency and requests for information; 

12 (ii) submit requests for inspections 

13 and licensing; 

14 (iii) receive notices of approval and 

15 denial; and 

16 (iv) request reconsideration or appeal 

17 of agency decisions; and 

18 (D) provide information to the Secretary of 

19 State and U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

20 necessary for the efficient and secure processing 

21 of H–2A visas and applications for admission. 

22 (2) OBJECTIVES.—In developing the platform 

23 described in paragraph (1), the Secretary of Home24 land Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 

25 Labor, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of 


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•S 4069 IS

1 State, and United States Digital Service, shall 

2 streamline and improve the H–2A process, including 

3 by— 

4 (A) eliminating the need for employers to 

5 submit duplicate information and documenta6 tion to multiple agencies; 

7 (B) eliminating redundant processes, where 

8 a single matter in a petition is adjudicated by 

9 more than one agency; 

10 (C) reducing the occurrence of common pe11 tition errors, and otherwise improving and expe12 diting the processing of H–2A petitions; and 

13 (D) ensuring compliance with H–2A pro14 gram requirements and the protection of the 

15 wages and working conditions of workers. 

16 (3) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 6 

17 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

18 and every 3 months thereafter until the H–2A work19 er electronic platform is established pursuant to 

20 paragraph (1), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

21 shall submit a report to the Committee on the Judi22 ciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judi23 ciary of the House of Representatives that outlines 

24 the status of the electronic platform development. 


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1 (b) ONLINE JOB REGISTRY.—The Secretary of Labor 

2 shall maintain a national, publicly-accessible online job 

3 registry and database of all job orders submitted by H– 

4 2A employers. The registry and database shall— 

5 (1) be searchable using relevant criteria, includ6 ing the types of jobs needed to be filled, the date(s) 

7 and location(s) of need, and the employer(s) named 

8 in the job order; 

9 (2) provide an interface for workers in English, 

10 Spanish, and any other language that the Secretary 

11 of Labor determines to be appropriate; and 

12 (3) provide for public access of job orders ap13 proved under section 218(h)(2) of the Immigration 

14 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(h)(2)). 

15 SEC. 202. H–2A PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. 

16 Section 218 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

17 (8 U.S.C. 1188) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 218. ADMISSION OF TEMPORARY H–2A WORKERS. 

19 ‘‘(a) LABOR CERTIFICATION CONDITIONS.—The Sec20 retary of Homeland Security may not approve a petition 

21 to admit an H–2A worker unless the Secretary of Labor 

22 has certified that— 

23 ‘‘(1) there are not sufficient United States 

24 workers who are able, willing and qualified, and who 

25 will be available at the time and place needed, to 


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•S 4069 IS

1 perform the agricultural labor or services described 

2 in the petition; and 

3 ‘‘(2) the employment of the H–2A worker in 

4 such labor or services will not adversely affect the 

5 wages and working conditions of workers in the 

6 United States who are similarly employed. 

7 ‘‘(b) H–2A PETITION REQUIREMENTS.—An em8 ployer filing a petition for an H–2A worker to perform 

9 agricultural labor or services shall attest to and dem10 onstrate compliance, as and when appropriate, with all ap11 plicable requirements under this section, including the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(1) NEED FOR LABOR OR SERVICES.—The em14 ployer has described the need for agricultural labor 

15 or services in a job order that includes a description 

16 of the nature and location of the work to be per17 formed, the material terms and conditions of em18 ployment, the anticipated period or periods (expected 

19 start and end dates) for which the workers will be 

20 needed, the number of job opportunities in which the 

21 employer seeks to employ the workers, and any other 

22 requirement for a job order. 

23 ‘‘(2) NONDISPLACEMENT OF UNITED STATES

24 WORKERS.—The employer has not and will not dis25 place United States workers employed by the emVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4069.IS S4069

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1 ployer during the period of employment of the H– 

2 2A worker and during the 60-day period imme3 diately preceding such period of employment in the 

4 job for which the employer seeks approval to employ 

5 the H–2A worker. 

6 ‘‘(3) STRIKE OR LOCKOUT.—Each place of em7 ployment described in the petition is not, at the time 

8 of filing the petition and until the petition is ap9 proved, subject to a strike or lockout in the course 

10 of a labor dispute. 

11 ‘‘(4) RECRUITMENT OF UNITED STATES WORK12 ERS.—The employer shall engage in the recruitment 

13 of United States workers as described in subsection 

14 (c) and shall hire such workers who are able, willing 

15 and qualified, and who will be available at the time 

16 and place needed, to perform the agricultural labor 

17 or services described in the petition. The employer 

18 may reject a United States worker only for lawful, 

19 job-related reasons. 

20 ‘‘(5) WAGES, BENEFITS, AND WORKING CONDI21 TIONS.—The employer shall offer and provide, at a 

22 minimum, the wages, benefits, and working condi23 tions required by this section to the H–2A worker 

24 and all workers who are similarly employed. The em25 ployer— 


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1 ‘‘(A) shall offer such similarly employed 

2 workers not less than the same benefits, wages, 

3 and working conditions that the employer is of4 fering or will provide to the H–2A worker; and 

5 ‘‘(B) may not impose on such similarly em6 ployed workers any restrictions or obligations 

7 that will not be imposed on the H–2A worker. 

8 ‘‘(6) WORKERS’ COMPENSATION.—If the job op9 portunity is not covered by or is exempt from the 

10 State workers’ compensation law, the employer shall 

11 provide, at no cost to the worker, insurance covering 

12 injury and disease arising out of, and in the course 

13 of, the worker’s employment which will provide bene14 fits at least equal to those provided under the State 

15 workers’ compensation law. 

16 ‘‘(7) COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.— 

17 The employer shall comply with all applicable Fed18 eral, State and local laws and regulations. 

19 ‘‘(8) COMPLIANCE WITH WORKER PROTEC20 TIONS.—The employer shall comply with section 204 

21 of the Affordable and Secure Food Act of 2024. 

22 ‘‘(9) COMPLIANCE WITH FOREIGN LABOR RE23 CRUITMENT LAWS.—The employer shall comply with 

24 subtitle C of title II of the Affordable and Secure 

25 Food Act of 2024. 


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1 ‘‘(c) RECRUITING REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The employer may satisfy 

3 the recruitment requirement described in subsection 

4 (b)(4) by satisfying all of the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) JOB ORDER.—As provided in sub6 section (h)(1), the employer shall complete a 

7 job order for posting on the electronic job reg8 istry maintained by the Secretary of Labor and 

9 for distribution by the appropriate State work10 force agency. Such posting shall remain on the 

11 job registry as an active job order through the 

12 period described in paragraph (2)(B). 

13 ‘‘(B) FORMER WORKERS.—At least 45 

14 days before each start date identified in the pe15 tition, the employer shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) make reasonable efforts to con17 tact any United States worker who the em18 ployer or agricultural producer for whom 

19 the employer is supplying labor employed 

20 in the previous year in the same occupa21 tion and area of intended employment for 

22 which an H–2A worker is sought (exclud23 ing workers who were terminated for cause 

24 or abandoned the worksite); and 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) post such job opportunity in a 

2 conspicuous location or locations at the 

3 place of employment. 

4 ‘‘(C) POSITIVE RECRUITMENT.—During 

5 the period of recruitment, the employer shall 

6 complete any other positive recruitment steps 

7 within a multi-State region of traditional or ex8 pected labor supply where the Secretary of 

9 Labor finds that there are a significant number 

10 of qualified United States workers who, if re11 cruited, would be willing to make themselves 

12 available for work at the time and place needed. 

13 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF RECRUITMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

15 subsection, the period of recruitment begins on 

16 the date on which the job order is posted on the 

17 online job registry and ends on the date that 

18 H–2A workers depart for the employer’s place 

19 of employment. For a petition involving more 

20 than one start date under subsection (h)(1)(C), 

21 the end of the period of recruitment shall be de22 termined by the date of departure of the H–2A 

23 workers for the final start date identified in the 

24 petition. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT TO HIRE US WORK2 ERS.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

4 the limitations of subparagraph (A), the 

5 employer will provide employment to any 

6 qualified United States worker who applies 

7 to the employer for any job opportunity in8 cluded in the petition until the later of— 

9 ‘‘(I) the date that is 30 days 

10 after the date on which work begins; 

11 or 

12 ‘‘(II) the date on which— 

13 ‘‘(aa) 33 percent of the work 

14 contract for the job opportunity 

15 has elapsed; or 

16 ‘‘(bb) if the employer is a 

17 labor contractor, 50 percent of 

18 the work contract for the job op19 portunity has elapsed. 

20 ‘‘(ii) STAGGERED ENTRY.—For a peti21 tion involving more than one start date 

22 under subsection (h)(1)(C), each start date 

23 designated in the petition shall establish a 

24 separate job opportunity. An employer may 

25 not reject a United States worker because 


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1 the worker is unable or unwilling to fill 

2 more than one job opportunity included in 

3 the petition. 

4 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding 

5 clause (i), the employer may offer a job op6 portunity to an H–2A worker instead of an 

7 alien granted certified agricultural worker 

8 status under title I of the Affordable and 

9 Secure Food Act of 2024 if the H–2A 

10 worker was employed by the employer in 

11 each of 3 years during the 4-year period 

12 immediately preceding the date of the en13 actment of such Act. 

14 ‘‘(3) RECRUITMENT REPORT.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The employer shall 

16 maintain a recruitment report through the ap17 plicable period described in paragraph (2)(B) 

18 and submit regular updates through the elec19 tronic platform on the results of recruitment. 

20 The employer shall retain the recruitment re21 port, and all associated recruitment documenta22 tion, for a period of 3 years from the date of 

23 certification. 

24 ‘‘(B) BURDEN OF PROOF.—If the employer 

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1 plied or been referred is not able, willing or 

2 qualified, the employer bears the burden of 

3 proof to establish that the individual is not able, 

4 willing or qualified because of a lawful, employ5 ment-related reason. 

6 ‘‘(d) WAGE REQUIREMENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each employer under this 

8 section will offer the worker, during the period of 

9 authorized employment, wages that are at least the 

10 greatest of— 

11 ‘‘(A) the agreed-upon collective bargaining 

12 wage; 

13 ‘‘(B) the adverse effect wage rate (or any 

14 successor wage established under paragraph 

15 (7)); 

16 ‘‘(C) the prevailing wage (hourly wage or 

17 piece rate); or 

18 ‘‘(D) the Federal or State minimum wage. 

19 ‘‘(2) ADVERSE EFFECT WAGE RATE DETER20 MINATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

22 under subparagraph (B), the applicable adverse 

23 effect wage rate for each State and classifica24 tion for a calendar year shall be the annual av25 erage hourly gross wage for all hired agriculVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4069.IS S4069

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1 tural workers in the State, as reported by the 

2 Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of 

3 Labor based on a wage survey conducted by 

4 such secretaries under subparagraph (C). If 

5 such wage is not reported, the applicable wage 

6 shall be the State or regional annual gross aver7 age hourly wage for all hired agricultural work8 ers based on the Agricultural Labor Wage sur9 vey conducted pursuant to subparagraph (C). 

10 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS ON WAGE FLUCTUA11 TIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) WAGE FREEZE FOR 2024.—For 

13 calendar year 2024, the adverse effect 

14 wage rate for each State classification 

15 under this subsection shall be the adverse 

16 effect wage rate that was in effect for H– 

17 2A workers in the applicable State on the 

18 date of the introduction of the Affordable 

19 and Secure Food Act of 2024. 

20 ‘‘(ii) WAGE RATE FOR 2025 THROUGH

21 2033.—For each of the calendar years 2025 

22 through 2033, the adverse effect wage rate 

23 for each State classification under this 

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1 culated under subparagraph (A), except 

2 that such wage rate may not— 

3 ‘‘(I) be more than 1.5 percent 

4 lower than the wage rate in effect for 

5 H–2A workers in the applicable State 

6 and occupational classification in the 

7 immediately preceding calendar year; 

8 ‘‘(II) except as provided in sub9 clause (III), be more than 3.25 per10 cent higher than the wage rate in ef11 fect for H–2A workers in the applica12 ble State and occupational classifica13 tion in the immediately preceding cal14 endar year; and 

15 ‘‘(III) if the application of clause 

16 (II) results in a wage rate that is 

17 lower than 110 percent of the applica18 ble Federal or State minimum wage, 

19 be more than 4.25 percent higher 

20 than the wage rate in effect for H–2A 

21 workers in the applicable State and 

22 occupational classification in the im23 mediately preceding calendar year. 

24 ‘‘(iii) WAGE RATE AFTER 2033.—For 

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1 ble wage rate described in paragraph 

2 (1)(B) shall be the wage rate established 

3 pursuant to paragraph (7)(D). Until such 

4 wage rate is effective, the adverse effect 

5 wage rate for each State classification 

6 under this subsection shall be the wage cal7 culated under subparagraph (A), except 

8 that such wage may not be more than 0.5 

9 percent lower or 3 percent higher than the 

10 wage in effect for H–2A workers in the ap11 plicable State classification in the imme12 diately preceding calendar year. 

13 ‘‘(C) WAGE SURVEYS AND DATA.— 

14 ‘‘(i) AGRICULTURAL LABOR SUR15 VEY.—The Secretary of Labor, in carrying 

16 out the responsibilities in setting the ad17 verse effect wage rate under subparagraph 

18 (A), shall rely on statistically valid data 

19 from the Department of Agriculture Na20 tional Agricultural Statistics Service’s an21 nual findings from the Agricultural Labor 

22 Survey (commonly referred to as the 

23 ‘Farm Labor Survey’). 

24 ‘‘(ii) FORM; DATA.—The Secretary of 

25 Agriculture shall conduct the Agricultural 


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•S 4069 IS

1 Labor Survey in the form of a quarterly 

2 survey of the number of hired agricultural 

3 workers, the number of hours worked, and 

4 the total gross wages paid by type of work5 er, including field workers, livestock work6 ers, and supervisors or managers, 

7 disaggregated by occupational groups and 

8 other workers (who may be classified by 

9 the Standard Occupational Classification 

10 system). 

11 ‘‘(iii) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA12 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appro13 priated to the Secretary of Agriculture and 

14 the Secretary of Labor, such sums as may 

15 be necessary for the purposes of carrying 

16 out this subsection. 

17 ‘‘(3) PUBLICATION; WAGES IN EFFECT.— 

18 ‘‘(A) PUBLICATION.—Before the first day 

19 of each calendar year, the Secretary of Labor 

20 shall publish the applicable adverse effect wage 

21 rate (or successor wage rate, if any), and pre22 vailing wage, if available, for each State and oc23 cupational classification through notice in the 

24 Federal Register. 


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1 ‘‘(B) JOB ORDERS IN EFFECT.—Except as 

2 provided in subparagraph (C), publication by 

3 the Secretary of Labor of an updated adverse 

4 effect wage rate or prevailing wage for a State 

5 and occupational classification shall not affect 

6 the wage rate guaranteed in any approved job 

7 order for which work has commenced at the 

8 time of publication. 

9 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION FOR YEAR-ROUND

10 JOBS.—If the Secretary of Labor publishes an 

11 updated adverse effect wage rate or prevailing 

12 wage for a State and occupational classification 

13 concerning a petition described in subsection 

14 (i), and the updated wage is higher than the 

15 wage rate guaranteed in the work contract, the 

16 employer shall pay the updated wage not later 

17 than 14 days after publication of the updated 

18 wage in the Federal Register. 

19 ‘‘(4) PRODUCTIVITY STANDARD REQUIRE20 MENTS.—If an employer requires 1 or more min21 imum productivity standards as a condition of job 

22 retention, such standards shall be specified in the 

23 job order and shall be no more than those normally 

24 required (at the time of the first petition for H–2A 

25 workers) by other employers for the activity in the 


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•S 4069 IS

1 area of intended employment, unless the Secretary 

2 of Labor approves a higher minimum standard re3 sulting from material changes in production meth4 ods. 

5 ‘‘(5) GUARANTEE OF EMPLOYMENT.— 

6 ‘‘(A) OFFER TO WORKER.—The employer 

7 shall guarantee the worker employment for the 

8 hourly equivalent of at least 80 percent of the 

9 work days of the total period of employment, 

10 beginning with the first work day after the ar11 rival of the worker at the place of employment 

12 and ending on the date specified in the job 

13 offer. For purposes of this subparagraph, the 

14 hourly equivalent means the number of hours in 

15 the work days as stated in the job offer and 

16 shall exclude the worker’s Sabbath and Federal 

17 holidays. If the employer affords the worker less 

18 employment than that required under this para19 graph, the employer shall pay the worker the 

20 amount which the worker would have earned 

21 had the worker, in fact, worked for the guaran22 teed number of hours. 

23 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO WORK.—Any hours 

24 which the worker fails to work, up to a max25 imum of the number of hours specified in the 


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1 job offer for a work day, when the worker has 

2 been offered an opportunity to do so, and all 

3 hours of work actually performed (including vol4 untary work in excess of the number of hours 

5 specified in the job offer in a work day, on the 

6 worker’s Sabbath, or on Federal holidays) may 

7 be counted by the employer in calculating 

8 whether the period of guaranteed employment 

9 has been met. 

10 ‘‘(C) ABANDONMENT OF EMPLOYMENT; 

11 TERMINATION FOR CAUSE.—If the worker vol12 untarily abandons employment without good 

13 cause before the end of the contract period, or 

14 is terminated for cause, the worker is not enti15 tled to the guarantee of employment described 

16 in subparagraph (A). 

17 ‘‘(D) CONTRACT IMPOSSIBILITY.—If, be18 fore the expiration of the period of employment 

19 specified in the job offer, the services of the 

20 worker are no longer required for reasons be21 yond the control of the employer due to any 

22 form of natural disaster before the guarantee in 

23 subparagraph (A) is fulfilled, the employer may 

24 terminate the worker’s employment. In the 

25 event of such termination, the employer shall 


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1 fulfill the employment guarantee in subpara2 graph (A) for the work days that have elapsed 

3 from the first work day after the arrival of the 

4 worker to the termination of employment. The 

5 employer shall make efforts to transfer a work6 er to other comparable employment acceptable 

7 to the worker. If such transfer is not affected, 

8 the employer shall provide the return transpor9 tation required in subsection (f)(2). 

10 ‘‘(6) WAGE STANDARDS AFTER 2033.— 

11 ‘‘(A) STUDY OF ADVERSE EFFECT WAGE

12 RATE.—Beginning in fiscal year 2031, the Sec13 retary of Agriculture and the Secretary of 

14 Labor shall jointly conduct a study that ad15 dresses— 

16 ‘‘(i) whether the employment of H–2A 

17 workers has depressed the wages of United 

18 States farm workers; 

19 ‘‘(ii) whether an adverse effect wage 

20 rate is necessary to protect the wages of 

21 United States farm workers in occupations 

22 in which H–2A workers are employed; 

23 ‘‘(iii) whether alternative wage stand24 ards would be sufficient to prevent wages 

25 in occupations in which H–2A workers are 


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1 employed from falling below the wage level 

2 that would have prevailed in the absence of 

3 H–2A employment; 

4 ‘‘(iv) whether any changes are war5 ranted in the current methodologies for 

6 calculating the adverse effect wage rate 

7 and the prevailing wage rate; and 

8 ‘‘(v) recommendations for future wage 

9 protection under this section. 

10 ‘‘(B) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than Oc11 tober 1, 2032, the Secretary of Agriculture and 

12 the Secretary of Labor shall jointly prepare and 

13 submit a report to Congress setting forth— 

14 ‘‘(i) the findings of the study con15 ducted pursuant to subparagraph (A); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) recommendations for future wage 

17 protections under this section. 

18 ‘‘(C) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the 

19 study under subparagraph (A) and preparing 

20 the report under subparagraph (B), the Sec21 retary of Agriculture and the Secretary of 

22 Labor shall consult with representatives of agri23 cultural employers and an equal number of rep24 resentatives of agricultural workers, at the na25 tional, State and local level. 


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1 ‘‘(D) WAGE DETERMINATION AFTER

2 2033.—Upon publication of the report described 

3 in subparagraph (B), the Secretary of Labor, in 

4 consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, 

5 shall make a rule to establish a process for an6 nually determining the wage rate for purposes 

7 of paragraph (1)(B) for fiscal years after 2033. 

8 Such process shall be designed to ensure that 

9 the employment of H–2A workers does not un10 dermine the wages and working conditions of 

11 similarly employed United States workers. 

12 ‘‘(e) HOUSING REQUIREMENTS.—Employers shall 

13 furnish housing in accordance with regulations established 

14 by the Secretary of Labor. Such regulations shall be con15 sistent with the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The employer shall be per17 mitted at the employer’s option to provide housing 

18 meeting applicable Federal standards for temporary 

19 labor camps or to secure housing which meets the 

20 local standards for rental and/or public accommoda21 tions or other substantially similar class of habi22 tation: Provided, That in the absence of applicable 

23 local standards, State standards for rental and/or 

24 public accommodations or other substantially similar 

25 class of habitation shall be met: Provided further, 


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1 That in the absence of applicable local or State 

2 standards, Federal temporary labor camp standards 

3 shall apply. 

4 ‘‘(2) FAMILY HOUSING.—Except as otherwise 

5 provided in subsection (i)(5), the employer shall pro6 vide family housing to workers with families who re7 quest it when it is the prevailing practice in the area 

8 and occupation of intended employment to provide 

9 family housing. 

10 ‘‘(3) UNITED STATES WORKERS.—Notwith11 standing paragraphs (1) and (2), an employer is not 

12 required to provide housing to United States work13 ers who are reasonably able to return to their resi14 dence within the same day. 

15 ‘‘(4) TIMING OF INSPECTION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

17 Labor or designee shall make a determination 

18 as to whether the housing furnished by an em19 ployer for a worker meets the requirements im20 posed by this subsection prior to the date on 

21 which the Secretary of Labor is required to 

22 make a certification with respect to a petition 

23 for the admission of such worker. 

24 ‘‘(B) TIMELY INSPECTION.—The Secretary 

25 of Labor shall provide a process for— 


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1 ‘‘(i) an employer to request inspection 

2 of housing up to 60 days before the date 

3 on which the employer will file a petition 

4 under this section; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) annual inspection of housing for 

6 workers who are engaged in agricultural 

7 employment that is not of a seasonal or 

8 temporary nature. 

9 ‘‘(f) TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) TRAVEL TO PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT.—A 

11 worker who completes 50 percent of the period of 

12 employment specified in the job order shall be reim13 bursed by the employer for the cost of the worker’s 

14 transportation and subsistence from the place from 

15 which the worker came to work for the employer (or 

16 place of last employment, if the worker traveled 

17 from such place) to the place of employment. 

18 ‘‘(2) TRAVEL FROM PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT.— 

19 For a worker who completes the period of employ20 ment specified in the job order or who is terminated 

21 without cause, the employer shall provide or pay for 

22 the worker’s transportation and subsistence from the 

23 place of employment to the place from which the 

24 worker, disregarding intervening employment, came 

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1 ployment, if the worker has contracted with a subse2 quent employer who has not agreed to provide or 

3 pay for the worker’s transportation and subsistence 

4 to such subsequent employer’s place of employment. 

5 ‘‘(3) TRANSPORTATION BETWEEN LIVING QUAR6 TERS AND PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT.—The employer 

7 shall provide transportation for a worker between 

8 housing provided or secured by the employer and the 

9 employer’s place of employment at no cost to the 

10 worker. 

11 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) AMOUNT OF REIMBURSEMENT.—Ex13 cept as provided in subparagraph (B), the 

14 amount of reimbursement provided under para15 graph (1) or (2) to a worker need not exceed 

16 the lesser of— 

17 ‘‘(i) the actual cost to the worker of 

18 the transportation and subsistence in19 volved; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) the most economical and reason21 able common carrier transportation 

22 charges and subsistence costs for the dis23 tance involved. 

24 ‘‘(B) DISTANCE TRAVELED.—For travel to 

25 or from the worker’s home country, if the travel 


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1 distance between the worker’s home and the rel2 evant consulate is 50 miles or less, reimburse3 ment for transportation and subsistence may be 

4 based on transportation to or from the con5 sulate. 

6 ‘‘(g) HEAT ILLNESS PREVENTION PLAN.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The employer shall main8 tain a reasonable plan that describes the employer’s 

9 procedures for the prevention of heat illness, includ10 ing appropriate training, access to water and shade, 

11 the provision of breaks, and the protocols for emer12 gency response. Such plan shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) be in writing in English and, to the 

14 extent necessary, any language common to a 

15 significant portion of the workers if they are 

16 not fluent in English; and 

17 ‘‘(B) be posted at a conspicuous location at 

18 the worksite and provided to employees prior to 

19 the commencement of labor or services. 

20 ‘‘(2) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this sub21 section is intended to limit any other Federal or 

22 State authority to promulgate, enforce, or maintain 

23 health and safety standards related to heat-related 

24 illness. 


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1 ‘‘(3) TEMPLATE.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of the enactment of the Affordable and Se3 cure Food Act of 2024, the Secretary of Labor, act4 ing through the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Oc5 cupational Safety and Health, shall publish, on the 

6 website of the Occupational Safety and Health Ad7 ministration, a template for a Heat Illness Preven8 tion Plan, which employers could use, at their dis9 cretion, to help them develop such a plan. 

10 ‘‘(h) H–2A PETITION PROCEDURES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF PETITION AND JOB

12 ORDER.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The employer shall 

14 submit information required for the adjudica15 tion of the H–2A petition, including a job 

16 order, through the electronic platform no more 

17 than 75 calendar days and no fewer than 60 

18 calendar days before the employer’s first date of 

19 need specified in the petition. 

20 ‘‘(B) FILING BY AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIA21 TIONS.—An association of agricultural pro22 ducers that use agricultural services may file an 

23 H–2A petition under subparagraph (A). If an 

24 association is a joint or sole employer of work25 ers, including agricultural cooperatives, who 


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1 perform agricultural labor or services, H–2A 

2 workers may be used for the approved job op3 portunities of any of the association’s producer 

4 members and such workers may be transferred 

5 among its producer members to perform the ag6 ricultural labor or services for which the peti7 tion was approved. 

8 ‘‘(C) PETITIONS INVOLVING STAGGERED

9 ENTRY.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro11 vided in clause (ii), an employer may file 

12 a petition involving employment in the 

13 same occupational classification and same 

14 area of intended employment with multiple 

15 start dates if— 

16 ‘‘(I) the petition involves tem17 porary or seasonal employment and no 

18 more than 10 start dates; 

19 ‘‘(II) the multiple start dates 

20 share a common end date; 

21 ‘‘(III) no more than 120 days 

22 separate the first start date and the 

23 final start date listed in the petition; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(IV) the need for multiple start 

2 dates arises from variations in labor 

3 needs associated with the job oppor4 tunity identified in the petition. 

5 ‘‘(ii) LABOR CONTRACTORS.—A labor 

6 contractor may not file a petition described 

7 in clause (i). 

8 ‘‘(2) LABOR CERTIFICATION.— 

9 ‘‘(A) REVIEW OF JOB ORDER.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

11 Labor, in consultation with the relevant 

12 State workforce agency, shall review the 

13 job order for compliance with this section 

14 and notify the employer through the elec15 tronic platform of any deficiencies not later 

16 than 7 business days from the date the 

17 employer submits the necessary informa18 tion required under paragraph (1)(A). The 

19 employer shall be provided 5 business days 

20 to respond to any such notice of deficiency. 

21 ‘‘(ii) STANDARD.—The job order must 

22 include all material terms and conditions 

23 of employment, including the requirements 

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1 vided under Federal, State or local law. In 

2 considering the question of whether a spe3 cific qualification is appropriate in a job 

4 order, the Secretary of Labor shall apply 

5 the normal and accepted qualification re6 quired by non-H–2A employers in the 

7 same or comparable occupations and crops. 

8 ‘‘(iii) EMERGENCY PROCEDURES.— 

9 The Secretary of Labor shall establish 

10 emergency procedures for the curing of de11 ficiencies that cannot be resolved during 

12 the period described in clause (i). 

13 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL OF JOB ORDER.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Upon approval of 

15 the job order, the Secretary of Labor shall 

16 immediately place for public examination a 

17 copy of the job order on the online job reg18 istry, and the State workforce agency serv19 ing the area of intended employment shall 

20 commence the recruitment of United 

21 States workers. 

22 ‘‘(ii) REFERRAL OF UNITED STATES

23 WORKERS.—The Secretary of Labor and 

24 State workforce agency shall keep the job 

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1 scribed in subsection (c)(2) and shall refer 

2 to the employer each United States worker 

3 who applies for the job opportunity. 

4 ‘‘(C) REVIEW OF INFORMATION FOR DEFI5 CIENCIES.—Not later than 7 business days 

6 after the approval of the job order, the Sec7 retary of Labor shall review the information 

8 necessary to make a labor certification and no9 tify the employer through the electronic plat10 form if such information does not meet the 

11 standards for approval. Such notification shall 

12 include a description of any deficiency, and the 

13 employer shall be provided 5 business days to 

14 cure such deficiency. 

15 ‘‘(D) CERTIFICATION AND AUTHORIZATION

16 OF WORKERS.—Not later than 30 days before 

17 the date that labor or services are first required 

18 to be performed, the Secretary of Labor shall 

19 issue the requested labor certification if the 

20 Secretary determines that the requirements set 

21 forth in this section have been met. 

22 ‘‘(E) EXPEDITED ADMINISTRATIVE AP23 PEALS OF CERTAIN DETERMINATIONS.—The 

24 Secretary of Labor shall by regulation establish 

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1 pedited review of a denial of a labor certifi2 cation under this section, or the revocation of 

3 such a certification. Such procedure shall re4 quire the Secretary to expeditiously, but no 

5 later than 72 hours after expedited review is re6 quested, issue a de novo determination on a 

7 labor certification that was denied in whole or 

8 in part because of the availability of able, will9 ing and qualified workers if the employer dem10 onstrates, consistent with subsection (c)(3)(B), 

11 that such workers are not actually available at 

12 the time or place such labor or services are re13 quired. 

14 ‘‘(3) PETITION DECISION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 7 busi16 ness days after the Secretary of Labor issues 

17 the certification, the Secretary of Homeland Se18 curity shall issue a decision on the petition and 

19 shall transmit a notice of action to the peti20 tioner via the electronic platform. 

21 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL.—Upon approval of a pe22 tition under this section, the Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security shall ensure that such ap24 proval is noted in the electronic platform and is 

25 available to the Secretary of State and U.S. 


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1 Customs and Border Protection, as necessary, 

2 to facilitate visa issuance and admission. 

3 ‘‘(C) PARTIAL APPROVAL.—A petition for 

4 multiple named beneficiaries may be partially 

5 approved with respect to eligible beneficiaries 

6 notwithstanding the ineligibility, or potential in7 eligibility, of one or more other beneficiaries. 

8 ‘‘(D) POST-CERTIFICATION AMEND9 MENTS.—The Secretary of Labor shall provide 

10 a process for amending a request for labor cer11 tification in conjunction with an H–2A petition, 

12 subsequent to certification by the Secretary of 

13 Labor, in cases in which the requested amend14 ment does not materially change the petition 

15 (including the job order). 

16 ‘‘(4) ROLES OF AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIA17 TIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) MEMBER’S VIOLATION DOES NOT

19 NECESSARILY DISQUALIFY ASSOCIATION OR

20 OTHER MEMBERS.—If an individual producer 

21 member of a joint employer association is deter22 mined to have committed an act that results in 

23 the denial of a petition with respect to the 

24 member, the denial shall apply only to that 

25 member of the association unless the Secretary 


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1 of Labor determines that the association or 

2 other member participated in, had knowledge 

3 of, or reason to know of, the violation. 

4 ‘‘(B) ASSOCIATION’S VIOLATION DOES NOT

5 NECESSARILY DISQUALIFY MEMBERS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) If an association representing ag7 ricultural producers as a joint employer is 

8 determined to have committed an act that 

9 results in the denial of a petition with re10 spect to the association, the denial shall 

11 apply only to the association and does not 

12 apply to any individual producer member 

13 of the association unless the Secretary of 

14 Labor determines that the member partici15 pated in, had knowledge of, or reason to 

16 know of, the violation. 

17 ‘‘(ii) If an association of agricultural 

18 producers certified as a sole employer is 

19 determined to have committed an act that 

20 results in the denial of a petition with re21 spect to the association, no individual pro22 ducer member of such association may be 

23 the beneficiary of the services of H–2A 

24 workers in the commodity and occupation 

25 in which such aliens were employed by the 


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1 association which was denied during the 

2 period such denial is in force, unless such 

3 producer member employs such aliens in 

4 the commodity and occupation in question 

5 directly or through an association which is 

6 a joint employer of such workers with the 

7 producer member. 

8 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL PROCEDURES.—For occupations 

9 with established special procedures that were in 

10 place on the date of the enactment of the Affordable 

11 and Secure Food Act of 2024, the Secretary of 

12 Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Agri13 culture and Secretary of Homeland Security, may by 

14 regulation establish alternate procedures that rea15 sonably modify program requirements under this 

16 section, when the Secretary determines that such 

17 modifications are required due to the unique nature 

18 of the work involved. 

19 ‘‘(6) CONSTRUCTION OCCUPATIONS.—An em20 ployer may not file a petition under this section on 

21 behalf of a worker if the majority of the worker’s 

22 duties will fall within a construction or extraction oc23 cupational classification. 

24 ‘‘(7) EQUINES.—Notwithstanding the require25 ment under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(A) that the 


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1 agricultural labor or services performed by an H–2A 

2 worker be agricultural, the Secretary of Homeland 

3 Security may approve a petition for an H–2A worker 

4 to perform activities related to equines, including the 

5 breeding, grooming, training, care, feeding, manage6 ment, competition, and racing of equines, without 

7 regard to whether the specific service or activity is 

8 of a temporary or seasonal nature. 

9 ‘‘(i) NON-TEMPORARY OR NON-SEASONAL NEEDS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the re11 quirement under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) that 

12 the agricultural labor or services performed by an 

13 H–2A worker be of a temporary or seasonal nature, 

14 the Secretary of Homeland Security may, consistent 

15 with the provisions of this subsection, approve a pe16 tition from a fixed site farm employer for an H–2A 

17 worker to perform agricultural services or labor that 

18 is not of a temporary or seasonal nature. 

19 ‘‘(2) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) FIRST 3 FISCAL YEARS.—The total 

21 number of aliens who may be issued visas or 

22 otherwise provided H–2A nonimmigrant status 

23 under paragraph (1) for the first fiscal year 

24 during which the first visa is issued under such 


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1 paragraph and for each of the following 2 fiscal 

2 years may not exceed 20,000. 

3 ‘‘(B) FISCAL YEARS 4 THROUGH 10.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The total number 

5 of aliens who may be issued visas or other6 wise provided H–2A nonimmigrant status 

7 under paragraph (1) for the first fiscal 

8 year following the fiscal years referred to 

9 in subparagraph (A), and for each of the 

10 following 6 fiscal years, may not exceed a 

11 numerical limitation jointly imposed by the 

12 Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of 

13 Labor in accordance with clause (ii). 

14 ‘‘(ii) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS.—For 

15 each fiscal year referred to in clause (i), 

16 the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec17 retary of Labor, in consultation with the 

18 Secretary of Homeland Security, shall es19 tablish a numerical limitation for purposes 

20 of clause (i), which may not be lower than 

21 20,000 and may not vary by more than 

22 12.5 percent compared to the numerical 

23 limitation applicable to the immediately 

24 preceding fiscal year. In establishing such 


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1 numerical limitation, the Secretaries shall 

2 consider— 

3 ‘‘(I) a demonstrated shortage of 

4 agricultural workers; 

5 ‘‘(II) the level of unemployment 

6 and underemployment of agricultural 

7 workers during the preceding fiscal 

8 year; 

9 ‘‘(III) the number of H–2A work10 ers sought by employers during the 

11 preceding fiscal year to engage in ag12 ricultural labor or services not of a 

13 temporary or seasonal nature; 

14 ‘‘(IV) the number of such H–2A 

15 workers issued a visa in the most re16 cent fiscal year who remain in the 

17 United States in compliance with the 

18 terms of such visa; 

19 ‘‘(V) the estimated number of 

20 United States workers, including 

21 workers who obtained certified agri22 cultural worker status under title I of 

23 the Affordable and Secure Food Act 

24 of 2024, who worked during the pre25 ceding fiscal year in agricultural labor 


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1 or services not of a temporary or sea2 sonal nature; 

3 ‘‘(VI) the number of such United 

4 States workers who accepted jobs of5 fered by employers using the online 

6 job registry during the preceding fis7 cal year; 

8 ‘‘(VII) any growth or contraction 

9 of the United States agricultural in10 dustry that has increased or decreased 

11 the demand for agricultural workers; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(VIII) any changes in the real 

14 wages paid to agricultural workers in 

15 the United States as an indication of 

16 a shortage or surplus of agricultural 

17 labor. 

18 ‘‘(C) SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS.—For 

19 each fiscal year following the fiscal years re20 ferred to in subparagraph (B), the Secretary of 

21 Agriculture and the Secretary of Labor shall 

22 jointly determine, in consultation with the Sec23 retary of Homeland Security, and after consid24 ering appropriate factors, including the factors 

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1 paragraph (B)(ii), whether to establish a nu2 merical limitation for such fiscal year. If a nu3 merical limitation is so established— 

4 ‘‘(i) such numerical limitation may 

5 not be lower than highest number of aliens 

6 admitted under this subsection in any of 

7 the 3 fiscal years immediately preceding 

8 the fiscal year for which the numerical lim9 itation is to be established; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the total number of aliens who 

11 may be issued visas or otherwise provided 

12 H–2A nonimmigrant status under para13 graph (1) for such fiscal year may not ex14 ceed such numerical limitation. 

15 ‘‘(D) EMERGENCY PROCEDURES.—The 

16 Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of 

17 Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of 

18 Homeland Security, shall jointly establish, by 

19 regulation, procedures for immediately adjust20 ing a numerical limitation imposed pursuant to 

21 subparagraph (B) or (C) to account for signifi22 cant labor shortages. 

23 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION OF VISAS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) BI-ANNUAL ALLOCATION.—The an25 nual allocation of visas described in paragraph 


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1 (2) shall be evenly allocated between two halves 

2 of the fiscal year unless the Secretary of Home3 land Security, in consultation with the Sec4 retary of Agriculture and Secretary of Labor, 

5 determines that an alternative allocation would 

6 better accommodate demand for visas. Any un7 used visas in the first half of the fiscal year 

8 shall be added to the allocation for the subse9 quent half of the same fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(B) RESERVE FOR DAIRY LABOR OR

11 SERVICES.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Of the visa num13 bers made available in each half of the fis14 cal year pursuant to subparagraph (A), 50 

15 percent of such visas shall be reserved for 

16 employers filing petitions seeking H–2A 

17 workers to engage in agricultural labor or 

18 services in the dairy industry. 

19 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—If, after 4 months 

20 have elapsed in one half of the fiscal year, 

21 the Secretary of Homeland Security deter22 mines that application of clause (i) will re23 sult in visas going unused during that half 

24 of the fiscal year, clause (i) shall not apply 


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•S 4069 IS

1 to visas under this paragraph during the 

2 remainder of such calendar half. 

3 ‘‘(C) RESERVE FOR SMALL FARMER LABOR

4 OR SERVICES.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro6 vided in clause (ii), of the visas made avail7 able during each 6-month period of a fiscal 

8 year pursuant to subparagraph (A), 20 

9 percent shall be reserved for employers (ex10 cluding employers eligible for a reserve 

11 under subparagraph (B)) with fewer than 

12 50 domestic employees that file a petition 

13 seeking H–2A workers to engage in agri14 cultural labor or services. 

15 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—If, after 4 months 

have elapsed in 1 16 ⁄2 of the fiscal year, the 

17 Secretary of Homeland Security deter18 mines that the application of clause (i) will 

19 result in visas going unused during that 6- 

20 month period, clause (i) shall not apply to 

21 visas under this paragraph during the re22 mainder of such 6-month period. 

23 ‘‘(D) LIMITED ALLOCATION FOR CERTAIN

24 SPECIAL PROCEDURES INDUSTRIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

2 the numerical limitations under paragraph 

3 (2), up to 550 aliens may be issued visas 

4 or otherwise provided H–2A nonimmigrant 

5 status under paragraph (1) in a fiscal year 

6 for range sheep or goat herding. 

7 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—The total number 

8 of aliens in the United States in valid H– 

9 2A status under clause (i) at any one time 

10 may not exceed 550. 

11 ‘‘(iii) CLARIFICATION.—Any visas 

12 issued under this subparagraph may not be 

13 considered for purposes of the annual ad14 justments under subparagraphs (B) and 

15 (C) of paragraph (2). 

16 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL ROUND TRIP HOME.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the 

18 other requirements of this section, an employer 

19 shall provide H–2A workers employed under 

20 this subsection, at no cost to such workers, with 

21 annual round trip travel, including transpor22 tation and subsistence during travel, to their 

23 homes in their communities of origin. The em24 ployer must provide such travel within 14 

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1 ment, and no more than 14 months can elapse 

2 between each required period of travel. 

3 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The cost of travel 

4 under subparagraph (A) need not exceed the 

5 lesser of— 

6 ‘‘(i) the actual cost to the worker of 

7 the transportation and subsistence in8 volved; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) the most economical and reason10 able common carrier transportation 

11 charges and subsistence costs for the dis12 tance involved. 

13 ‘‘(5) FAMILY HOUSING.—An employer seeking 

14 to employ an H–2A worker pursuant to this sub15 section shall offer family housing to workers with 

16 families if such workers are engaged in agricultural 

17 employment that is not of a seasonal or temporary 

18 nature. The worker may reject such an offer. The 

19 employer may not charge the worker for the work20 er’s housing, except that if the worker accepts family 

21 housing, a prorated rent based on the fair market 

22 value for such housing may be charged for the work23 er’s family members. 

24 ‘‘(6) WORKPLACE SAFETY PLAN FOR YEAR25 ROUND EMPLOYEES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an employer is 

2 seeking to employ a worker in agricultural labor 

3 or services pursuant to this subsection, the em4 ployer shall report all work-related incidents in 

5 accordance with the requirements under section 

6 1904.39 of title 29, Code of Federal Regula7 tions, and maintain an effective worksite safety 

8 and compliance plan to prevent workplace acci9 dents and otherwise ensure safety. Such plan 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) be in writing in English and, to 

12 the extent necessary, any language com13 mon to a significant portion of the workers 

14 if they are not fluent in English; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) be posted at a conspicuous loca16 tion at the worksite and provided to em17 ployees prior to the commencement of 

18 labor or services. 

19 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The Secretary 

20 of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of 

21 Agriculture, shall establish by regulation the 

22 minimum requirements for the plan described 

23 in subparagraph (A). Such plan shall include 

24 measures to— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(i) require workers (other than the 

2 employer’s family members) whose posi3 tions require contact with animals to com4 plete animal care training, including ani5 mal handling and job-specific animal care; 

6 ‘‘(ii) protect against sexual harass7 ment and violence, resolve complaints in8 volving harassment or violence, and protect 

9 against retaliation against workers report10 ing harassment or violence; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) contain other provisions nec12 essary for ensuring workplace safety, as 

13 determined by the Secretary of Labor, in 

14 consultation with the Secretary of Agri15 culture. 

16 ‘‘(C) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this 

17 paragraph is intended— 

18 ‘‘(i) to apply to persons or entities 

19 that are not seeking to employ workers 

20 under this section; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) to limit any other Federal or 

22 State authority to promulgate, enforce, or 

23 maintain health and safety standards re24 lated to the dairy industry. 


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1 ‘‘(j) ELIGIBILITY FOR H–2A STATUS AND ADMISSION

2 TO THE UNITED STATES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) DISQUALIFICATION.—An alien shall be in4 eligible for admission to the United States as an H– 

5 2A worker pursuant to a petition filed under this 

6 section if the alien was admitted to the United 

7 States as an H–2A worker within the past 5 years 

8 of the date the petition was filed and— 

9 ‘‘(A) violated a material provision of this 

10 section, including the requirement to promptly 

11 depart the United States when the alien’s au12 thorized period of admission has expired, unless 

13 the alien has good cause for such failure to de14 part; or 

15 ‘‘(B) otherwise violated a term or condition 

16 of admission into the United States as an H– 

17 2A worker. 

18 ‘‘(2) VISA VALIDITY.—A visa issued to an H– 

19 2A worker shall be valid for 3 years and shall allow 

20 for multiple entries during the approved period of 

21 admission. 

22 ‘‘(3) PERIOD OF AUTHORIZED STAY; ADMIS23 SION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An alien admissible as 


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•S 4069 IS

1 an H–2A worker shall be authorized to stay in 

2 the United States for the period of employment 

3 specified in the petition approved by the Sec4 retary of Homeland Security under this section. 

5 The maximum continuous period of authorized 

6 stay for an H–2A worker is 36 months. 

7 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT TO REMAIN OUTSIDE

8 THE UNITED STATES.—In the case of an H–2A 

9 worker whose maximum continuous period of 

10 authorized stay (including any extensions) has 

11 expired, the alien may not again be eligible for 

12 such stay until the alien remains outside the 

13 United States for a cumulative period of at 

14 least 45 days. 

15 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary of 

16 Homeland Security shall deduct absences from 

17 the United States that take place during an H– 

18 2A worker’s period of authorized stay from the 

19 period that the alien is required to remain out20 side the United States under subparagraph (B), 

21 if the alien or the alien’s employer requests 

22 such a deduction, and provides clear and con23 vincing proof that the alien qualifies for such a 

24 deduction. Such proof shall consist of evidence 

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1 ture records, copies of tax returns, and records 

2 of employment abroad. 

3 ‘‘(D) ADMISSION.—In addition to the max4 imum continuous period of authorized stay, an 

5 H–2A worker’s authorized period of admission 

6 shall include an additional period of 10 days 

7 prior to the beginning of the period of employ8 ment for the purpose of traveling to the place 

9 of employment and 45 days at the end of the 

10 period of employment for the purpose of trav11 eling home or seeking an extension of status 

12 based on a subsequent offer of employment if 

13 the worker has not reached the maximum con14 tinuous period of authorized stay under sub15 paragraph (A) (subject to the exceptions in sub16 paragraph (C)). 

17 ‘‘(4) CONTINUING H–2A WORKERS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) SUCCESSIVE EMPLOYMENT.—An H– 

19 2A worker is authorized to start new or concur20 rent employment upon the filing of a nonfrivo21 lous H–2A petition, or as of the requested start 

22 date, whichever is later if— 

23 ‘‘(i) the petition to start new or con24 current employment was filed prior to the 

25 expiration of the H–2A worker’s period of 


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•S 4069 IS

1 admission as defined in paragraph (3)(D); 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the H–2A worker has not been 

4 employed without authorization in the 

5 United States from the time of last admis6 sion to the United States in H–2A status 

7 through the filing of the petition for new 

8 employment. 

9 ‘‘(B) PROTECTION DUE TO IMMIGRANT

10 VISA BACKLOGS.—Notwithstanding the limita11 tions on the period of authorized stay described 

12 in paragraph (3), any H–2A worker who— 

13 ‘‘(i) is the beneficiary of an approved 

14 petition, filed under section 204(a)(1)(E) 

15 or (F) for preference status under section 

16 203(b)(3)(A)(iii); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) is eligible to be granted such sta18 tus but for the annual limitations on visas 

19 under section 203(b)(3)(A), 

20 may apply for, and the Secretary of Homeland 

21 Security may grant, an extension of such non22 immigrant status until the Secretary of Home23 land Security issues a final administrative deci24 sion on the alien’s application for adjustment of 

25 status or the Secretary of State issues a final 


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•S 4069 IS

1 decision on the alien’s application for an immi2 grant visa. 

3 ‘‘(5) ABANDONMENT OF EMPLOYMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

5 subparagraph (B), an H–2A worker who aban6 dons the employment which was the basis for 

7 the worker’s authorized stay, without good 

8 cause, shall be considered to have failed to 

9 maintain H–2A status and shall depart the 

10 United States or be subject to removal under 

11 section 237(a)(1)(C)(i). 

12 ‘‘(B) GRACE PERIOD TO SECURE NEW EM13 PLOYMENT.—An H–2A worker shall not be con14 sidered to have failed to maintain H–2A status 

15 solely on the basis of a cessation of the employ16 ment on which the alien’s classification was 

17 based for a period of 45 consecutive days, or 

18 until the end of the authorized validity period, 

19 whichever is shorter, once during each author20 ized validity period. 

21 ‘‘(k) REQUIRED DISCLOSURES.— 

22 ‘‘(1) DISCLOSURE OF WORK CONTRACT.—Not 

23 later than the time at which an H–2A worker ap24 plies for a visa, or not later than the date on which 

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1 ployment, the employer shall provide such worker 

2 with a copy of the work contract, which shall include 

3 all of the provisions under this section, or, in the ab4 sence of such a contract, a copy of the job order and 

5 the certification described in subparagraphs (B) and 

6 (D) of subsection (h)(2)), which shall be deemed to 

7 be the work contract. An H–2A worker moving from 

8 one H–2A employer to a subsequent H–2A employer 

9 shall be provided with a copy of the new employment 

10 contract no later than the time at which an offer of 

11 employment is made by the subsequent employer. 

12 ‘‘(2) HOURS AND EARNINGS STATEMENTS.— 

13 The employer shall furnish to H–2A workers, on or 

14 before each payday, in one or more written state15 ments— 

16 ‘‘(A) the H–2A worker’s total earnings for 

17 the pay period; 

18 ‘‘(B) the H–2A worker’s hourly rate of 

19 pay, piece rate of pay, or both; 

20 ‘‘(C) the hours of employment offered to 

21 the H–2A worker and the hours of employment 

22 actually worked by the H–2A worker; 

23 ‘‘(D) if piece rates of pay are used, the 

24 units produced daily by the H–2A worker; 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(E) an itemization of the deductions 

2 made from the H–2A worker’s wages; and 

3 ‘‘(F) any other information required by 

4 Federal, State or local law. 

5 ‘‘(3) NOTICE OF WORKER RIGHTS.—The em6 ployer shall post and maintain, in a conspicuous lo7 cation at the place of employment, a poster provided 

8 by the Secretary of Labor in English, and, to the ex9 tent necessary, any language common to a signifi10 cant portion of the workers if they are not fluent in 

11 English, which sets out the rights and protections 

12 for workers employed pursuant to this section. 

13 ‘‘(l) LABOR CONTRACTORS; FOREIGN LABOR RE14 CRUITERS; PROHIBITION ON FEES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) LABOR CONTRACTORS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) SURETY BOND.—An employer that is 

17 a labor contractor who seeks to employ H–2A 

18 workers shall maintain a surety bond in an 

19 amount required under subparagraph (B). Such 

20 bond shall be payable to the Secretary of Labor 

21 or pursuant to the resolution of a civil or crimi22 nal proceeding, for the payment of wages and 

23 benefits, including any assessment of interest, 

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1 ployed worker, or a worker who has been re2 jected or displaced in violation of this section. 

3 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF BOND.—The Secretary 

4 of Labor shall annually publish in the Federal 

5 Register a schedule of required bond amounts 

6 that are determined by such Secretary to be 

7 sufficient for labor contractors to discharge fi8 nancial obligations under this section based on 

9 the number of workers the labor contractor 

10 seeks to employ and the wages such workers are 

11 required to be paid. 

12 ‘‘(C) USE OF FUNDS.—Any sums paid to 

13 the Secretary under subparagraph (A) that are 

14 not paid to a worker because of the inability to 

15 do so within a period of 5 years following the 

16 date of a violation giving rise to the obligation 

17 to pay shall remain available to the Secretary 

18 without further appropriation until expended to 

19 support the enforcement of this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) FOREIGN LABOR RECRUITING.—If the em21 ployer has retained the services of a foreign labor re22 cruiter, the employer shall use a foreign labor re23 cruiter registered under section 251 of the Afford24 able and Secure Food Act of 2024. 


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1 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION AGAINST EMPLOYEES PAY2 ING FEES.—Neither the employer nor its agents 

3 shall seek or receive payment of any kind from any 

4 worker for any activity related to the H–2A process, 

5 including payment of the employer’s attorneys’ fees, 

6 application fees, or recruitment costs. An employer 

7 and its agents may receive reimbursement for costs 

8 that are the responsibility and primarily for the ben9 efit of the worker, such as government-required 

10 passport fees. 

11 ‘‘(4) THIRD-PARTY CONTRACTS.—The contract 

12 between an employer and any labor contractor or 

13 any foreign labor recruiter (or any agent of such 

14 labor contractor or foreign labor recruiter) whom the 

15 employer engages shall include a term providing for 

16 the termination of such contract for cause if the con17 tractor or recruiter, either directly or indirectly, in 

18 the placement or recruitment of H–2A workers seeks 

19 or receives payments or other compensation from 

20 prospective employees. Upon learning that a labor 

21 contractor or foreign labor recruiter has sought or 

22 collected such payments, the employer shall so termi23 nate any contracts with such contractor or recruiter. 

24 ‘‘(m) ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY.— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor is 

2 authorized to take such actions against employers, 

3 including issuing subpoenas, imposing appropriate 

4 penalties, and seeking monetary and injunctive relief 

5 and specific performance of contractual obligations, 

6 as may be necessary to ensure compliance with the 

7 requirements of this section and with the applicable 

8 terms and conditions of employment. The Solicitor 

9 of Labor may appear on behalf of and represent the 

10 Secretary of Labor in any civil litigation brought 

11 under this chapter, but all such litigation shall be 

12 subject to the direction and control of the Attorney 

13 General. 

14 ‘‘(2) COMPLAINT PROCESS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) PROCESS.—The Secretary of Labor 

16 shall establish a process for the receipt, inves17 tigation, and disposition of complaints alleging 

18 failure of an employer to comply with the re19 quirements under this section and with the ap20 plicable terms and conditions of employment. 

21 ‘‘(B) FILING.—A complaint referred to in 

22 subparagraph (A) may be filed not later than 2 

23 years after the date of the conduct that is the 

24 subject of the complaint. 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(C) COMPLAINT NOT EXCLUSIVE.—A 

2 complaint filed under this paragraph is not an 

3 exclusive remedy and the filing of such a com4 plaint does not waive any rights or remedies of 

5 the aggrieved party under this law or other 

6 laws. 

7 ‘‘(D) DECISION AND REMEDIES.—If the 

8 Secretary of Labor finds, after notice and op9 portunity for a hearing, that the employer failed 

10 to comply with the requirements of this section 

11 or the terms and conditions of employment, the 

12 Secretary of Labor may require payment of un13 paid wages, unpaid benefits, fees assessed in 

14 violation of this section, damages, and civil 

15 money penalties. The Secretary is also author16 ized to impose other administrative remedies, 

17 including disqualification of the employer from 

18 utilizing the H–2A program for a period of up 

19 to 5 years in the event of willful or multiple 

20 material violations. The Secretary is authorized 

21 to permanently disqualify an employer from uti22 lizing the H–2A program upon a subsequent 

23 finding involving willful or multiple material 

24 violations. 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(E) DISPOSITION OF PENALTIES.—Civil 

2 penalties collected under this paragraph shall be 

3 deposited into the H–2A Labor Certification 

4 Fee Account established under section 203 of 

5 the Affordable and Secure Food Act of 2024. 

6 ‘‘(3) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

7 this subsection may be construed as limiting the au8 thority of the Secretary of Labor to conduct an in9 vestigation— 

10 ‘‘(A) under any other law, including any 

11 law affecting migrant and seasonal agricultural 

12 workers; or 

13 ‘‘(B) in the absence of a complaint. 

14 ‘‘(4) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.—It is a viola15 tion of this subsection for any person to intimidate, 

16 threaten, restrain, coerce, blacklist, discharge, or in 

17 any other manner discriminate against, or to cause 

18 any person to intimidate, threaten, restrain, coerce, 

19 blacklist, or in any manner discriminate against, an 

20 employee, including a former employee or an appli21 cant for employment, because the employee— 

22 ‘‘(A) has disclosed information to the em23 ployer, or to any other person, that the em24 ployee reasonably believes evidences a violation 


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•S 4069 IS

1 under this section, or any rule or regulation re2 lating to this section; 

3 ‘‘(B) has filed a complaint concerning the 

4 employer’s compliance with the requirements 

5 under this section or any rule or regulation per6 taining to this section; 

7 ‘‘(C) cooperates or seeks to cooperate in an 

8 investigation or other proceeding concerning the 

9 employer’s compliance with the requirements 

10 under this section or any rule or regulation per11 taining to this section; or 

12 ‘‘(D) has taken steps to exercise or assert 

13 any right or protection under the provisions of 

14 this section, or any rule or regulation pertaining 

15 to this section, or any other relevant Federal, 

16 State, or local law. 

17 ‘‘(5) INTERAGENCY COMMUNICATION.—The 

18 Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Sec19 retary of Homeland Security, Secretary of State and 

20 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 

21 shall establish mechanisms by which the agencies 

22 and their components share information, including 

23 by public electronic means, regarding complaints, 

24 studies, investigations, findings and remedies regard25 ing compliance by employers with the requirements 


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•S 4069 IS

1 of the H–2A program and other employment-related 

2 laws and regulations. 

3 ‘‘(n) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) DISPLACE.—The term ‘displace’ means to 

5 lay off a similarly employed United States worker, 

6 other than for lawful job-related reasons, in the oc7 cupation and area of intended employment for the 

8 job for which H–2A workers are sought. 

9 ‘‘(2) H–2A WORKER.—The term ‘H–2A worker’ 

10 means a nonimmigrant described in section 

11 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a). 

12 ‘‘(3) JOB ORDER.—The term ‘job order’ means 

13 the document containing the material terms and 

14 conditions of employment, including obligations and 

15 assurances required under this section or any other 

16 law. 

17 ‘‘(4) ONLINE JOB REGISTRY.—The term ‘online 

18 job registry’ means the online job registry of the 

19 Secretary of Labor required under section 201(b) of 

20 the Affordable and Secure Food Act of 2024 (or 

21 similar successor registry). 

22 ‘‘(5) SIMILARLY EMPLOYED.—The term ‘simi23 larly employed’, in the case of a worker, means a 

24 worker in the same occupational classification as the 


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•S 4069 IS

1 classification or classifications for which the H–2A 

2 worker is sought. 

3 ‘‘(6) UNITED STATES WORKER.—The term 

4 ‘United States worker’ means any worker who is— 

5 ‘‘(A) a citizen or national of the United 

6 States; 

7 ‘‘(B) an alien who is lawfully admitted for 

8 permanent residence, is admitted as a refugee 

9 under section 207, is granted asylum under sec10 tion 208, or is an immigrant otherwise author11 ized to be employed in the United States; 

12 ‘‘(C) an alien granted certified agricultural 

13 worker status under title I of the Affordable 

14 and Secure Food Act of 2024; or 

15 ‘‘(D) an individual who is not an unauthor16 ized alien (as defined in section 274A(h)(3)) 

17 with respect to the employment in which the 

18 worker is engaging. 

19 ‘‘(o) FEES; AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) FEES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

22 Homeland Security shall impose a fee to proc23 ess petitions under this section. Such fee shall 

24 be set at a level that is sufficient to recover the 

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•S 4069 IS

1 cluding the reasonable costs of providing labor 

2 certification by the Secretary of Labor. 

3 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION.—Fees collected 

4 under subparagraph (A) shall be deposited as 

5 offsetting receipts into the immigration exami6 nations fee account in section 286(m), except 

7 that the portion of fees assessed for the Sec8 retary of Labor shall be deposited into the H– 

9 2A Labor Certification Fee Account established 

10 pursuant to section 203(c) of the Affordable 

11 and Secure Food Act of 2024. 

12 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized 

13 to be appropriated for each fiscal year such sums as 

14 necessary for the purposes of— 

15 ‘‘(A) recruiting United States workers for 

16 labor or services which might otherwise be per17 formed by H–2A workers, including by ensuring 

18 that State workforce agencies are sufficiently 

19 funded to fulfill their functions under this sec20 tion; 

21 ‘‘(B) enabling the Secretary of Labor to 

22 make determinations and certifications under 

23 this section and under section 212(a)(5)(A)(i); 

24 ‘‘(C) monitoring and enforcing the terms 

25 and conditions under which H–2A workers (and 


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•S 4069 IS

1 United States workers employed by the same 

2 employers) are employed in the United States; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(D) enabling the Secretary of Agriculture 

5 to carry out the Secretary of Agriculture’s du6 ties and responsibilities under this section.’’. 

7 SEC. 203. AGENCY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. 

8 (a) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF

9 LABOR.—With respect to the administration of the H–2A 

10 nonimmigrant visa program (referred to in this section as 

11 the ‘‘H–2A program’’), the Secretary of Labor shall be 

12 responsible for— 

13 (1) consulting with State workforce agencies 

14 to— 

15 (A) review and process job orders; 

16 (B) facilitate the recruitment and referral 

17 of able, willing and qualified United States 

18 workers who will be available at the time and 

19 place needed; 

20 (C) determine prevailing wages and prac21 tices; and 

22 (D) conduct timely inspections to ensure 

23 compliance with applicable Federal, State, or 

24 local housing standards and Federal regulations 

25 for H–2A housing; 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (2) determining whether the employer has met 

2 the conditions for approval of the H–2A non3 immigrant visa petition described in section 218 of 

4 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

5 1188); 

6 (3) determining, in consultation with the Sec7 retary of Agriculture, whether a job opportunity is 

8 of a seasonal or temporary nature; 

9 (4) determining whether the employer has com10 plied or will comply with the H–2A program require11 ments set forth in section 218 of the Immigration 

12 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188); 

13 (5) processing and investigating complaints con14 sistent with section 218(m) of the Immigration and 

15 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(m)); 

16 (6) referring any matter as appropriate to the 

17 Inspector General of the Department of Labor for 

18 investigation; 

19 (7) ensuring that guidance to State workforce 

20 agencies to conduct wage surveys is regularly up21 dated; and 

22 (8) issuing such rules and regulations as are 

23 necessary to carry out the Secretary of Labor’s re24 sponsibilities under this Act and the amendments 

25 made by this Act. 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF

2 HOMELAND SECURITY.—With respect to the administra3 tion of the H–2A program, the Secretary of Homeland Se4 curity shall be responsible for— 

5 (1) adjudicating petitions for the admission of 

6 nonimmigrants described in section 

7 101(a)(15)(H)(2)(a) (referred to in this title as ‘‘H– 

8 2A workers’’), which shall include an assessment as 

9 to whether each beneficiary will be employed in ac10 cordance with the terms and conditions of the cer11 tification and whether any named beneficiaries qual12 ify for such employment; 

13 (2) transmitting a copy of the final decision on 

14 the petition to the employer, and in the case of ap15 proved petitions, ensuring that the petition approval 

16 is reflected in the electronic platform to facilitate the 

17 prompt issuance of a visa by the Department of 

18 State (if required) and the admission of the H–2A 

19 workers to the United States; 

20 (3) establishing a reliable and secure method 

21 through which H–2A workers can access information 

22 about their H–2A visa status, including information 

23 on pending, approved, or denied petitions to extend 

24 such status; 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (4) investigating and preventing fraud in the 

2 program, including the utilization of H–2A workers 

3 for other than allowable agricultural labor or serv4 ices; and 

5 (5) issuing such rules and regulations as are 

6 necessary to carry out the Secretary of Homeland 

7 Security’s responsibilities under this Act and the 

8 amendments made by this Act. 

9 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT; USE OF

10 FUNDS.— 

11 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.—There is 

12 established in the general fund of the Treasury a 

13 separate account, which shall be known as the ‘‘H– 

14 2A Labor Certification Fee Account’’. Notwith15 standing any other provisions of law, there shall be 

16 deposited as offsetting receipts into the account all 

17 amounts— 

18 (A) collected as a civil penalty under sec19 tion 218(m)(2)(E) of the Immigration and Na20 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(m)(2)(E)); and 

21 (B) collected as a fee under section 

22 218(o)(1)(B) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

23 1188(o)(1)(B)). 

24 (2) USE OF FUNDS.— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 

2 provided in this paragraph, amounts deposited 

3 into the H–2A Labor Certification Fee Account 

4 shall be available (except as otherwise provided 

5 in this paragraph) without fiscal year limitation 

6 and without the requirement for specification in 

7 appropriations Acts to the Secretary of Labor 

8 for use, directly or through grants, contracts, or 

9 other arrangements, in such amounts as the 

10 Secretary of Labor determines are necessary for 

11 the costs of Federal and State administration in 

12 carrying out activities in connection with labor 

13 certification under section 218 of the Immigra14 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188). 

15 (B) EXAMPLES OF APPROVED COSTS.— 

16 Costs authorized under subparagraph (A) may 

17 include— 

18 (i) personnel salaries and benefits; 

19 (ii) equipment and infrastructure for 

20 adjudication and customer service proc21 esses; 

22 (iii) the operation and maintenance of 

23 an on-line job registry; and 

24 (iv) program integrity activities. 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (C) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 

2 what amounts to transfer to States for State 

3 administration in carrying out activities in con4 nection with labor certification under section 

5 218 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

6 the Secretary shall— 

7 (i) consider the number of H–2A 

8 workers employed in such State; and 

9 (ii) adjust the amount transferred to 

10 such State based on the proportion of H– 

11 2A workers employed in such State. 

12 (D) AUDITS; CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS.— 

13 Ten percent of the amounts deposited into the 

14 H–2A Labor Certification Fee Account pursu15 ant to paragraph (1) shall be available to the 

16 Office of Inspector General of the Department 

17 of Labor to conduct audits and criminal inves18 tigations relating to foreign labor certification 

19 programs. 

20 (3) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—Amounts available 

21 under paragraph (1) shall be available in addition to 

22 any other funds appropriated or made available to 

23 the Department of Labor under other laws, includ24 ing section 218(o)(2) of the Immigration and Na25 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(o)(2)). 


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•S 4069 IS

1 SEC. 204. WORKER PROTECTION AND COMPLIANCE. 

2 (a) EQUALITY OF TREATMENT.—H–2A workers may 

3 not be denied any right or remedy under any Federal, 

4 State, or local labor or employment law applicable to 

5 United States workers engaged in agricultural employ6 ment. 

7 (b) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.— 

8 (1) MIGRANT AND SEASONAL AGRICULTURAL

9 WORKER PROTECTION ACT.—H–2A workers shall be 

10 considered migrant agricultural workers for purposes 

11 of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker 

12 Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

13 (2) WAIVER OF RIGHTS PROHIBITED.—Agree14 ments by H–2A workers to waive or modify any 

15 rights or protections under this Act or section 218 

16 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended 

17 by section 202, shall be considered void or contrary 

18 to public policy except as provided in a collective 

19 bargaining agreement with a bona fide labor organi20 zation. 

21 (3) FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS PROHIBITED.—A 

22 legal representative of an H–2A worker who seeks to 

23 enforce rights guaranteed under this Act or under 

24 section 218 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

25 as amended by section 202, shall comply with Rules 

26 8 and 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 


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1 (4) DEMAND LETTER PROHIBITIONS.—A legal 

2 representative of an H–2A worker, or a class of 

3 workers, may not send a demand letter to the em4 ployer of such worker, or class of workers, regarding 

5 a violation of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural 

6 Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and 

7 demanding a monetary payment without a good 

8 faith basis that there are sufficient facts to support 

9 such an allegation. 

10 (5) THIRD-PARTY LAWSUITS.—All named plain11 tiffs in a lawsuit against the employer of an H–2A 

12 worker shall be a real party in interest and may not 

13 be a third party who is not an H–2A worker, except 

14 as otherwise expressly permitted under this Act or 

15 any other law. 

16 (6) MEDIATION.— 

17 (A) FREE MEDIATION SERVICES.—The 

18 Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service 

19 shall be available to assist in resolving disputes 

20 arising under this section between H–2A work21 ers and agricultural employers without charge 

22 to the parties. 

23 (B) LAWSUITS.—If an H–2A worker files 

24 a civil lawsuit alleging 1 or more violations of 

25 the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker 


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1 Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), not 

2 later than 60 days after filing proof of service 

3 of the complaint, a party to the lawsuit may file 

4 a request with the Federal Mediation and Con5 ciliation Service to assist the parties in reaching 

6 a satisfactory resolution of all issues involving 

7 all parties to the dispute. 

8 (C) NOTICE.—Upon filing a request under 

9 subparagraph (B) and giving of notice to the 

10 parties, the parties shall attempt mediation 

11 within the period specified in subparagraph 

12 (D), except that nothing in this paragraph shall 

13 limit the ability of a court to order preliminary 

14 injunctive relief to protect health and safety or 

15 to otherwise prevent irreparable harm. 

16 (D) 90-DAY LIMIT.—The Federal Medi17 ation and Conciliation Service may conduct me18 diation or other nonbinding dispute resolution 

19 activities for a period not to exceed 90 days be20 ginning on the date on which the Federal Medi21 ation and Conciliation Service receives a request 

22 for assistance under subparagraph (B) unless 

23 the parties agree to an extension of such period. 

24 (E) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA25 TIONS.— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

2 (ii), there is authorized to be appropriated 

3 to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation 

4 Service $5,600,000 for fiscal year 2024 

5 and $4,600,000 for each of the following 

6 10 fiscal years to carry out this subpara7 graph. 

8 (ii) MEDIATION.—Notwithstanding 

9 any other provision of law, the Director of 

10 the Federal Mediation and Conciliation 

11 Service is authorized— 

12 (I) to conduct the mediation or 

13 other dispute resolution activities from 

14 any other account containing amounts 

15 available to the Director; and 

16 (II) to reimburse such account 

17 with amounts appropriated pursuant 

18 to clause (i). 

19 (F) PRIVATE MEDIATION.—If all parties 

20 agree, a private mediator may be employed as 

21 an alternative to the Federal Mediation and 

22 Conciliation Service. 

23 (c) FARM LABOR CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 (1) SURETY BONDS.— 


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1 (A) REQUIREMENT.—Section 101 of the 

2 Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Pro3 tection Act (29 U.S.C. 1811), is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(e) A farm labor contractor shall maintain a surety 

6 bond in an amount determined by the Secretary to be suf7 ficient for ensuring the ability of the farm labor contractor 

8 to discharge its financial obligations, including payment 

9 of wages and benefits to employees. Such a bond shall be 

10 available to satisfy any amounts ordered to be paid by the 

11 Secretary or by court order for failure to comply with the 

12 obligations of this Act. The Secretary of Labor shall annu13 ally publish in the Federal Register a schedule of required 

14 bond amounts that are determined by such Secretary to 

15 be sufficient for farm labor contractors to discharge finan16 cial obligations based on the number of workers to be cov17 ered.’’. 

18 (B) REGISTRATION DETERMINATIONS.— 

19 Section 103(a) of the Migrant and Seasonal Ag20 ricultural Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 

21 1813(a)), is amended— 

22 (i) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

23 at the end; 

24 (ii) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking 

25 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 


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1 (iii) in paragraph (6), by striking the 

2 period at the end and inserting ‘‘;’’; and 

3 (iv) by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(7) has failed to maintain a surety bond in 

6 compliance with section 101(e); or 

7 ‘‘(8) has been disqualified by the Secretary of 

8 Labor from importing nonimmigrants described in 

9 section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii) of the Immigration and 

10 Nationality Act.’’. 

11 (2) SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST.— 

12 (A) DECLARATION.—Section 102 of the 

13 Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Pro14 tection Act (29 U.S.C. 1812), is amended— 

15 (i) in paragraph (4), by striking 

16 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

17 (ii) in paragraph (5), by striking the 

18 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

19 and 

20 (iii) by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(6) a declaration, subscribed and sworn to by 

23 the applicant, stating whether the applicant has a 

24 familial, contractual, or employment relationship 

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•S 4069 IS

1 ployees with, a person who has been refused 

2 issuance or renewal of a certificate, or has had a 

3 certificate suspended or revoked, pursuant to section 

4 103.’’. 

5 (B) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.—Section 

6 103 of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural 

7 Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1813), as 

8 amended by this Act, is further amended by in9 serting after subsection (a) the following new 

10 subsection (and by redesignating the subse11 quent subsections accordingly): 

12 ‘‘(b)(1) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that 

13 an applicant for issuance or renewal of a certificate is not 

14 the real party in interest in the application if the appli15 cant— 

16 ‘‘(A) is the immediate family member of any 

17 person who has been refused issuance or renewal of 

18 a certificate, or has had a certificate suspended or 

19 revoked; and 

20 ‘‘(B) identifies a vehicle, facility, or real prop21 erty under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 102 that 

22 has been previously listed by a person who has been 

23 refused issuance or renewal of a certificate, or has 

24 had a certificate suspended or revoked. 


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1 ‘‘(2) An applicant described in paragraph (1) bears 

2 the burden of demonstrating to the Secretary’s satisfac3 tion that the applicant is the real party in interest in the 

4 application.’’. 

5 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3(8)(B) of 

6 the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection 

7 Act (29 U.S.C. 1802(8)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(B) The term ‘migrant agricultural worker’ 

9 does not include any immediate family member of an 

10 agricultural employer or a farm labor contractor.’’. 

11 SEC. 205. REPORT ON WAGE PROTECTIONS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

13 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 3 years there14 after, the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Agri15 culture shall submit a report to the Committee on the Ju16 diciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary 

17 of the House of Representatives that addresses— 

18 (1) whether, and the manner in which, the em19 ployment of H–2A workers in the United States has 

20 impacted the wages, working conditions, or job op21 portunities of United States farm workers; 

22 (2) whether, and the manner in which, the ad23 verse effect wage rate increases or decreases wages 

24 on United States farms, broken down by geographic 

25 region and farm size; 


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1 (3) whether any potential impact of the adverse 

2 effect wage rate varies based on the percentage of 

3 workers in a geographic region that are H–2A work4 ers; 

5 (4) the degree to which the adverse effect wage 

6 rate is affected by the inclusion in wage surveys of 

7 piece rate compensation, bonus payments, and other 

8 pay incentives, and whether such forms of incentive 

9 compensation should be surveyed and reported sepa10 rately from hourly base rates; 

11 (5) whether, and the manner in which, other 

12 factors may artificially affect the adverse effect wage 

13 rate, including factors that may be specific to a re14 gion, State, or region within a State; 

15 (6) whether, and the manner in which, the H– 

16 2A program affects the ability of United States 

17 farms to compete with agricultural commodities im18 ported from outside the United States; 

19 (7) the number and percentage of farm workers 

20 in the United States whose incomes are below the 

21 poverty line; 

22 (8) whether alternative wage standards would 

23 be sufficient to prevent wages in occupations in 

24 which H–2A workers are employed from falling 


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•S 4069 IS

1 below the wage level that would have prevailed in the 

2 absence of the H–2A program; 

3 (9) whether any changes are warranted in the 

4 current methodologies for calculating the adverse ef5 fect wage rate and the prevailing wage; and 

6 (10) recommendations for future wage protec7 tion for United States farm workers. 

8 (b) INTERVIEWS.—In gathering information for the 

9 report required subsection (a), the Secretary of Labor and 

10 the Secretary of Agriculture shall interview equal numbers 

11 of representatives of agricultural employers and agricul12 tural workers, both locally and nationally. 

13 SEC. 206. PORTABLE H–2A VISA PILOT PROGRAM. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAM.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

16 (A) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 18 

17 months after the date of the enactment of this 

18 Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

19 consultation with the Secretary of Labor and 

20 the Secretary of Agriculture, shall promulgate 

21 regulations establishing a 6-year pilot program 

22 to facilitate the free movement and employment 

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1 tural employers registered with the Secretary of 

2 Agriculture. 

3 (B) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Notwith4 standing the requirements under section 218 of 

5 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

6 1188), the regulations promulgated pursuant to 

7 subparagraph (A) shall establish the require8 ments for the pilot program in accordance with 

9 subsection (b). 

10 (C) DEFINED TERMS.—In this section: 

11 (i) PORTABLE H–2A WORKER.—The 

12 term ‘‘portable H–2A worker’’ means an 

13 H–2A worker described in subparagraph 

14 (A). 

15 (ii) PORTABLE H–2A STATUS.—The 

16 term ‘‘portable H–2A status’’ means the 

17 immigration status of a portable H–2A 

18 worker. 

19 (2) ONLINE PLATFORM.— 

20 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of 

21 Homeland Security, in consultation with the 

22 Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Agri23 culture, shall establish and maintain an online 

24 electronic platform to connect portable H–2A 

25 workers with registered agricultural employers 


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•S 4069 IS

1 seeking workers to perform temporary or sea2 sonal agricultural labor or services. 

3 (B) POSTING OF JOB OPPORTUNITIES.— 

4 Employers shall post information regarding 

5 available job opportunities on the platform es6 tablished pursuant to subparagraph (A), which 

7 shall include— 

8 (i) a description of the nature and lo9 cation of the work to be performed; 

10 (ii) the anticipated period or periods 

11 during which workers are needed; and 

12 (iii) the terms and conditions of em13 ployment. 

14 (C) SEARCH CRITERIA.—The platform es15 tablished pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall 

16 allow portable H–2A workers to search for 

17 available job opportunities using relevant cri18 teria, including the types of jobs needed to be 

19 filled and the dates and locations workers are 

20 needed by an employer. 

21 (3) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding the 

22 issuance of the regulation described in paragraph 

23 (1), the Secretary of State may not issue a portable 

24 H–2A visa and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

25 may not confer portable H–2A status on any alien 


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1 until the Secretary of Homeland Security, in con2 sultation with the Secretary of Labor and the Sec3 retary of Agriculture, determines that— 

4 (A) a sufficient number of employers have 

5 been designated as registered agricultural em6 ployers pursuant to subsection (b)(1); and 

7 (B) the employers referred to in subpara8 graph (A) have sufficient job opportunities to 

9 employ a reasonable number of portable H–2A 

10 workers to initiate the pilot program. 

11 (b) PILOT PROGRAM ELEMENTS.— 

12 (1) REGISTERED AGRICULTURAL EMPLOY13 ERS.— 

14 (A) DESIGNATION.—Agricultural employ15 ers shall be provided the ability to seek designa16 tion as registered agricultural employers. Rea17 sonable fees may be assessed commensurate 

18 with the cost of processing applications for des19 ignation. A designation shall be valid for a pe20 riod of up to 3 years unless revoked for failure 

21 to comply with program requirements. Reg22 istered employers that comply with program re23 quirements may apply to renew such designa24 tion for additional periods of up to 3 years for 


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1 the duration of the pilot program established 

2 pursuant to subsection (a). 

3 (B) LIMITATIONS.—Registered agricultural 

4 employers— 

5 (i) may employ aliens with portable 

6 H–2A status without filing a petition; and 

7 (ii) shall pay such aliens not less than 

8 the wage required under section 218(d) of 

9 the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 

10 amended by section 202. 

11 (C) WORKERS’ COMPENSATION.—If a job 

12 opportunity is not covered by, or is exempt 

13 from, the applicable State workers’ compensa14 tion law, a registered agricultural employer 

15 shall provide to portable H–2A workers, at no 

16 cost to such workers, insurance covering injury 

17 and disease arising out of, and in the course of, 

18 the worker’s employment, which will provide 

19 benefits that are at least equal to the benefits 

20 provided under the applicable State workers’ 

21 compensation law. 

22 (2) DESIGNATED WORKERS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Individuals who were 

24 previously admitted to the United States in H– 

25 2A status, and have maintained such status 


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1 during the period of their admission, may apply 

2 for portable H–2A status. Portable H–2A work3 ers shall be subject to the provisions regarding 

4 visa validity and periods of authorized stay and 

5 admission applicable to H–2A workers de6 scribed in paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 

7 218(j) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

8 as added by section 202. 

9 (B) LIMITATIONS ON AVAILABILITY OF

10 PORTABLE H–2A STATUS.— 

11 (i) INITIAL OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT

12 REQUIRED.—An alien may not be granted 

13 portable H–2A status without an initial 

14 valid offer of employment from a registered 

15 agricultural employer to perform tem16 porary or agricultural labor or services. 

17 (ii) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 

18 (I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 

19 subclause (II), the total number of 

20 aliens who may simultaneously hold 

21 valid portable H–2A status may not 

22 exceed 10,000. 

23 (II) FURTHER LIMITATION.—The 

24 Secretary of Homeland Security may 

25 further limit the total number of 


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1 aliens who may be granted portable 

2 H–2A status if the Secretary deter3 mines that there are an insufficient 

4 number of registered agricultural em5 ployers or job opportunities to support 

6 the employment of the number of 

7 portable H–2A workers authorized 

8 under subclause (I). 

9 (C) SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT.—A portable 

10 H–2A worker, during the period of his or her 

11 admission, may perform temporary or seasonal 

12 agricultural labor or services for any employer 

13 in the United States that is designated as a 

14 registered agricultural employer pursuant to 

15 paragraph (1). An employment arrangement 

16 under this section may be terminated by the 

17 portable H–2A worker or the registered agricul18 tural employer at any time. 

19 (D) MAINTENANCE OF STATUS.— 

20 (i) TRANSFER TO NEW EMPLOY21 MENT.—If a portable H–2A worker desires 

22 to maintain portable H–2A status after the 

23 conclusion of such worker’s employment 

24 with a registered agricultural employer, 

25 such worker shall secure new employment 


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1 with another registered agricultural em2 ployer not later than 60 days after the last 

3 day of employment with the previous em4 ployer. 

5 (ii) MAINTENANCE OF STATUS.—A 

6 portable H–2A worker who does not secure 

7 new employment with a registered agricul8 tural employer during the 60-day period 

9 referred to in clause (i)— 

10 (I) shall be considered to have 

11 failed to maintain portable H–2A sta12 tus; and 

13 (II) shall depart the United 

14 States or be subject to removal under 

15 section 237(a)(1)(C)(i) of the Immi16 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

17 1227(a)(1)(C)(i)). 

18 (3) ENFORCEMENT.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor 

20 shall conduct investigations and random audits 

21 of employers to ensure compliance with the em22 ployment-related requirements under this sec23 tion, in accordance with section 218(m) of the 

24 Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by 

25 section 202. 


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1 (B) PENALTIES.—The Secretary of Labor 

2 is authorized to collect reasonable civil penalties 

3 for violations of this section, which may be ex4 pended by the Secretary for the administration 

5 and enforcement of this section. 

6 (4) ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES.—Section 305 

7 of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 

8 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note) is amended by striking ‘‘other 

9 employment rights as provided in the worker’s spe10 cific contract under which the nonimmigrant was ad11 mitted’’ and inserting ‘‘employment-related rights’’. 

12 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 30 months after the 

13 commencement of the pilot program established pursuant 

14 to subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

15 consultation with the Secretary of Labor and the Sec16 retary of Agriculture, shall submit a report to the Com17 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee 

18 on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives that in19 cludes— 

20 (1) the number of employers designated as reg21 istered agricultural employers, disaggregated by geo22 graphic region, farm size, and the number of job op23 portunities offered by such employers; 

24 (2) the number of employers whose designation 

25 as a registered agricultural employer was revoked; 


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1 (3) the number of individuals granted portable 

2 H–2A status during each fiscal year and the number 

3 of such individuals who maintained portable H–2A 

4 status during all or a portion of the 3-year period 

5 of the pilot program; 

6 (4) an assessment of the impact of the pilot 

7 program on the wages and working conditions of 

8 United States farm workers; 

9 (5) the results of a survey of individuals grant10 ed portable H–2A status that describes their experi11 ences with and their feedback regarding the pilot 

12 program; 

13 (6) the results of a survey of registered agricul14 tural employers that describes their experiences with 

15 and their feedback regarding the pilot program; 

16 (7) an assessment regarding whether the pilot 

17 program should be continued and any recommenda18 tions for improving the pilot program; and 

19 (8) findings and recommendations regarding ef20 fective recruitment mechanisms, including the use of 

21 new technology— 

22 (A) to match workers with employers; and 

23 (B) to ensure compliance with applicable 

24 labor and employment laws and regulations. 


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1 SEC. 207. IMPROVING ACCESS TO PERMANENT RESIDENCE. 

2 (a) WORLDWIDE LEVEL.—Section 201(d)(1)(A) of 

3 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

4 1151(d)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘140,000’’ and in5 serting ‘‘200,000’’. 

6 (b) VISAS FOR FARM WORKERS.—Section 203(b) of 

7 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘28.6 percent 

10 of such worldwide level’’ and inserting ‘‘40,040’’; 

11 (2) in paragraph (2)(A) by striking ‘‘28.6 per12 cent of such worldwide level’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘40,040’’; 

14 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

16 (i) in the matter before clause (i), by 

17 striking ‘‘28.6 percent of such worldwide 

18 level’’ and inserting ‘‘100,040’’; and 

19 (ii) by amending clause (iii) to read as 

20 follows: 

21 ‘‘(iii) OTHER WORKERS.—Other quali22 fied immigrants who, at the time of peti23 tioning for classification under this para24 graph— 

25 ‘‘(I) are capable of performing 

26 unskilled labor, not of a temporary or 


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1 seasonal nature, for which qualified 

2 workers are not available in the 

3 United States; or 

4 ‘‘(II) can demonstrate employ5 ment in the United States as an H– 

6 2A nonimmigrant worker for at least 

7 100 days in each of at least 10 years 

8 or for at least 1,000 days within the 

9 preceding 10-year period.’’; 

10 (B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘(B) VISAS ALLOCATED FOR OTHER

13 WORKERS.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro15 vided in clauses (ii) and (iii), 60,000 of the 

16 visas made available under this paragraph 

17 shall be reserved for qualified immigrants 

18 described in subparagraph (A)(iii). 

19 ‘‘(ii) PREFERENCE FOR AGRICUL20 TURAL WORKERS.—Subject to clause (iii), 

21 not fewer than 50,000 of the visas de22 scribed in clause (i) shall be reserved for— 

23 ‘‘(I) qualified immigrants de24 scribed in subparagraph (A)(iii)(I) 

25 who will be performing agricultural 


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1 labor or services in the United States; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(II) qualified immigrants de4 scribed in subparagraph (A)(iii)(II). 

5 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTION.—If because of the 

6 application of clause (ii), the total number 

7 of visas available under this paragraph for 

8 a calendar quarter exceeds the number of 

9 qualified immigrants who otherwise may be 

10 issued such a visa, clause (ii) shall not 

11 apply to visas under this paragraph during 

12 the remainder of such calendar quarter. 

13 ‘‘(iv) NO PER COUNTRY LIMITS.— 

14 Visas described under clause (ii) shall be 

15 issued without regard to the numerical lim16 itation under section 202(a)(2).’’; and 

17 (C) by amending subparagraph (C) by 

18 striking ‘‘An immigrant visa’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘Except for qualified immigrants petitioning for 

20 classification under subparagraph (A)(iii)(II), 

21 an immigrant visa’’; 

22 (4) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘7.1 percent 

23 of such worldwide level’’ and inserting ‘‘9,940’’; and 


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1 (5) in paragraph (5)(A), in the matter before 

2 clause (i), by striking ‘‘7.1 percent of such world3 wide level’’ and inserting ‘‘9,940’’. 

4 (c) WESTERN HEMISPHERE PROCEDURES.—The 

5 Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the 

6 Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of State, may— 

7 (1) identify countries in the Western Hemi8 sphere with large flows of migration outside of nor9 mal trade and travel routes to the United States; 

10 and 

11 (2) develop tools and resources and establish 

12 procedures to connect prospective workers described 

13 in section 203(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Immigration and 

14 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(3)(A)(iii)) from 

15 such countries to United States employers seeking 

16 temporary workers to perform agricultural labor or 

17 services. 

18 (d) PETITIONING PROCEDURE.—Section 

19 204(a)(1)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

20 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(E)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or 

21 203(b)(3)(A)(iii)(II)’’ after ‘‘203(b)(1)(A)’’. 

22 (e) DUAL INTENT.—Section 214(b) of the Immigra23 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(b)) is amended 

24 by striking ‘‘section 101(a)(15)(H)(i) except subclause 


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1 (b1) of such section’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (i), except sub2 clause (b1), or (ii)(a) of section 101(a)(15)(H)’’. 

3 Subtitle B—Preservation and Con4 struction of Farm Worker Hous5 ing 

6 SEC. 220. SHORT TITLE. 

7 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Strategy and In8 vestment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2024’’. 

9 SEC. 221. NEW FARM WORKER HOUSING. 

10 Section 513(e) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 

11 U.S.C. 1483(e)) is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(e) FUNDING FOR FARM WORKER HOUSING.— 

14 ‘‘(1) SECTION 514 FARM WORKER HOUSING

15 LOANS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) INSURANCE AUTHORITY.—The Sec17 retary of Agriculture, to the extent approved in 

18 appropriation Acts, may insure loans under sec19 tion 514 totaling not more than $20,000,000 

20 during each of the fiscal years 2024 through 

21 2033. 

22 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA23 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

24 $75,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2024 

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1 fined in section 502(5) of the Congressional 

2 Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a(5))) of 

3 loans insured pursuant to subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(2) SECTION 516 GRANTS FOR FARMWORKER

5 HOUSING.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

6 $30,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2024 

7 through 2033 for financial assistance authorized 

8 under section 516. 

9 ‘‘(3) SECTION 521 HOUSING ASSISTANCE.— 

10 There is authorized to be appropriated $26,800,000 

11 for each of the fiscal years 2024 through 2033 for— 

12 ‘‘(A) rental assistance agreements entered 

13 into or renewed pursuant to section 521(a)(2); 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(B) agreements entered into in lieu of 

16 debt forgiveness or payments for eligible house17 holds authorized under section 502(c)(5)(D). 

18 ‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—There is 

19 authorized to be appropriated 5 percent of any 

20 amounts made available for the housing assistance 

21 program under this section for any fiscal year, which 

22 shall be used for administrative expenses for such 

23 program.’’. 


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1 SEC. 222. LOAN AND GRANT LIMITATIONS. 

2 Section 514 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

3 1484) is amended by inserting after subsection (c) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(d) PER PROJECT LIMITATIONS ON ASSISTANCE.— 

6 If the Secretary, in making available assistance in any 

7 area under this section or section 516, establishes a limita8 tion on the amount of assistance available per project, the 

9 limitation on a grant or loan award per project shall not 

10 be less than $5,000,000.’’. 

11 SEC. 223. OPERATING ASSISTANCE SUBSIDIES. 

12 Section 521(a)(5) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 

13 U.S.C. 1490a(a)(5)) is amended— 

14 (1) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘migrant 

15 farmworkers’’ and inserting ‘‘migrant farm workers 

16 or domestic farm labor legally admitted to the 

17 United States and authorized to work in agri18 culture’’; 

19 (2) in subparagraph (B)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘In any fiscal year’’ and 

21 inserting the following: ‘‘ 

22 ‘‘(i) HOUSING FOR MIGRANT FARM

23 WORKERS.—In any fiscal year’’; 

24 (B) by inserting ‘‘providing housing for mi25 grant farm workers’’ after ‘‘any project’’; and 

26 (C) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(ii) HOUSING FOR OTHER FARM

2 LABOR.—The assistance provided under 

3 this paragraph in any fiscal year for any 

4 project providing housing for domestic 

5 farm labor legally admitted to the United 

6 States and authorized to work in agri7 culture may not exceed an amount equal to 

8 50 percent of the operating costs for such 

9 project for such year, as determined by the 

10 Secretary. The owner of such project does 

11 not qualify for operating assistance unless 

12 the Secretary certifies that— 

13 ‘‘(I) such project was unoccupied 

14 or underutilized before making units 

15 available to such farm labor; and 

16 ‘‘(II) a grant under this section 

17 will not displace any farm worker who 

18 is a United States worker.’’; and 

19 (3) in subparagraph (D)— 

20 (A) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 

21 clause (ii) and (iii), respectively; and 

22 (B) by inserting before clause (ii), as re23 designated, the following: 

24 ‘‘(iii) The term ‘domestic farm labor’ has 

25 the meaning given such term in section 


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1 514(f)(3), except that subparagraph (A) of such 

2 section shall not apply for purposes of this 

3 paragraph.’’. 

4 SEC. 224. RENTAL ASSISTANCE CONTRACT AUTHORITY. 

5 Section 521(d) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 

6 U.S.C. 1490a(d)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

8 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

9 and (C) as paragraphs (C) and (D), respec10 tively; and 

11 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(B) upon the request of an owner of a project 

14 financed under section 514 or 515, the Secretary is 

15 authorized to enter into renewal of such agreements 

16 for a period equal to the shorter of 20 years or the 

17 term of the loan, subject to amounts made available 

18 for such purpose in appropriations Acts;’’; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(3) If any rental assistance contract authority be21 comes available because of the termination of assistance 

22 on behalf of an assisted family— 

23 ‘‘(A) at the option of the owner of the rental 

24 project, the Secretary shall provide the owner a pe25 riod of 6 months before such assistance is made 


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1 available pursuant to subparagraph (B) during 

2 which the owner may use such assistance authority 

3 to provide assistance of behalf of an eligible unas4 sisted family that— 

5 ‘‘(i) is residing in the same rental project 

6 that the assisted family resided in prior to such 

7 termination; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) newly occupies a dwelling unit in such 

9 rental project during such period; and 

10 ‘‘(B) except for assistance used in accordance 

11 with subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall use such 

12 remaining authority to provide such assistance on 

13 behalf of eligible families residing in other rental 

14 projects originally financed under section 515 or 

15 under sections 514 and 516.’’. 

16 SEC. 225. ELIGIBILITY FOR RURAL HOUSING VOUCHERS. 

17 Section 542 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

18 1490r) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY OF HOUSEHOLDS IN SECTIONS

20 514, 515, AND 516 PROJECTS.—The Secretary, in con21 sultation with the Under Secretary of Agriculture for 

22 Rural Development, may provide rural housing vouchers 

23 under this section for any low-income household (including 

24 households not receiving rental assistance) residing in a 

25 property financed with a loan made or insured under secVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00148 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4069.IS S4069

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1 tion 514 or 515 which has been prepaid without restric2 tions imposed by the Secretary pursuant to section 

3 502(c)(5)(G)(ii)(I), has been foreclosed, or has matured 

4 after September 30, 2005, or residing in a property as5 sisted under section 514 or 516 that is owned by a non6 profit organization or public agency.’’. 

7 SEC. 226. PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT OF HOUSING PRES8 ERVATION AND REVITALIZATION PROGRAM. 

9 Title V of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 

10 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 545. HOUSING PRESERVATION AND REVITALIZATION 

12 PROGRAM. 

13 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall carry 

14 out a program that preserves and revitalizes multifamily 

15 rental housing projects financed under section 515 or 

16 under sections 514 and 516. 

17 ‘‘(b) NOTICE OF MATURING LOANS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) TO OWNERS.—The Secretary shall provide 

19 annual written notice to each owner of a property fi20 nanced under section 515 or under sections 514 and 

21 516 that will mature during the 4-year period begin22 ning on the date on which such notice is provided. 

23 Such notice shall set forth— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the options and financial incentives 

2 that are available to facilitate the extension of 

3 the loan term; or 

4 ‘‘(B) the option to decouple a rental assist5 ance contract pursuant to subsection (f). 

6 ‘‘(2) TO TENANTS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

8 before the date of maturity of a loan authorized 

9 under section 515 or under sections 514 and 

10 516 for real property, the owner of such prop11 erty who received a notice pursuant to para12 graph (1) shall provide written notice to each 

13 household residing in such property to inform 

14 the household of— 

15 ‘‘(i) the date of the loan maturity; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the possible actions that may 

17 happen with respect to the property on or 

18 after such date; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) how to protect their right to re20 side in federally assisted housing after 

21 such date. 

22 ‘‘(B) LANGUAGE.—Each notice provided 

23 under subparagraph (A)— 

24 ‘‘(i) shall be written in plain English; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) shall be translated to other lan2 guages if the relevant property is located 

3 in an area in which a significant number 

4 of residents speak such other languages. 

5 ‘‘(C) NOTICE TEMPLATE.—Not later than 

6 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

7 Act, the Under Secretary of Agriculture for 

8 Rural Development, in consultation with the 

9 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 

10 should publish a template of a notice that own11 ers may use to provide the information required 

12 under this paragraph to their tenants. 

13 ‘‘(c) LOAN RESTRUCTURING.—Under the program 

14 carried out under this section, the Secretary may restruc15 ture such existing housing loans as the Secretary considers 

16 appropriate to ensure that such projects have sufficient 

17 resources to preserve the projects to provide safe and af18 fordable housing for low-income residents and farm labor19 ers by— 

20 ‘‘(1) reducing or eliminating interest; 

21 ‘‘(2) deferring loan payments; 

22 ‘‘(3) subordinating, reducing, or reamortizing 

23 loan debt; and 

24 ‘‘(4) providing other financial assistance, in25 cluding advances, payments, and incentives (includVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00151 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4069.IS S4069

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1 ing the ability of owners to obtain reasonable re2 turns on investment) required by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(d) RENEWAL OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—If the 

4 Secretary offers to restructure a loan pursuant to sub5 section (c), the Secretary shall offer to renew the rental 

6 assistance contract under section 521(a)(2) for a 20-year 

7 term, subject to annual appropriations, if the property 

8 owner agrees to bring the property up to such standards 

9 that will ensure its maintenance as decent, safe, and sani10 tary housing for the full term of the rental assistance con11 tract. 

12 ‘‘(e) RESTRICTIVE USE AGREEMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—As part of the preserva14 tion and revitalization agreement for a project, the 

15 Secretary shall obtain a restrictive use agreement 

16 that obligates the owner to operate the project in ac17 cordance with the provisions under this title. 

18 ‘‘(2) TERM.— 

19 ‘‘(A) NO EXTENSION OF RENTAL ASSIST20 ANCE CONTRACT.—Unless the Secretary enters 

21 into a 20-year extension of the rental assistance 

22 contract for the project, the term of the restric23 tive use agreement for the project shall be equal 

24 to the term of the restructured loan for the 

25 project. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE

2 CONTRACT.—If the Secretary enters into a 20- 

3 year extension of the rental assistance contract 

4 for a project, the term of the restrictive use 

5 agreement for the project shall be 20 years. 

6 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION.—The Secretary may 

7 terminate the 20-year use restrictive use agree8 ment for a project before the end of its term if 

9 the 20-year rental assistance contract for the 

10 project with the owner is terminated at any 

11 time for reasons outside the owner’s control. 

12 ‘‘(f) DECOUPLING OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) RENEWAL OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE CON14 TRACT.—If the Secretary determines that a matur15 ing loan for a project cannot reasonably be restruc16 tured in accordance with subsection (c) and the 

17 project was operating with rental assistance under 

18 section 521, the Secretary may renew the rental as19 sistance contract, notwithstanding any provision of 

20 section 521, for a term, subject to annual appropria21 tions, of at least 10 years but not more than 20 

22 years. 

23 ‘‘(2) RENTS.—Any agreement to extend the 

24 term of the rental assistance contract under section 

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1 tinue to maintain the project as decent, safe and 

2 sanitary housing and to operate the development in 

3 accordance with this title, except that rents shall be 

4 based on the lesser of— 

5 ‘‘(A) the budget-based needs of the project; 

6 or 

7 ‘‘(B) the operating cost adjustment factor 

8 as a payment standard as provided under sec9 tion 524 of the Multifamily Assisted Housing 

10 Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (42 

11 U.S.C. 1437 note). 

12 ‘‘(g) MULTIFAMILY HOUSING TRANSFER TECHNICAL

13 ASSISTANCE.—Under the program under this section, the 

14 Secretary may provide grants to qualified non-profit orga15 nizations and public housing agencies to provide technical 

16 assistance, including financial and legal services, to bor17 rowers under loans under this title for multifamily housing 

18 to facilitate the acquisition of such multifamily housing 

19 properties in areas where the Secretary determines there 

20 is a risk of loss of affordable housing. 

21 ‘‘(h) TRANSFER OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—After the 

22 loan or loans for a rental project originally financed under 

23 section 515 or both sections 514 and 516 have matured 

24 or have been prepaid and the owner has chosen not to 

25 restructure the loan pursuant to subsection (c), a tenant 


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1 residing in such project shall have 18 months prior to loan 

2 maturation or prepayment to transfer the rental assist3 ance assigned to the tenant’s unit to another rental project 

4 originally financed under section 515 or both sections 514 

5 and 516, and the owner of the initial project may rent 

6 the tenant’s previous unit to a new tenant without income 

7 restrictions. 

8 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of any amounts 

9 made available for the program under this section for any 

10 fiscal year, the Secretary may use not more than 

11 $1,000,000 for administrative expenses for carrying out 

12 such program. 

13 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 is authorized to be appropriated for the program under 

15 this section $100,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2024 

16 through 2028.’’. 

17 SEC. 227. AMOUNT OF VOUCHER ASSISTANCE. 

18 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

19 amount of the monthly assistance payment for the house20 hold on whose behalf a rural housing voucher is provided 

21 pursuant to section 542 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 

22 U.S.C. 1490r), shall be determined in accordance with 

23 subsection (a) of such section 542. 


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1 SEC. 228. FUNDING FOR MULTIFAMILY TECHNICAL IM2 PROVEMENTS. 

3 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Agri5 culture $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, which shall be 

6 used to improve the technology of the Department of Agri7 culture that is used to process loans for multifamily hous8 ing and otherwise managing such housing. 

9 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—The improvements 

10 authorized under subsection (a) shall be made during the 

11 5-year period beginning upon the date that the amounts 

12 appropriated under such subsection are available. Such 

13 amounts shall remain available until the last day of such 

14 5-year period. 

15 SEC. 229. PLAN FOR PRESERVING AFFORDABILITY OF 

16 RENTAL PROJECTS. 

17 (a) PLAN.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

18 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture 

19 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall sub20 mit a written plan to Congress for preserving the afford21 ability for low-income families of rental projects for which 

22 loans were made under section 514 or 515 of the Housing 

23 Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1484 and 1485) and avoiding the 

24 displacement of tenant households. Such plan shall— 

25 (1) set forth specific performance goals and 

26 measures; 


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1 (2) set forth the specific actions and mecha2 nisms by which such goals will be achieved; 

3 (3) set forth specific measurements by which 

4 progress towards achievement of each goal can be 

5 measured; 

6 (4) provide for detailed reporting on outcomes; 

7 and 

8 (5) include any legislative recommendations to 

9 assist in achievement of the goals under the plan. 

10 (b) CONSULTATION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 

12 quarterly, the Secretary shall consult with the indi13 viduals described in paragraph (2) to assist the Sec14 retary— 

15 (A) in preserving the properties described 

16 in subsection (a) through the housing preserva17 tion and revitalization program authorized 

18 under section 545 of the Housing Act of 1949, 

19 as added by section 226; and 

20 (B) in implementing the plan required 

21 under subsection (a). 

22 (2) CONSULTEES.—The individuals described in 

23 this paragraph are— 

24 (A) a State Director of Rural Development 

25 for the Department of Agriculture; 


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1 (B) the Administrator for the Rural Hous2 ing Service of the Department of Agriculture; 

3 (C) 2 representatives of for-profit devel4 opers or owners of multifamily rural rental 

5 housing; 

6 (D) 2 representatives of non-profit devel7 opers or owners of multifamily rural rental 

8 housing; 

9 (E) 2 representatives of State housing fi10 nance agencies; 

11 (F) 2 representatives of tenants of multi12 family rural rental housing; 

13 (G) 1 representative of a community devel14 opment financial institution that is involved in 

15 preserving the affordability of housing assisted 

16 under sections 514, 515, and 516 of the Hous17 ing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1484, 1485, and 

18 1486); 

19 (H) 1 representative of a nonprofit organi20 zation that operates nationally and has actively 

21 participated in the preservation of housing as22 sisted by the Rural Housing Service by con23 ducting research regarding, and providing fi24 nancing and technical assistance for, preserving 

25 the affordability of such housing; 


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1 (I) 1 representative of low-income housing 

2 tax credit investors; 

3 (J) 1 representative of regulated financial 

4 institutions that finance affordable multifamily 

5 rural rental housing developments; and 

6 (K) 2 representatives from non-profit orga7 nizations representing farm workers, including 

8 one organization representing farm worker 

9 women. 

10 (3) CONDUCT OF CONSULTATIONS.—In con11 sulting with the individuals described in paragraph 

12 (2), the Secretary may request that such individ13 uals— 

14 (A) assist the Rural Housing Service of 

15 the Department of Agriculture to improve esti16 mates of the size, scope, and condition of rental 

17 housing portfolio of the Service, including the 

18 time frames for maturity of mortgages and 

19 costs for preserving the portfolio as affordable 

20 housing; 

21 (B) review current policies and procedures 

22 of the Rural Housing Service regarding— 

23 (i) the preservation of affordable rent24 al housing financed under sections 514, 

25 515, 516, and 538 of the Housing Act of 


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1 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1484, 1485, 1486, and 

2 1490); 

3 (ii) the housing preservation and revi4 talization program authorized under sec5 tion 545 of such Act, as added by section 

6 226; and 

7 (iii) the rental assistance program; 

8 (C) make recommendations regarding im9 provements and modifications to the policies 

10 and procedures referred to in subparagraph 

11 (B); and 

12 (D) provide ongoing review of Rural Hous13 ing Service program results. 

14 (4) TRAVEL COSTS.—Any amounts made avail15 able for administrative costs of the Department of 

16 Agriculture may be used for costs of travel by indi17 viduals described in paragraph (2) to carry out the 

18 activities described in paragraph (3). 

19 SEC. 230. COVERED HOUSING PROGRAMS. 

20 Section 41411(a)(3) of the Violence Against Women 

21 Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12491(a)(3)) is amended— 

22 (1) in subparagraph (O), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

23 the end; 

24 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (P) as sub25 paragraph (Q); and 


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1 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (O) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(P) rural development housing voucher 

4 assistance provided by the Secretary of Agri5 culture pursuant to section 542 of the Housing 

6 Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490r), without regard 

7 to subsection (b) of such section, and applicable 

8 appropriation Acts; and’’. 

9 SEC. 231. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTIFIED WORKERS. 

10 Section 214(a) of the Housing and Community De11 velopment Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 1436a(a)) is amend12 ed— 

13 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

14 end; 

15 (2) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para16 graph (8); and 

17 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(7) an alien granted certified agricultural 

20 worker or certified agricultural dependent status 

21 under title I of the Affordable and Secure Food Act 

22 of 2024, but solely for financial assistance made 

23 available pursuant to section 521 or 542 of the 

24 Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490a and 1490r); 

25 or’’. 


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1 Subtitle C—Foreign Labor 

2 Recruiter Accountability 

3 SEC. 251. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this subtitle: 

5 (1) FOREIGN LABOR RECRUITER.—The term 

6 ‘‘foreign labor recruiter’’ means any person who per7 forms foreign labor recruiting activity in exchange 

8 for money or other valuable consideration paid or 

9 promised to be paid, to recruit individuals to work 

10 as nonimmigrant workers described in section 

11 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration and Nation12 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)), including 

13 any person who performs foreign labor recruiting ac14 tivity wholly outside of the United States. Such term 

15 does not include any entity of the United States 

16 Government or an employer, or employee of an em17 ployer, who engages in foreign labor recruiting activ18 ity solely to find employees for that employer’s own 

19 use, and without the participation of any other for20 eign labor recruiter. 

21 (2) FOREIGN LABOR RECRUITING ACTIVITY.— 

22 The term ‘‘foreign labor recruiting activity’’ means 

23 recruiting, soliciting, or related activities with re24 spect to an individual who resides outside of the 

25 United States in furtherance of employment in the 


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1 United States, including when such activity occurs 

2 wholly outside of the United States. 

3 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any 

4 natural person or any corporation, company, firm, 

5 partnership, joint stock company or association or 

6 other organization or entity (whether organized 

7 under law or not), including municipal corporations. 

8 (4) RECRUITMENT FEES.—The term ‘‘recruit9 ment fees’’ has the meaning given to such term 

10 under section 22.1702 of title 22 of the Code of 

11 Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of en12 actment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 252. REGISTRATION OF FOREIGN LABOR RECRUITERS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor, 

16 in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Sec17 retary of Homeland Security, shall establish procedures 

18 for the electronic registration of foreign labor recruiters 

19 engaged in the recruitment of nonimmigrant workers de20 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration 

21 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)) to 

22 perform agricultural labor or services in the United States. 

23 (b) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—The procedures 

24 described in subsection (a) shall— 


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1 (1) require the applicant to submit a sworn dec2 laration— 

3 (A) stating the applicant’s permanent 

4 place of residence or principal place of business, 

5 as applicable; 

6 (B) describing the foreign labor recruiting 

7 activities in which the applicant is engaged; and 

8 (C) including such other relevant informa9 tion as the Secretary of Labor and the Sec10 retary of State may require; 

11 (2) include an expeditious means to update and 

12 renew registrations; 

13 (3) include a process, which shall include the 

14 placement of personnel at each United States diplo15 matic mission in accordance with subsection (g)(2), 

16 to receive information from the public regarding for17 eign labor recruiters who have allegedly engaged in 

18 a foreign labor recruiting activity that is prohibited 

19 under this subtitle; 

20 (4) include procedures for the receipt and proc21 essing of complaints against foreign labor recruiters 

22 and for remedies, including the revocation of a reg23 istration or the assessment of fines upon a deter24 mination by the Secretary of Labor that the foreign 


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1 labor recruiter has violated the requirements under 

2 this subtitle; 

3 (5) require the applicant to post a bond in an 

4 amount sufficient to ensure the ability of the appli5 cant to discharge its responsibilities and ensure pro6 tection of workers, including payment of wages; and 

7 (6) allow the Secretary of Labor and the Sec8 retary of State to consult with other appropriate 

9 Federal agencies to determine whether any reason 

10 exists to deny registration to a foreign labor re11 cruiter or revoke such registration. 

12 (c) ATTESTATIONS.—Foreign labor recruiters reg13 istering under this subtitle shall attest and agree to abide 

14 by the following requirements: 

15 (1) PROHIBITED FEES.—The foreign labor re16 cruiter, including any agent or employee of such for17 eign labor recruiter, shall not assess any recruitment 

18 fees on a worker for any foreign labor recruiting ac19 tivity. 

20 (2) PROHIBITION ON FALSE AND MISLEADING

21 INFORMATION.—The foreign labor recruiter shall not 

22 knowingly provide materially false or misleading in23 formation to any worker concerning any matter re24 quired to be disclosed under this subtitle. 


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1 (3) REQUIRED DISCLOSURES.—The foreign 

2 labor recruiter shall ascertain and disclose to the 

3 worker in writing in English and in the primary lan4 guage of the worker at the time of the worker’s re5 cruitment, the following information: 

6 (A) The identity and address of the em7 ployer and the identity and address of the per8 son conducting the recruiting on behalf of the 

9 employer, including each subcontractor or agent 

10 involved in such recruiting. 

11 (B) A copy of the approved job order or 

12 work contract under section 218 of the Immi13 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188), 

14 including all assurances and terms and condi15 tions of employment. 

16 (C) A statement, in a form specified by the 

17 Secretary— 

18 (i) describing the general terms and 

19 conditions associated with obtaining an H– 

20 2A nonimmigrant visa and maintaining H– 

21 2A nonimmigrant status; 

22 (ii) affirming the prohibition on the 

23 assessment of fees described in paragraph 

24 (1), and explaining that such fees, if paid 


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1 by the employer, may not be passed on to 

2 the worker; 

3 (iii) describing the protections af4 forded the worker under this subtitle, in5 cluding procedures for reporting violations 

6 to the Secretary of State, filing a com7 plaint with the Secretary of Labor, or fil8 ing a civil action; and 

9 (iv) describing the protections af10 forded the worker by section 202 of the 

11 William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims 

12 Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 

13 U.S.C. 1375b), including the telephone 

14 number for the national human trafficking 

15 resource center hotline number. 

16 (4) BOND.—The foreign labor recruiter shall 

17 agree to maintain a bond sufficient to ensure the 

18 ability of the foreign labor recruiter to discharge its 

19 responsibilities and ensure protection of workers, 

20 and to forfeit such bond in an amount determined 

21 by the Secretary under subsections (b)(1)(C)(ii) or 

22 (c)(2)(C) of section 253 for failure to comply with 

23 the provisions under this subtitle. 

24 (5) COOPERATION IN INVESTIGATION.—The 

25 foreign labor recruiter shall agree to cooperate in 


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1 any investigation under section 253 by the Secretary 

2 or other appropriate authorities. 

3 (6) NO RETALIATION.—The foreign labor re4 cruiter shall agree to refrain from intimidating, 

5 threatening, restraining, coercing, discharging, 

6 blacklisting or in any other manner discriminating 

7 or retaliating against any worker or their family 

8 members (including a former worker or an applicant 

9 for employment) because such worker disclosed in10 formation to any person based on a reason to believe 

11 that the foreign labor recruiter, or any agent or sub12 contractee of such foreign labor recruiter, is engag13 ing or has engaged in a foreign labor recruiting ac14 tivity that does not comply with this subtitle. 

15 (7) EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AND

16 SUBCONTRACTEES.—The foreign labor recruiter 

17 shall consent to be liable for the conduct of any 

18 agents or subcontractees of any level in relation to 

19 the foreign labor recruiting activity of the agent or 

20 subcontractee to the same extent as if the foreign 

21 labor recruiter had engaged in such conduct. 

22 (8) ENFORCEMENT.—If the foreign labor re23 cruiter is conducting foreign labor recruiting activity 

24 wholly outside the United States, such foreign labor 

25 recruiter shall— 


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1 (A) establish a registered agent in the 

2 United States who is authorized to accept serv3 ice of process on behalf of the foreign labor re4 cruiter for the purpose of any administrative 

5 proceeding under this title or in any civil action 

6 in any Federal or State court, if such service is 

7 made in accordance with the appropriate Fed8 eral or State rules for service of process, as ap9 plicable; and 

10 (B) as a condition of registration, consent 

11 to the jurisdiction of any Federal or State court 

12 in a State where recruited workers are placed. 

13 (d) TERM OF REGISTRATION.—Unless suspended or 

14 revoked, a registration under this section shall be valid 

15 for 2 years. 

16 (e) APPLICATION FEE.—The Secretary of Labor 

17 shall require a foreign labor recruiter that submits an ap18 plication for registration under this section to pay a rea19 sonable fee, sufficient to cover the full costs of carrying 

20 out the registration activities under this subtitle. 

21 (f) NOTIFICATION.— 

22 (1) EMPLOYER NOTIFICATION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently 

24 than once every year, an employer of H–2A 

25 workers shall provide the Secretary with the 


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•S 4069 IS

1 names and addresses of all foreign labor re2 cruiters engaged to perform foreign labor re3 cruiting activity on behalf of the employer, 

4 whether the foreign labor recruiter is to receive 

5 any economic compensation for such services, 

6 and, if so, the identity of the person or entity 

7 who is paying for the services. 

8 (B) AGREEMENT TO COOPERATE.—In ad9 dition to the requirements of subparagraph (A), 

10 the employer shall— 

11 (i) provide to the Secretary the iden12 tity of any foreign labor recruiter whom 

13 the employer has reason to believe is en14 gaging in foreign labor recruiting activities 

15 that do not comply with this subtitle; and 

16 (ii) promptly respond to any request 

17 by the Secretary for information regarding 

18 the identity of a foreign labor recruiter 

19 with whom the employer has a contract or 

20 other agreement. 

21 (2) FOREIGN LABOR RECRUITER NOTIFICA22 TION.—A registered foreign labor recruiter shall no23 tify the Secretary, not less frequently than once 

24 every year, of the identity of any subcontractee, 

25 agent, or foreign labor recruiter employee involved in 


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•S 4069 IS

1 any foreign labor recruiting activity for, or on behalf 

2 of, the foreign labor recruiter. 

3 (g) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SEC4 RETARY OF STATE.— 

5 (1) LISTS.—The Secretary of State, in con6 sultation with the Secretary of Labor shall maintain 

7 and make publicly available in written form and on 

8 the websites of United States embassies in the offi9 cial language of that country, and on websites main10 tained by the Secretary of Labor, regularly updated 

11 lists— 

12 (A) of foreign labor recruiters who hold 

13 valid registrations under this section, includ14 ing— 

15 (i) the name and address of the for16 eign labor recruiter; 

17 (ii) the countries in which such re18 cruiters conduct recruitment; 

19 (iii) the employers for whom recruit20 ing is conducted; 

21 (iv) the occupations that are the sub22 ject of recruitment; 

23 (v) the States where recruited workers 

24 are employed; and 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (vi) the name and address of the reg2 istered agent in the United States who is 

3 authorized to accept service of process on 

4 behalf of the foreign labor recruiter; and 

5 (B) of foreign labor recruiters whose reg6 istration the Secretary has revoked. 

7 (2) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary of State shall 

8 ensure that each United States diplomatic mission is 

9 staffed with a person who shall be responsible for re10 ceiving information from members of the public re11 garding potential violations of the requirements ap12 plicable to registered foreign labor recruiters and en13 suring that such information is conveyed to the Sec14 retary of Labor for evaluation and initiation of an 

15 enforcement action, if appropriate. 

16 (3) VISA APPLICATION PROCEDURES.—The Sec17 retary of State shall ensure that consular officers 

18 issuing visas to nonimmigrants under section 

19 101(a)(1)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration and Nation20 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 11001(a)(1)(H)(ii)(a))— 

21 (A) provide to and review with the appli22 cant, in the applicant’s language (or a language 

23 the applicant understands), a copy of the infor24 mation and resources pamphlet required by sec25 tion 202 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking 


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1 Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 

2 (8 U.S.C. 1375b); 

3 (B) ensure that the applicant has a copy of 

4 the approved job offer or work contract; 

5 (C) note in the visa application file wheth6 er the foreign labor recruiter has a valid reg7 istration under this section; and 

8 (D) if the foreign labor recruiter holds a 

9 valid registration, review and include in the visa 

10 application file, the foreign labor recruiter’s dis11 closures required by subsection (c)(3). 

12 (4) DATA.—The Secretary of State shall make 

13 publicly available online, on an annual basis, data 

14 disclosing the gender, country of origin (and State, 

15 county, or province, if available), age, wage, level of 

16 training, and occupational classification, 

17 disaggregated by State, of nonimmigrant workers 

18 described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Im19 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

20 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)). 

21 SEC. 253. ENFORCEMENT. 

22 (a) DENIAL OR REVOCATION OF REGISTRATION.— 

23 (1) GROUNDS FOR DENIAL OR REVOCATION.— 

24 The Secretary of Labor shall deny an application for 

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1 retary determines that the foreign labor recruiter, or 

2 any agent or subcontractee of such foreign labor re3 cruiter— 

4 (A) knowingly made a material misrepre5 sentation in the registration application; 

6 (B) materially failed to comply with one or 

7 more of the attestations provided under section 

8 252(c); or 

9 (C) is not the real party in interest. 

10 (2) NOTICE.—Before denying an application for 

11 registration or revoking a registration under this 

12 subsection, the Secretary of Labor shall provide 

13 written notice of the intent to deny or revoke the 

14 registration to the foreign labor recruiter. Such no15 tice shall— 

16 (A) articulate with specificity all grounds 

17 for denial or revocation; and 

18 (B) provide the foreign labor recruiter with 

19 not less than 60 days to respond. 

20 (3) RE-REGISTRATION.—A foreign labor re21 cruiter whose registration was revoked under sub22 section (a) may re-register if the foreign labor re23 cruiter demonstrates, to the Secretary of Labor’s 

24 satisfaction, that the foreign labor recruiter— 


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1 (A) has not violated any requirement 

2 under this subtitle during the 5 year-period im3 mediately preceding the date on which an appli4 cation for registration was filed; and 

5 (B) has taken sufficient steps to prevent 

6 future violations of this subtitle. 

7 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT.— 

8 (1) COMPLAINT PROCESS.— 

9 (A) FILING.—A complaint may be filed 

10 with the Secretary of Labor, in accordance with 

11 the procedures established under section 

12 252(b)(4) not later than 2 years after the ear13 lier of— 

14 (i) the date on which the last action 

15 constituting the conduct that is the subject 

16 of the complaint took place; or 

17 (ii) the date on which the aggrieved 

18 party had actual knowledge of such con19 duct. 

20 (B) DECISION AND PENALTIES.—If the 

21 Secretary of Labor determines, after notice and 

22 an opportunity for a hearing, that a foreign 

23 labor recruiter failed to comply with any of the 

24 requirements under this subtitle, the Secretary 

25 of Labor may— 


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1 (i) levy a fine against the foreign 

2 labor recruiter in an amount not more 

3 than— 

4 (I) $10,000 per violation; and 

5 (II) $25,000 per violation, upon 

6 the third violation; 

7 (ii) order the forfeiture (or partial for8 feiture) of the bond and release of as much 

9 of the bond as the Secretary determines is 

10 necessary for the worker to recover prohib11 ited recruitment fees; 

12 (iii) refuse to issue or renew a reg13 istration, or revoke a registration; or 

14 (iv) disqualify the foreign labor re15 cruiter from registration for a period of up 

16 to 5 years, or in the case of a subsequent 

17 finding involving willful or multiple mate18 rial violations, permanently disqualify the 

19 foreign labor recruiter from registration. 

20 (2) AUTHORITY TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE.—The 

21 Secretary of Labor is authorized to take other such 

22 actions, including issuing subpoenas and seeking ap23 propriate injunctive relief, as may be necessary to 

24 assure compliance with the terms and conditions of 

25 this subtitle. 


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1 (3) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

2 this subsection may be construed as limiting the au3 thority of the Secretary of Labor to conduct an in4 vestigation— 

5 (A) under any other law, including any law 

6 affecting migrant and seasonal agricultural 

7 workers; or 

8 (B) in the absence of a complaint. 

9 (c) CIVIL ACTION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor or 

11 any person aggrieved by a violation of this subtitle 

12 may bring a civil action against any foreign labor re13 cruiter, or any employer that does not meet the re14 quirements under subsection (d)(1), in any court of 

15 competent jurisdiction— 

16 (A) to seek remedial action, including in17 junctive relief; and 

18 (B) for damages in accordance with the 

19 provisions of this subsection. 

20 (2) AWARD FOR CIVIL ACTION FILED BY AN IN21 DIVIDUAL.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a court finds, in a 

23 civil action filed by an individual under para24 graph (1), that the defendant has violated any 


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1 provision of this subtitle, the court may 

2 award— 

3 (i) damages, up to and including an 

4 amount equal to the amount of actual 

5 damages, and statutory damages of up to 

6 $1,000 per plaintiff per violation, or other 

7 equitable relief, except that with respect to 

8 statutory damages— 

9 (I) multiple infractions of a sin10 gle provision of this subtitle (or of a 

11 regulation under this subtitle) shall 

12 constitute only one violation for pur13 poses of this subsection to determine 

14 the amount of statutory damages due 

15 a plaintiff; and 

16 (II) if such complaint is certified 

17 as a class action the court may 

18 award— 

19 (aa) damages up to an 

20 amount equal to the amount of 

21 actual damages; and 

22 (bb) statutory damages of 

23 not more than the lesser of up to 

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•S 4069 IS

1 lation, or up to $500,000; and 

2 other equitable relief; 

3 (ii) reasonable attorneys’ fees and 

4 costs; and 

5 (iii) such other and further relief as 

6 necessary to effectuate the purposes of this 

7 subtitle. 

8 (B) CRITERIA.—In determining the 

9 amount of statutory damages to be awarded 

10 under subparagraph (A), the court may con11 sider whether an attempt was made to resolve 

12 the issues in dispute before the resort to litiga13 tion. 

14 (C) BOND.—To satisfy the damages, fees, 

15 and costs found owing under this paragraph, 

16 the Secretary shall release as much of the bond 

17 held pursuant to section 252(c)(4) as is nec18 essary. 

19 (3) SUMS RECOVERED IN ACTIONS BY THE SEC20 RETARY OF LABOR.— 

21 (A) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.— 

22 There is established in the general fund of the 

23 Treasury a separate account, which shall be 

24 known as the ‘‘H–2A Foreign Labor Recruiter 

25 Compensation Account’’. Notwithstanding any 


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1 other provisions of law, there shall be deposited, 

2 as offsetting receipts into such account, all 

3 sums recovered in an action by the Secretary of 

4 Labor under this subsection. 

5 (B) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts deposited 

6 into the H–2A Foreign Labor Recruiter Com7 pensation Account shall be paid directly to each 

8 worker affected by a violation under this sub9 title. Any such sums not paid to a worker be10 cause of inability to do so within a period of 5 

11 years following the date such funds are depos12 ited into the account shall remain available to 

13 the Secretary until expended. The Secretary 

14 may transfer all or a portion of such remaining 

15 sums to appropriate agencies to support the en16 forcement of the laws prohibiting the trafficking 

17 and exploitation of persons or programs that 

18 aid trafficking victims. 

19 (d) EMPLOYER SAFE HARBOR.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employer that hires 

21 workers referred by a foreign labor recruiter with a 

22 valid registration at the time of hiring shall not be 

23 held jointly liable for a violation committed solely by 

24 a foreign labor recruiter under this subtitle— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (A) in any administrative action initiated 

2 by the Secretary concerning such violation; or 

3 (B) in any Federal or State civil court ac4 tion filed against the foreign labor recruiter by 

5 or on behalf of such workers or other aggrieved 

6 party under this subtitle. 

7 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

8 subtitle may be construed to prohibit an aggrieved 

9 party or parties from bringing a civil action for vio10 lations of this subtitle or any other Federal or State 

11 law against any employer who hired workers referred 

12 by a foreign labor recruiter— 

13 (A) without a valid registration at the time 

14 of hire; or 

15 (B) with a valid registration if the em16 ployer knew or learned of the violation and 

17 failed to report such violation to the Secretary 

18 of Labor. 

19 (e) PAROLE TO PURSUE RELIEF.—If other immigra20 tion relief is not available, the Secretary of Homeland Se21 curity may grant parole to permit an individual to remain 

22 legally in the United States for time sufficient to fully and 

23 effectively participate in all legal proceedings related to 

24 any action taken pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) or sec25 tion 202, 204, or 206. 


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1 (f) WAIVER OF RIGHTS.—Agreements by employees 

2 purporting to waive or to modify their rights under this 

3 subtitle shall be void as contrary to public policy. 

4 (g) LIABILITY FOR AGENTS.—Foreign labor recruit5 ers shall be subject to the provisions of this section for 

6 violations committed by the foreign labor recruiter’s 

7 agents or subcontractees of any level in relation to their 

8 foreign labor recruiting activity to the same extent as if 

9 the foreign labor recruiter had committed such a violation. 

10 SEC. 254. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as 

12 may be necessary for the Secretary of Labor and the Sec13 retary of State to carry out the provisions of this subtitle. 

14 TITLE III—ELECTRONIC 

15 VERIFICATION OF EMPLOY16 MENT ELIGIBILITY 

17 SEC. 301. ELECTRONIC EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY 

18 VERIFICATION SYSTEM. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 8 of title II of the Immi20 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1321 et seq.) is 

21 amended by inserting after section 274D the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 274E. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ELECTRONIC 

2 VERIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT ELIGI3 BILITY. 

4 ‘‘(a) EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYS5 TEM.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

7 Security (referred to in this section as the ‘Sec8 retary’) shall establish and administer an electronic 

9 verification system (referred to in this section as the 

10 ‘System’), patterned on the E–Verify Program de11 scribed in section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration 

12 Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

13 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) (as in effect on the day be14 fore the effective date described in section 303(a)(4) 

15 of the Affordable and Secure Food Act of 2024), 

16 and using the employment eligibility confirmation 

17 system established under section 404 of such Act (8 

18 U.S.C. 1324a note) (as so in effect) as a foundation, 

19 through which the Secretary shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) respond to legitimate inquiries made 

21 by persons or entities seeking to verify the iden22 tity and employment authorization of individ23 uals that such persons or entities have hired, or 

24 to recruit or refer for a fee, for employment in 

25 the United States; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) maintain records of the inquiries that 

2 were made, and of verifications provided (or not 

3 provided) to such persons or entities as evidence 

4 of compliance with the requirements of this sec5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(2) INITIAL RESPONSE DEADLINE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The System shall pro8 vide confirmation or a tentative nonconfirma9 tion of an individual’s identity and employment 

10 authorization as soon as practicable, but not 

11 later than 3 calendar days after the initial in12 quiry. 

13 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION OF TIME PERIOD.—If a 

14 person or other entity attempts in good faith to 

15 make an inquiry through the System during a 

16 period in which the System is offline due to a 

17 technical issue, a natural disaster, or another 

18 reason, the System shall provide the confirma19 tion or nonconfirmation required under sub20 paragraph (A) as soon as practicable after the 

21 System becomes fully operational. 

22 ‘‘(3) GENERAL DESIGN AND OPERATION OF

23 SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall design and operate 

24 the System— 


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1 ‘‘(A) using responsive web design and 

2 other technology approaches to maximize its 

3 ease of use and accessibility for users on a vari4 ety of electronic devices and screen sizes, and in 

5 remote locations; 

6 ‘‘(B) to maximize the accuracy of re7 sponses to inquiries submitted by persons or en8 tities; 

9 ‘‘(C) to maximize the reliability of the Sys10 tem and to register each instance when the Sys11 tem is unable to receive inquiries; 

12 ‘‘(D) to maintain and safeguard the pri13 vacy and security of the personally identifiable 

14 information maintained by or submitted to the 

15 System, in accordance with applicable law; 

16 ‘‘(E) to provide direct notification of an in17 quiry to an individual with respect to whom the 

18 inquiry is made, including the results of such 

19 inquiry, and information related to the process 

20 for challenging the results, in cases in which the 

21 individual has established a user account as de22 scribed in paragraph (4)(B) or an electronic 

23 mail or messaging address for the individual is 

24 submitted by the person or entity at the time 

25 the inquiry is made; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) to maintain appropriate administra2 tive, technical, and physical safeguards to pre3 vent misuse of the System and unfair immigra4 tion-related employment practices. 

5 ‘‘(4) MEASURES TO PREVENT IDENTITY THEFT

6 AND OTHER FORMS OF FRAUD.—To prevent identity 

7 theft and other forms of fraud, the Secretary shall 

8 design and operate the System with the following at9 tributes: 

10 ‘‘(A) PHOTO MATCHING TOOL.—The Sys11 tem shall display a digital photograph of the in12 dividual, if available, that corresponds to the 

13 document presented by an individual to estab14 lish identity and employment authorization so 

15 that the person or entity that makes an inquiry 

16 can compare the photograph displayed by the 

17 System to the photograph on the document pre18 sented by the individual. The individual may 

19 not be deemed ineligible for employment solely 

20 for failure to match using the photo matching 

21 tool. The verification of an individual’s employ22 ment eligibility shall be made based on the to23 tality of the information available. 

24 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUAL MONITORING AND SUS25 PENSION OF IDENTIFYING INFORMATION.—The 


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1 System shall enable individuals to establish user 

2 accounts, after authentication of an individual’s 

3 identity, that would allow each individual— 

4 ‘‘(i) to confirm the individual’s own 

5 employment authorization; 

6 ‘‘(ii) to receive electronic notification 

7 when the individual’s Social Security ac8 count number or other personally identi9 fying information has been submitted to 

10 the System; 

11 ‘‘(iii) to monitor the use history of the 

12 individual’s personally identifying informa13 tion in the System, including the identities 

14 of all persons or entities that have sub15 mitted such identifying information to the 

16 System, the date of each query run, and 

17 the System response for each query run; 

18 ‘‘(iv) to suspend or limit the use of 

19 the individual’s Social Security account 

20 number or other personally identifying in21 formation for purposes of the System; and 

22 ‘‘(v) to provide notice to the Depart23 ment of Homeland Security of any sus24 pected identity fraud or other improper use 

25 of personally identifying information. 


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1 ‘‘(C) BLOCKING MISUSED SOCIAL SECU2 RITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in 

4 consultation with the Commissioner of So5 cial Security (referred to in this section as 

6 the ‘Commissioner’), shall issue, after pub7 lication in the Federal Register and an op8 portunity for public comment, a final rule 

9 establishing a process by which Social Se10 curity account numbers that have been 

11 identified to be subject to unusual multiple 

12 use in the System or that are otherwise 

13 suspected or determined to have been com14 promised by identity fraud or other misuse, 

15 will be blocked from use in the System un16 less an individual using such a number es17 tablishes, through secure and fair proce18 dures, that the individual is the legitimate 

19 holder of such number. 

20 ‘‘(ii) CONTINUATION OF EXISTING

21 SELF LOCK SYSTEM.—During the period in 

22 which the Commissioner of Social Security 

23 is developing the process required under 

24 clause (i), the Commissioner shall maintain 

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•S 4069 IS

1 uals to prevent unauthorized users from 

2 using their Social Security account num3 bers to confirm employment authorization 

4 through E–Verify. 

5 ‘‘(iii) NOTICE.—If the Secretary 

6 blocks or suspends a Social Security ac7 count number pursuant to this subpara8 graph, the Secretary shall provide notice to 

9 the persons or entities that have made in10 quiries to the System using such account 

11 number that the identity and employment 

12 authorization of the individual who pro13 vided such account number must be re14 verified. 

15 ‘‘(D) ADDITIONAL IDENTITY AUTHENTICA16 TION TOOL.—The Secretary shall develop addi17 tional security measures to adequately verify 

18 the identity of an individual whose identity may 

19 not be verified using the photo matching tool 

20 described in subparagraph (A). Such additional 

21 security measures shall be— 

22 ‘‘(i) kept up-to-date with technological 

23 advances; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) designed to provide a high level 

2 of certainty with respect to identity au3 thentication; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) designed to safeguard the indi5 vidual’s privacy and civil liberties. 

6 ‘‘(E) CHILD-LOCK PILOT PROGRAM.—The 

7 Secretary, in consultation with the Commis8 sioner, shall establish a reliable, secure pro9 gram, on a limited, pilot basis, for suspending 

10 or limiting the use of the Social Security ac11 count number or other personally identifying in12 formation of children for purposes of the Sys13 tem. 

14 ‘‘(5) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COMMISSIONER

15 OF SOCIAL SECURITY.—The Commissioner— 

16 ‘‘(A) in consultation with the Secretary, 

17 shall establish a reliable, secure method that, 

18 within the periods specified in paragraph (2) 

19 and subsection (b)(4)(D)(i)(II), compares the 

20 name and Social Security account number pro21 vided in an inquiry against such information 

22 maintained by the Commissioner in order to 

23 validate (or not validate)— 

24 ‘‘(i) the information provided by the 

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•S 4069 IS

1 vidual whose identity and employment au2 thorization the person or entity seeks to 

3 confirm; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the correspondence of the name 

5 and number; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) whether the individual has pre7 sented a Social Security account number 

8 that is not valid for employment; 

9 ‘‘(B) may not disclose or release Social Se10 curity information (other than such confirma11 tion or nonconfirmation) under the System ex12 cept as provided under this section; 

13 ‘‘(C) shall coordinate and provide the De14 partment of Homeland Security with access to 

15 the Social Security Administration’s systems 

16 that are necessary to resolve tentative noncon17 firmations without direct Social Security Ad18 ministration involvement; and 

19 ‘‘(D) shall establish electronic or call-in 

20 resolution systems. 

21 ‘‘(6) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF

22 HOMELAND SECURITY.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

24 establish a reliable, secure method that, within 

25 the time periods specified in paragraph (2) and 


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1 subsection (b)(4)(D)(i)(II), compares the name 

2 and identification or other authorization num3 ber (or any other information determined rel4 evant by the Secretary) that are provided in an 

5 inquiry against such information maintained or 

6 accessed by the Secretary in order to validate 

7 (or not validate)— 

8 ‘‘(i) the information provided; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the correspondence of the name 

10 and number; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) whether the individual is author12 ized to be employed in the United States. 

13 ‘‘(B) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall pro14 vide and regularly update required training and 

15 training materials on the use of the System for 

16 persons and entities making inquiries. 

17 ‘‘(C) AUDIT.—The Secretary shall provide 

18 for periodic auditing of the System to detect 

19 and prevent misuse, discrimination, fraud, and 

20 identity theft, to protect privacy and assess 

21 System accuracy, and to preserve the integrity 

22 and security of the information in the System. 

23 ‘‘(D) NOTICE OF SYSTEM CHANGES.—The 

24 Secretary shall provide appropriate notification 

25 to persons and entities registered in the System 


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1 of any change made by the Secretary or the 

2 Commissioner related to permitted and prohib3 ited documents, and use of the System. 

4 ‘‘(7) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF

5 STATE.—As part of the System, the Secretary of 

6 State shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) provide to the Secretary with access 

8 to passport and visa information as needed to 

9 confirm that— 

10 ‘‘(i) a passport or passport card pre11 sented under subsection (b)(3)(A)(i) con12 firms the employment authorization and 

13 identity of the individual presenting such 

14 document; 

15 ‘‘(ii) a passport, passport card, or visa 

16 photograph matches the Secretary of 

17 State’s records; and 

18 ‘‘(B) provide such assistance as the Sec19 retary may request to resolve tentative noncon20 firmations or final nonconfirmations relating to 

21 information described in subparagraph (A). 

22 ‘‘(8) UPDATING INFORMATION.—The Commis23 sioner, the Secretary, and the Secretary of State 

24 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) update records in their custody in a 

2 manner that promotes maximum accuracy of 

3 the System; and 

4 ‘‘(B) provide a process for the prompt cor5 rection of erroneous information, including in6 stances in which it is brought to their attention 

7 through the tentative nonconfirmation review 

8 process under subsection (b)(4)(D). 

9 ‘‘(9) MANDATORY AND VOLUNTARY SYSTEM

10 USERS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) MANDATORY USERS.—Except as oth12 erwise provided under Federal or State law, in13 cluding sections 302 and 303 of the Affordable 

14 and Secure Food Act of 2024, nothing in this 

15 section may be construed to require the use of 

16 the System by any person or entity hiring, re17 cruiting, or referring for a fee, an individual for 

18 employment in the United States. 

19 ‘‘(B) VOLUNTARY USERS.—Beginning 

20 after the date that is 30 days after the date on 

21 which final rules are published under section 

22 309(a) of the Affordable and Secure Food Act 

23 of 2024, a person or entity may use the System 

24 on a voluntary basis to seek verification of the 

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•S 4069 IS

1 viduals who the person or entity is hiring, re2 cruiting, or referring for a fee for employment 

3 in the United States. 

4 ‘‘(C) PROCESS FOR NON-USERS.—The em5 ployment verification process for any person or 

6 entity hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee, 

7 an individual for employment in the United 

8 States shall be governed by section 274A(b) un9 less the person or entity— 

10 ‘‘(i) is required by Federal or State 

11 law to use the System; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) has opted to use the System vol13 untarily in accordance with subparagraph 

14 (B). 

15 ‘‘(10) NO FEE FOR USE OR INCLUSION.—The 

16 Secretary may not charge a fee to any individual, 

17 person, or entity to use the System or to be included 

18 in the System. 

19 ‘‘(11) SYSTEM SAFEGUARDS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT TO DEVELOP.—The 

21 Secretary, in consultation with the Commis22 sioner, the Secretary of State, and other appro23 priate Federal officials, shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) develop policies and procedures to 

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•S 4069 IS

1 rity of personally identifiable information 

2 and identifiers contained in the records 

3 accessed or maintained by the System; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) develop and deploy appropriate 

5 privacy and security training for Federal 

6 employees accessing the records under the 

7 System. 

8 ‘‘(B) PRIVACY AUDITS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, 

10 acting through the Chief Privacy Officer of 

11 the Department of Homeland Security, 

12 shall conduct regular privacy audits of the 

13 policies and procedures established pursu14 ant to subparagraph (A), including— 

15 ‘‘(I) any collection, use, dissemi16 nation, and maintenance of personally 

17 identifiable information; and 

18 ‘‘(II) any associated information 

19 technology systems. 

20 ‘‘(ii) REVIEWS.—The Chief Privacy 

21 Officer shall— 

22 ‘‘(I) review the results of the au23 dits conducted pursuant to clause (i); 

24 and 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(II) recommend to the Secretary 

2 any changes that may be necessary to 

3 improve the privacy protections of the 

4 System. 

5 ‘‘(C) PRIVACY AND ACCURACY CERTIFI6 CATION.—The Inspector General of the Depart7 ment of Homeland Security shall certify to the 

8 Secretary, the Committee on the Judiciary of 

9 the Senate, and the Committee on the Judiciary 

10 of the House of Representatives that— 

11 ‘‘(i) the System appropriately protects 

12 the privacy and security of personally iden13 tifiable information and identifiers con14 tained in the records accessed or main15 tained by the System; 

16 ‘‘(ii) during 2 consecutive years begin17 ning after the date of the enactment of the 

18 Affordable and Secure Food Act of 2024, 

19 the System’s error rate is not higher than 

20 the error rate of the System during the 

21 preceding year; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) specific steps are being taken to 

23 continue to reduce such error rate. 

24 ‘‘(D) ACCURACY AUDITS.—Beginning on 

25 November 30 of the fiscal year beginning after 


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•S 4069 IS

1 the fiscal year during which the certification 

2 was submitted pursuant to subparagraph (C), 

3 and annually thereafter, the Inspector General 

4 of the Department of Homeland Security shall 

5 submit a report to the Secretary, the Com6 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate, and the 

7 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

8 Representatives that— 

9 ‘‘(i) describes in detail— 

10 ‘‘(I) the error rate of the System 

11 during the previous fiscal year; and 

12 ‘‘(II) the methodology employed 

13 to prepare the report; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) includes recommendations for 

15 how the System’s error rate may be re16 duced. 

17 ‘‘(b) NEW HIRES, RECRUITMENT, AND REFERRAL.— 

18 Notwithstanding section 274A(b), the requirements re19 ferred to in paragraphs (1)(B) and (3) of section 274A(a) 

20 are, in the case of a person or entity that uses the System 

21 for the hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee, an indi22 vidual for employment in the United States, the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) INDIVIDUAL ATTESTATION OF EMPLOY24 MENT AUTHORIZATION.—During the period begin25 ning on the date on which an offer of employment 


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•S 4069 IS

1 is accepted and ending on the date of hire, the indi2 vidual shall attest, under penalty of perjury on a 

3 form designated by the Secretary, that the individual 

4 is authorized to be employed in the United States by 

5 providing on such form— 

6 ‘‘(A) the individual’s name and date of 

7 birth; 

8 ‘‘(B) the individual’s Social Security ac9 count number (unless the individual has applied 

10 for and not yet been issued such a number); 

11 ‘‘(C) whether the individual is— 

12 ‘‘(i) a citizen or national of the United 

13 States; 

14 ‘‘(ii) an alien lawfully admitted for 

15 permanent residence; or 

16 ‘‘(iii) an alien who is otherwise au17 thorized by the Secretary to be employed 

18 in the United States; and 

19 ‘‘(D) if the individual does not attest to 

20 United States citizenship or nationality, such 

21 identification or other authorization number es22 tablished by the Department of Homeland Se23 curity for the alien as the Secretary may speci24 fy. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYER ATTESTATION AFTER EXAM2 INATION OF DOCUMENTS.—Not later than 3 busi3 ness days after the date of hire, the individual or en4 tity shall attest, under penalty of perjury on the 

5 form designated under paragraph (1), the 

6 verification that the individual is not an unauthor7 ized alien by— 

8 ‘‘(A) obtaining from the individual the in9 formation described in paragraph (1) and re10 cording such information on the form; 

11 ‘‘(B) examining— 

12 ‘‘(i) a document described in para13 graph (3)(A); or 

14 ‘‘(ii) a document described in para15 graph (3)(B) and a document described in 

16 paragraph (3)(C); and 

17 ‘‘(C) attesting that the information re18 corded on the form is consistent with the docu19 ments examined. 

20 ‘‘(3) ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) DOCUMENTS ESTABLISHING EMPLOY22 MENT AUTHORIZATION AND IDENTITY.—A doc23 ument described in this subparagraph is an in24 dividual’s— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(i) United States passport or pass2 port card; 

3 ‘‘(ii) permanent resident card that 

4 contains a photograph; 

5 ‘‘(iii) foreign passport containing tem6 porary evidence of lawful permanent resi7 dence in the form of an official I–551 (or 

8 successor) stamp from the Department of 

9 Homeland Security or a printed notation 

10 on a machine-readable immigrant visa; 

11 ‘‘(iv) unexpired employment author12 ization document that contains a photo13 graph; 

14 ‘‘(v) in the case of a nonimmigrant 

15 alien authorized to engage in employment 

16 for a specific employer incident to status, 

17 a foreign passport with Form I–94, Form 

18 I–94A, or other documentation as des19 ignated by the Secretary specifying the 

20 alien’s nonimmigrant status as long as 

21 such status has not yet expired and the 

22 proposed employment is not in conflict 

23 with any restrictions or limitations identi24 fied in the documentation; 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(vi) passport from the Federated 

2 States of Micronesia or the Republic of the 

3 Marshall Islands with Form I–94, Form I– 

4 94A, or other documentation as designated 

5 by the Secretary, indicating nonimmigrant 

6 admission under the Compact of Free As7 sociation Between the United States and 

8 the Federated States of Micronesia or the 

9 Republic of the Marshall Islands; or 

10 ‘‘(vii) another document designated by 

11 the Secretary, by notice published in the 

12 Federal Register, if the document— 

13 ‘‘(I) contains a photograph of the 

14 individual, biometric identification 

15 data, and other personal identifying 

16 information relating to the individual; 

17 ‘‘(II) is evidence of authorization 

18 for employment in the United States; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(III) contains security features 

21 to make it resistant to tampering, 

22 counterfeiting, and fraudulent use. 

23 ‘‘(B) DOCUMENTS ESTABLISHING IDEN24 TITY.—A document described in this subpara25 graph is— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(i) an individual’s driver’s license or 

2 identification card if the license or card— 

3 ‘‘(I) was issued by a State or an 

4 outlying possession of the United 

5 States; 

6 ‘‘(II) contains a photograph and 

7 personal identifying information relat8 ing to the individual; and 

9 ‘‘(III) meets the requirements 

10 under section 202 of the REAL ID 

11 Act of 2005 (division B of Public Law 

12 109–13; 49 U.S.C. 30301 note) and 

13 complies with the travel rules under 

14 the Western Hemisphere Travel Ini15 tiative; 

16 ‘‘(ii) an individual’s unexpired United 

17 States military identification card; 

18 ‘‘(iii) an individual’s unexpired Native 

19 American tribal identification document 

20 issued by a tribal entity recognized by the 

21 Bureau of Indian Affairs; or 

22 ‘‘(iv) a document establishing identity 

23 that the Secretary determines, by notice 

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•S 4069 IS

1 ceptable for purposes of this subparagraph, 

2 if such documentation contains— 

3 ‘‘(I) a photograph of the indi4 vidual and other personal identifying 

5 information relating to the individual; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(II) security features to make it 

8 resistant to tampering, counterfeiting, 

9 and fraudulent use. 

10 ‘‘(C) DOCUMENTS ESTABLISHING EMPLOY11 MENT AUTHORIZATION.—A document described 

12 in this subparagraph is— 

13 ‘‘(i) an individual’s Social Security ac14 count number card (other than such a card 

15 which specifies on its face that the 

16 issuance of the card does not authorize em17 ployment in the United States); or 

18 ‘‘(ii) a document establishing employ19 ment authorization that the Secretary de20 termines, by notice published in the Fed21 eral Register, to be acceptable for purposes 

22 of this subparagraph if such documenta23 tion contains security features to make it 

24 resistant to tampering, counterfeiting, and 

25 fraudulent use. 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(D) AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT USE OF

2 CERTAIN DOCUMENTS.—If the Secretary deter3 mines that any document or class of documents 

4 described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) does 

5 not reliably establish identity or employment 

6 authorization or is being used fraudulently to 

7 an unacceptable degree, the Secretary, by notice 

8 published in the Federal Register, may prohibit 

9 or place conditions on the use of such document 

10 or class of documents for purposes of this sec11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(E) AUTHORITY TO WAIVE PHOTOGRAPH

13 REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary, in the sole dis14 cretion of the Secretary, may confirm the iden15 tity of an individual who submits a document 

16 described in subparagraph (B)(iv) that does not 

17 contain a photograph of the individual under 

18 exceptional circumstances, including the individ19 ual’s religious beliefs. 

20 ‘‘(4) USE OF THE SYSTEM TO SCREEN IDEN21 TITY AND EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person or entity 

23 that uses the System for the hiring, recruiting, 

24 or referring for a fee an individual for employ25 ment in the United States, during the period 


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•S 4069 IS

1 described in subparagraph (B), shall submit an 

2 inquiry through the System to seek confirma3 tion of the identity and employment authoriza4 tion of the individual. 

5 ‘‘(B) CONFIRMATION PERIOD.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro7 vided in clause (ii), and subject to sub8 section (d), the confirmation period shall 

9 begin on the date of hire and end on the 

10 date that is 3 business days after the date 

11 of hire, or such other reasonable period as 

12 the Secretary may prescribe. 

13 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—The confirma14 tion period of an alien who is authorized to 

15 be employed in the United States and pro16 vides evidence from the Social Security Ad17 ministration that the alien has applied for 

18 a Social Security account number shall end 

19 3 business days after the alien receives 

20 such Social Security account number. 

21 ‘‘(C) CONFIRMATION.—A person or entity 

22 receiving confirmation of an individual’s iden23 tity and employment authorization shall record 

24 such confirmation on the form designated by 

25 the Secretary for purposes of paragraph (1). 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(D) TENTATIVE NONCONFIRMATION.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In cases of ten3 tative nonconfirmation, the Secretary, in 

4 consultation with the Commissioner, shall 

5 provide a process for— 

6 ‘‘(I) an individual to contest the 

7 tentative nonconfirmation not later 

8 than 10 business days after the date 

9 of the receipt of the notice described 

10 in clause (ii); and 

11 ‘‘(II) the Secretary to issue a 

12 confirmation or final nonconfirmation 

13 of an individual’s identity and employ14 ment authorization not later than 30 

15 days after the Secretary receives no16 tice from the individual contesting a 

17 tentative nonconfirmation. 

18 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—Not later than 3 busi19 ness days after receiving a tentative non20 confirmation of an individual’s identity or 

21 employment authorization in the System, a 

22 person or entity shall— 

23 ‘‘(I) provide such individual with 

24 written notification— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(aa) in a language under2 stood by the individual; 

3 ‘‘(bb) on a form designated 

4 by the Secretary; and 

5 ‘‘(cc) that includes a de6 scription of the individual’s right 

7 to contest the tentative noncon8 firmation; and 

9 ‘‘(II) attest, under penalty of 

10 perjury, that the person or entity pro11 vided (or attempted to provide) such 

12 notice to the individual, who shall ac13 knowledge receipt of such notice in a 

14 manner specified by the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(iii) NO CONTEST.— 

16 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A tentative 

17 nonconfirmation shall become final if, 

18 upon receiving the notice described in 

19 clause (ii), the individual— 

20 ‘‘(aa) refuses to acknowledge 

21 receipt of such notice; 

22 ‘‘(bb) acknowledges in writ23 ing, in a manner specified by the 

24 Secretary, that the individual will 


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•S 4069 IS

1 not contest the tentative noncon2 firmation; or 

3 ‘‘(cc) fails to contest the 

4 tentative nonconfirmation within 

5 the 10-business-day period begin6 ning on the date the individual 

7 received such notice. 

8 ‘‘(II) RECORD OF NO CON9 TEST.—The person or entity shall— 

10 ‘‘(aa) indicate in the System 

11 that the individual refused to ac12 knowledge receipt of, or did not 

13 contest, the tentative noncon14 firmation; and 

15 ‘‘(bb) specify the reason that 

16 the tentative nonconfirmation be17 came final under subclause (I). 

18 ‘‘(III) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO

19 CONTEST.—An individual’s failure to 

20 contest a tentative nonconfirmation 

21 shall not be considered an admission 

22 of any fact with respect to any viola23 tion of this Act or any other provision 

24 of law. 

25 ‘‘(iv) CONTEST.— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—An individual 

2 may contest a tentative nonconfirma3 tion by using the tentative noncon4 firmation review process under clause 

5 (i), not later than 10 business days 

6 after receiving the notice described in 

7 clause (ii). Except as provided in 

8 clause (iii), the nonconfirmation shall 

9 remain tentative until a confirmation 

10 or final nonconfirmation is provided 

11 by the System. 

12 ‘‘(II) PROHIBITION ON TERMI13 NATION.—A person or entity may not 

14 terminate employment or take any ad15 verse employment action against an 

16 individual for failure to obtain con17 firmation of the individual’s identity 

18 and employment authorization until 

19 the person or entity receives a notice 

20 of final nonconfirmation from the Sys21 tem. Nothing in this subclause may be 

22 construed to prohibit an employer 

23 from terminating the employment of 

24 the individual for any other lawful 

25 reason. 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(III) CONFIRMATION OR FINAL

2 NONCONFIRMATION.—The Secretary, 

3 in consultation with the Commis4 sioner, shall issue notice of a con5 firmation or final nonconfirmation of 

6 the individual’s identity and employ7 ment authorization not later than 30 

8 days after the date on which the Sec9 retary receives notice from the indi10 vidual contesting the tentative non11 confirmation. 

12 ‘‘(IV) CONTINUANCE.—If the rel13 evant data needed to confirm the 

14 identity of an individual is not main15 tained by the Department of Home16 land Security, the Social Security Ad17 ministration, or the Department of 

18 State, or if the employee is unable to 

19 contact the Department of Homeland 

20 Security or the Social Security Ad21 ministration, the Secretary, in the sole 

22 discretion of the Secretary, may place 

23 the case in continuance. 

24 ‘‘(E) FINAL NONCONFIRMATION.— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(i) NOTICE.—If a person or entity 

2 receives a final nonconfirmation of an indi3 vidual’s identity or employment authoriza4 tion, the person or entity, not later than 5 

5 business days after receiving such final 

6 nonconfirmation, shall— 

7 ‘‘(I) notify such individual of the 

8 final nonconfirmation in writing, on a 

9 form designated by the Secretary, 

10 which shall include information re11 garding the individual’s right to ap12 peal the final nonconfirmation in ac13 cordance with subparagraph (F); and 

14 ‘‘(II) attest, under penalty of 

15 perjury, that the person or entity pro16 vided (or attempted to provide) the 

17 notice to the individual, who shall ac18 knowledge receipt of such notice in a 

19 manner designated by the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(ii) TERMINATION OR NOTIFICATION

21 OF CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT.—If a per22 son or entity receives a final nonconfirma23 tion regarding an individual, the person or 

24 entity may terminate employment of the 

25 individual. If the person or entity does not 


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•S 4069 IS

1 terminate such employment pending appeal 

2 of the final nonconfirmation, the person or 

3 entity shall notify the Secretary of such 

4 fact through the System. Failure to notify 

5 the Secretary in accordance with this 

6 clause shall be deemed a violation of sec7 tion 274A(a)(1)(A). 

8 ‘‘(iii) PRESUMPTION OF VIOLATION

9 FOR CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT.—If a per10 son or entity continues to employ an indi11 vidual after receipt of a final nonconfirma12 tion, and an appeal of the nonconfirmation 

13 is not pending, there shall be a rebuttable 

14 presumption that the person or entity has 

15 violated paragraphs (1)(A) and (2) of sec16 tion 274A(a). 

17 ‘‘(F) APPEAL OF FINAL NONCONFIRMA18 TION.— 

19 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL.—The 

20 Secretary, in consultation with the Com21 missioner and the Assistant Attorney Gen22 eral for Civil Rights, shall develop a proc23 ess by which an individual may seek ad24 ministrative review of a final nonconfirma25 tion. Such process shall— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(I) permit the individual to sub2 mit additional evidence establishing 

3 identity or employment authorization; 

4 ‘‘(II) ensure prompt resolution of 

5 an appeal, including a response to the 

6 appeal in all circumstances within 60 

7 days; and 

8 ‘‘(III) permit the Secretary to 

9 impose a civil money penalty equal to 

10 not more than $500 on any individual 

11 who files a frivolous appeal or files an 

12 appeal for purposes of delay. 

13 ‘‘(ii) COMPENSATION FOR LOST

14 WAGES RESULTING FROM GOVERNMENT

15 ERROR OR OMISSION.— 

16 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If, upon con17 sideration of an appeal of a final non18 confirmation, the Secretary deter19 mines that the final nonconfirmation 

20 was issued in error, the Secretary 

21 shall further determine whether the 

22 final nonconfirmation was the result 

23 of government error or omission. If 

24 the Secretary determines that the 

25 final nonconfirmation was solely the 


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•S 4069 IS

1 result of Government error or omis2 sion and the individual was termi3 nated from employment, the Secretary 

4 shall compensate the individual for 

5 lost wages. 

6 ‘‘(II) CALCULATION OF LOST

7 WAGES.—Lost wages shall be cal8 culated based on the wage rate and 

9 work schedule that were in effect 

10 prior to the individual’s termination. 

11 The individual shall be compensated 

12 for lost wages beginning on the first 

13 scheduled work day after employment 

14 was terminated and ending 90 days 

15 after completion of the administrative 

16 review process described in this sub17 paragraph or the day the individual is 

18 reinstated or obtains other employ19 ment, whichever occurs first. 

20 ‘‘(III) LIMITATION ON COM21 PENSATION.—Compensation for lost 

22 wages may not be awarded for any pe23 riod during which the individual was 

24 not authorized for employment in the 

25 United States. 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(IV) SOURCE OF FUNDS.— 

2 There is established in the general 

3 fund of the Treasury, a separate ac4 count, which shall be known as the 

5 ‘Electronic Verification Compensation 

6 Account’. Monetary penalties collected 

7 pursuant to subsections (f) and (g) 

8 shall be deposited in the Electronic 

9 Verification Compensation Account 

10 and shall remain available for pur11 poses of providing compensation for 

12 lost wages under this clause. 

13 ‘‘(iii) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Not later 

14 than 30 days after the dismissal of an ap15 peal under this subparagraph, an indi16 vidual may seek judicial review of such dis17 missal in the United States District Court 

18 in the jurisdiction in which the employer 

19 resides or conducts business. 

20 ‘‘(5) RETENTION OF VERIFICATION RECORDS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After completing the 

22 form designated by the Secretary under para23 graph (1) with respect to an individual, a per24 son or entity shall retain such form in paper, 

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•S 4069 IS

1 mat deemed acceptable by the Secretary, and 

2 make such form available for inspection by offi3 cers of the Department of Homeland Security, 

4 the Department of Justice, or the Department 

5 of Labor during the period beginning on the 

6 date the verification is completed and ending on 

7 the later of— 

8 ‘‘(i) the date that is 3 years after the 

9 date of hire; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) the date that is 1 year after the 

11 date on which such individual’s employ12 ment is terminated. 

13 ‘‘(B) COPYING OF DOCUMENTATION PER14 MITTED.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

15 of law, a person or entity may, for the purpose 

16 of complying with the requirements under this 

17 section— 

18 ‘‘(i) copy a document presented by an 

19 individual pursuant to this subsection; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) retain such copy. 

21 ‘‘(c) REVERIFICATION OF PREVIOUSLY HIRED INDI22 VIDUALS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY REVERIFICATION.—A person 

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•S 4069 IS

1 ployment in the United States shall submit an in2 quiry through the System to verify the identity and 

3 employment authorization of— 

4 ‘‘(A) an individual with a limited period of 

5 employment authorization, when such employ6 ment authorization expires; 

7 ‘‘(B) an individual, not later than 10 days 

8 after receiving a notification from the Secretary 

9 requiring the verification of such individual pur10 suant to subsection (a)(4)(C); and 

11 ‘‘(C) an individual employed by an em12 ployer required to participate in the E–Verify 

13 Program described in section 403(a) of the Ille14 gal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Re15 sponsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) 

16 by reason of any Federal, State, or local law, 

17 Executive order, rule, regulation, or delegation 

18 of authority, including employers required to 

19 participate in such program by reason of Fed20 eral acquisition laws (and regulations promul21 gated under such laws, including the Federal 

22 Acquisition Regulation). 

23 ‘‘(2) REVERIFICATION PROCEDURES.—The 

24 verification procedures under subsection (b) shall 


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•S 4069 IS

1 apply to reverifications under this subsection, except 

2 that employers shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) use a form designated by the Sec4 retary for purposes of this paragraph; and 

5 ‘‘(B) retain the form in paper, microfiche, 

6 microfilm, electronic, or other format approved 

7 by the Secretary, and make the form available 

8 for inspection by officers of the Department of 

9 Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, 

10 or the Department of Labor during the period 

11 beginning on the date the reverification com12 mences and ending on the later of— 

13 ‘‘(i) the date that is 3 years after the 

14 date of reverification; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) the date that is 1 year after the 

16 date on which the individual’s employment 

17 is terminated. 

18 ‘‘(d) GOOD FAITH COMPLIANCE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro20 vided in this subsection, a person or entity that uses 

21 the System is considered to have complied with the 

22 requirements under this section notwithstanding a 

23 technical failure of the System, or other technical or 

24 procedural failure to meet such requirement if there 


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1 was a good faith attempt to comply with such re2 quirement. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR FAILURE TO CORRECT

4 AFTER NOTICE.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply if— 

5 ‘‘(A) the failure of the person or entity to 

6 meet a requirement under this section is not de 

7 minimis; 

8 ‘‘(B) the Secretary has provided notice to 

9 the person or entity of such failure, including 

10 an explanation as to why such failure is not de 

11 minimis; 

12 ‘‘(C) the person or entity has been pro13 vided a period of not less than 30 days (begin14 ning after the date of the notice) to correct 

15 such failure; and 

16 ‘‘(D) the person or entity has not corrected 

17 such failure voluntarily within such period. 

18 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR PATTERN OR PRACTICE

19 VIOLATORS.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a 

20 person or entity that has engaged or is engaging in 

21 a pattern or practice of violations of paragraph 

22 (1)(A) or (2) of section 274A(a). 

23 ‘‘(4) DEFENSE.—A person or entity that uses 

24 the System for the hiring, recruiting, or referring for 


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•S 4069 IS

1 a fee an individual for employment in the United 

2 States— 

3 ‘‘(A) shall not be liable to a job applicant, 

4 an employee, the Federal Government, or a 

5 State or local government, under Federal, 

6 State, or local criminal or civil law, for any em7 ployment-related action taken with respect to 

8 an employee in good-faith reliance on informa9 tion provided by the System; and 

10 ‘‘(B) shall be deemed to have established 

11 compliance with its obligations under this sec12 tion, absent a showing by the Secretary, by 

13 clear and convincing evidence, that the em14 ployer had knowledge that an employee is an 

15 unauthorized alien. 

16 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) NO NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD.— 

18 Nothing in this section may be construed to author19 ize, directly or indirectly, the issuance or use of na20 tional identification cards or the establishment of a 

21 national identification card. 

22 ‘‘(2) USE OF RECORDS.—Notwithstanding any 

23 other provision of law, nothing in this section may 

24 be construed to permit or allow any department, bu25 reau, or other agency of the United States GovernVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00221 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4069.IS S4069

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•S 4069 IS

1 ment to utilize any information, database, or other 

2 records assembled under this section for any purpose 

3 other than the verification of identity and employ4 ment authorization of an individual or to ensure the 

5 secure, appropriate, and non-discriminatory use of 

6 the System. 

7 ‘‘(f) PENALTIES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro9 vided in this subsection, the provisions of sub10 sections (e) through (g) of section 274A shall apply 

11 with respect to compliance with the provisions under 

12 this section and penalties for noncompliance for per13 sons or entitles that use the System. 

14 ‘‘(2) CEASE AND DESIST ORDER WITH CIVIL

15 MONEY PENALTIES FOR HIRING, RECRUITING, AND

16 REFERRAL VIOLATIONS.—Notwithstanding the civil 

17 money penalties set forth in section 274A(e)(4), with 

18 respect to a violation of paragraph (1)(A) or (2) of 

19 section 274A(a) by a person or entity that is subject 

20 to the provisions under this section that has hired, 

21 recruited, or referred for a fee, an individual for em22 ployment in the United States, a cease and desist 

23 order— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(A) shall require the person or entity to 

2 pay a civil penalty in an amount, subject to 

3 subsection (d), that is equal to— 

4 ‘‘(i) not less than $2,500 and not 

5 more than $5,000 for each unauthorized 

6 alien with respect to whom a violation of 

7 either such subsection occurred; 

8 ‘‘(ii) not less than $5,000 and not 

9 more than $10,000 for each such alien in 

10 the case of a person or entity previously 

11 subject to more than 1 order under this 

12 paragraph; or 

13 ‘‘(iii) not less than $10,000 and not 

14 more than $25,000 for each such alien in 

15 the case of a person or entity previously 

16 subject to more than 1 order under this 

17 paragraph; and 

18 ‘‘(B) may require the person or entity to 

19 take other appropriate remedial action. 

20 ‘‘(3) ORDER FOR CIVIL MONEY PENALTY FOR

21 VERIFICATION VIOLATIONS.—Notwithstanding para22 graphs (4) and (5) of section 274A(e) and any other 

23 Federal law relating to civil monetary penalties, any 

24 person or entity that is required to comply with the 

25 provisions of this section that violates section 


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•S 4069 IS

1 274A(a)(1)(B) shall be required to pay a civil pen2 alty in an amount, subject to paragraphs (5), (6), 

3 and (7), that is equal to not less than $1,000 and 

4 not more than $25,000 for each individual with re5 spect to whom such violation occurred. 

6 ‘‘(4) SYSTEM USE VIOLATION.—Failure by a 

7 person or entity to utilize the System as required by 

8 law or providing information to the System that the 

9 person or entity knows or reasonably believes to be 

10 false, shall be treated as a violation of section 

11 274A(a)(1)(A). 

12 ‘‘(5) EXEMPTION FROM PENALTY FOR GOOD

13 FAITH VIOLATION.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person or entity 

15 that uses the System is presumed to have acted 

16 with knowledge for purposes of paragraphs 

17 (1)(A) and (2) of section 274A(a) if the person 

18 or entity fails to make an inquiry to verify the 

19 identity and employment authorization of the 

20 individual through the System. 

21 ‘‘(B) GOOD FAITH EXEMPTION.—In the 

22 case of imposition of a civil penalty under para23 graph (2)(A) with respect to a violation of para24 graph (1)(A) or (2) of section 274A(a) for hir25 ing or continuation of employment or recruitVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00224 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4069.IS S4069

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•S 4069 IS

1 ment or referral by a person or entity, and in 

2 the case of imposition of a civil penalty under 

3 paragraph (3) for a violation of section 

4 274A(a)(1)(B) for hiring or recruitment or re5 ferral by a person or entity, the penalty other6 wise imposed may be waived or reduced if the 

7 person or entity establishes that the person or 

8 entity acted in good faith. 

9 ‘‘(6) PENALTY ADJUSTMENT FACTORS.—For 

10 purposes of paragraphs (2)(A) and (3), when assess11 ing the level of civil money penalties for a particular 

12 case, in addition to the good faith of the person or 

13 entity being charged, due consideration shall be 

14 given to factors such as the size of the business, the 

15 seriousness of the violation, whether or not the indi16 vidual was an unauthorized alien, and the history of 

17 previous violations, which factors may be aggra18 vating, mitigating, or neutral depending on the facts 

19 of each case. 

20 ‘‘(7) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Notwithstanding 

21 section 274A(f)(1) and the provisions of any other 

22 Federal law relating to fine levels, any person or en23 tity required to comply with the provisions under 

24 this section that engages in a pattern or practice of 


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•S 4069 IS

1 violations of paragraph (1) or (2) of section 

2 274A(a)— 

3 ‘‘(A) shall be fined not more than $5,000 

4 for each unauthorized alien with respect to 

5 whom such a violation occurs; 

6 ‘‘(B) shall imprisoned for not more than 

7 18 months; or 

8 ‘‘(C) shall subject to the fine under sub9 paragraph (A) and imprisonment under sub10 paragraph (B). 

11 ‘‘(8) ELECTRONIC VERIFICATION COMPENSA12 TION ACCOUNT.—Civil money penalties collected 

13 pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited in the 

14 Electronic Verification Compensation Account for 

15 the purpose of compensating individuals for lost 

16 wages as a result of a final nonconfirmation issued 

17 by the System that was based on government error 

18 or omission, in accordance with subsection 

19 (b)(4)(F)(ii)(IV). 

20 ‘‘(9) DEBARMENT.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary deter22 mines that a person or entity is a repeat viola23 tor of paragraph (1)(A) or (2) of section 

24 274A(a) or has been convicted of a crime under 

25 section 274A, such person or entity may be conVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00226 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4069.IS S4069

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•S 4069 IS

1 sidered for debarment from the receipt of Fed2 eral contracts, grants, or cooperative agree3 ments in accordance with the debarment stand4 ards and pursuant to the debarment procedures 

5 set forth in the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

6 ‘‘(B) NO CONTRACT, GRANT, AGREE7 MENT.—If the Secretary or the Attorney Gen8 eral determines that a person or entity should 

9 be considered for debarment under this para10 graph, and such person or entity does not hold 

11 a Federal contract, grant or cooperative agree12 ment, the Secretary or the Attorney General 

13 shall refer the matter to the Administrator of 

14 General Services to determine whether to list 

15 the person or entity on the List of Parties Ex16 cluded from Federal Procurement and Non17 procurement Programs, and if so, for what du18 ration and under what scope. 

19 ‘‘(C) CONTRACT, GRANT, AGREEMENT.—If 

20 the Secretary or the Attorney General deter21 mines that a person or entity should be consid22 ered for debarment under this paragraph, and 

23 such person or entity holds a Federal contract, 

24 grant, or cooperative agreement, the Secretary 

25 or the Attorney General— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(i) shall advise all agencies or de2 partments holding a contract, grant, or co3 operative agreement with the person or en4 tity of the Government’s interest in having 

5 such person or entity considered for debar6 ment; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) after soliciting and considering 

8 the views of all such agencies and depart9 ments, may refer the matter to the appro10 priate lead agency to determine whether to 

11 list the person or entity on the List of Par12 ties Excluded from Federal Procurement 

13 and Nonprocurement Programs, and if so, 

14 for what duration and under what scope. 

15 ‘‘(D) REVIEW.—Any decision to debar a 

16 person or entity in accordance with this sub17 section shall be reviewable pursuant to part 9.4 

18 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

19 ‘‘(10) PREEMPTION.—This section preempts 

20 any State or local law, ordinance, policy, or rule, in21 cluding any criminal or civil fine or penalty struc22 ture, relating to the hiring, continued employment, 

23 or status verification for employment eligibility pur24 poses, of unauthorized aliens, except that a State, lo25 cality, municipality, or political subdivision may exVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00228 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4069.IS S4069

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•S 4069 IS

1 ercise its authority over business licensing and simi2 lar laws as a penalty for failure to use the System 

3 as required under this section. 

4 ‘‘(g) UNFAIR IMMIGRATION-RELATED EMPLOYMENT

5 PRACTICES AND THE SYSTEM.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the prohibi7 tions on discrimination set forth in section 274B, it 

8 is an unfair immigration-related employment prac9 tice for a person or entity, in the course of utilizing 

10 the System— 

11 ‘‘(A) to use the System for screening an 

12 applicant before the date of hire; 

13 ‘‘(B) to terminate the employment of an 

14 individual or take any adverse employment ac15 tion with respect to that individual due to a 

16 tentative nonconfirmation issued by the System; 

17 ‘‘(C) to use the System to screen any indi18 vidual for any purpose other than confirmation 

19 of identity and employment authorization in ac20 cordance with this section; 

21 ‘‘(D) to use the System to verify the iden22 tity and employment authorization of a current 

23 employee, including an employee continuing in 

24 employment, other than for purposes of 

25 reverification authorized under subsection (c); 


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•S 4069 IS

1 ‘‘(E) to use the System to discriminate 

2 based on national origin or citizenship status; 

3 ‘‘(F) to willfully fail to provide an indi4 vidual with any notice required under this chap5 ter; 

6 ‘‘(G) to require an individual to make an 

7 inquiry under the self-verification procedures 

8 described in subsection (a)(4)(B) or to provide 

9 the results of such an inquiry as a condition of 

10 employment, or hiring, recruiting, or referring; 

11 or 

12 ‘‘(H) to terminate the employment of an 

13 individual or take any adverse employment ac14 tion with respect to that individual based upon 

15 the need to verify the identity and employment 

16 authorization of the individual in accordance 

17 with subsection (b). 

18 ‘‘(2) PREEMPLOYMENT SCREENING AND BACK19 GROUND CHECK.—Nothing in paragraph (1)(A) may 

20 be construed to preclude a preemployment screening 

21 or background check that is required or permitted 

22 under any other provision of law. 

23 ‘‘(3) CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES FOR UNFAIR IM24 MIGRATION-RELATED EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES IN25 VOLVING SYSTEM MISUSE.—Notwithstanding section 


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•S 4069 IS

1 274B(g)(2)(B)(iv), the penalties that may be im2 posed by an administrative law judge with respect to 

3 a finding that a person or entity has engaged in an 

4 unfair immigration-related employment practice de5 scribed in paragraph (1) are— 

6 ‘‘(A) not less than $1,000 and not more 

7 than $4,000 for each aggrieved individual; 

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of a person or entity pre9 viously subject to a single order under this 

10 paragraph, not less than $4,000 and not more 

11 than $10,000 for each aggrieved individual; and 

12 ‘‘(C) in the case of a person or entity pre13 viously subject to more than 1 order under this 

14 paragraph, not less than $6,000 and not more 

15 than $20,000 for each aggrieved individual. 

16 ‘‘(4) ELECTRONIC VERIFICATION COMPENSA17 TION ACCOUNT.— 

18 ‘‘(A) USE OF CIVIL MONETARY PEN19 ALTIES.—Civil money penalties collected under 

20 this subsection shall be deposited into the Elec21 tronic Verification Compensation Account for 

22 the purpose of compensating individuals for lost 

23 wages as a result of a final nonconfirmation 

24 issued by the System that was based on a GovVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00231 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4069.IS S4069

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•S 4069 IS

1 ernment error or omission described in sub2 section (b)(4)(F)(ii)(IV). 

3 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE USE OF FUNDS.—Any 

4 amounts deposited into the Electronic 

5 Verification Compensation Account pursuant to 

6 subparagraph (A) that are not used within 5 

7 years to compensate individuals under such 

8 subparagraph shall be made available to the 

9 Secretary and the Attorney General to provide 

10 education to employers and employees regard11 ing the requirements, obligations, and rights 

12 under the System. 

13 ‘‘(h) CLARIFICATION.—All rights and remedies pro14 vided under any Federal, State, or local law relating to 

15 workplace rights, including back pay, are available to an 

16 employee despite— 

17 ‘‘(1) the employee’s status as an unauthorized 

18 alien during or after the period of employment; or 

19 ‘‘(2) the employer’s or employee’s failure to 

20 comply with the requirements under this section. 

21 ‘‘(i) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘date 

22 of hire’ means the date on which employment for pay or 

23 other remuneration commences.’’. 

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con25 tents for the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 


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•S 4069 IS

1 1101 note) is amended by inserting after the item relating 

2 to section 274D the following: 

‘‘Sec. 274E. Requirements for the electronic verification of employment eligibility.’’. 

3 SEC. 302. MANDATORY ELECTRONIC VERIFICATION FOR 

4 THE AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY. 

5 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘agri6 cultural employment’’ means agricultural labor or services 

7 (as defined in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii) of the Immigra8 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii))). 

9 (b) IN GENERAL.—The requirements for the elec10 tronic verification of identity and employment authoriza11 tion described in section 274E of the Immigration and Na12 tionality Act, as add by section 301, shall apply to a per13 son or entity hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee an 

14 individual for agricultural employment in the United 

15 States in accordance with the effective dates set forth in 

16 subsection (c). 

17 (c) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

18 (1) HIRING.—The requirements described in 

19 subsection (b) shall apply to a person or entity hir20 ing an individual for agricultural employment in the 

21 United States— 

22 (A) with respect to employers that, on the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act, have 500 or 


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•S 4069 IS

1 more employees in the United States, beginning 

2 on the later of— 

3 (i) the date that is 6 months after the 

4 date on which the Secretary of Homeland 

5 Security makes the certification required 

6 under section 274E(a)(11) of the Immigra7 tion and Nationality Act, as added by sec8 tion 301(a); or 

9 (ii) 6 years after the date of the en10 actment of this Act; 

11 (B) with respect to employers that, on the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, have 100 or 

13 more employees in the United States, but fewer 

14 than 500 such employees, beginning on the date 

15 that is 3 months after the date on which such 

16 requirements are applicable to employers de17 scribed in subparagraph (A); 

18 (C) with respect to employers that, on the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, have 20 or 

20 more employees in the United States, but fewer 

21 than 100 such employees, beginning on the date 

22 that is 6 months after the date on which such 

23 requirements are applicable to employers de24 scribed in subparagraph (A); and 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (D) with respect to employers that, on the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act, have fewer 

3 than 20 employees in the United States, begin4 ning on the date that is 9 months after the date 

5 on which such requirements are applicable to 

6 employers described in subparagraph (A). 

7 (2) RECRUITING AND REFERRING FOR A FEE.— 

8 The requirements under subsection (b) shall apply to 

9 any person or entity recruiting or referring for a fee 

10 an individual for agricultural employment in the 

11 United States on the date that is 1 year after the 

12 completion of the application period described in sec13 tion 101(c). 

14 (3) TRANSITION RULE.—Except as required 

15 under subtitle A of title IV of the Illegal Immigra16 tion Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 

17 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note), as in effect on the day 

18 before the effective date described in section 

19 303(a)(4), Executive Order 13465 (8 U.S.C. 1324a 

20 note; relating to Government procurement), or any 

21 State law requiring persons or entities to use the E– 

22 Verify Program described in section 403(a) of the Il23 legal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsi24 bility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note), as in ef25 fect on the day before such effective date, sections 


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•S 4069 IS

1 274A and 274B of the Immigration and Nationality 

2 Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a and 1324b) shall apply to a 

3 person or entity hiring, recruiting, or referring an 

4 individual for employment in the United States until 

5 the applicable effective date under this subsection. 

6 (4) E–VERIFY VOLUNTARY USERS AND OTHERS

7 DESIRING EARLY COMPLIANCE.—Nothing in this 

8 subsection may be construed to prohibit persons or 

9 entities, including persons or entities that have vol10 untarily elected to participate in the E–Verify Pro11 gram described in section 403(a) of the Illegal Im12 migration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act 

13 of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note), as in effect on the 

14 day before the effective date described in section 

15 303(a)(4), from seeking early compliance on a vol16 untary basis. 

17 (5) DELAYED IMPLEMENTATION.—The Sec18 retary of Homeland Security, in consultation with 

19 the Secretary of Agriculture, may delay the effective 

20 dates described in paragraphs (1) and (2) for a pe21 riod not to exceed 180 days if the Secretary deter22 mines, based on the most recent report described in 

23 section 133 and other relevant data, that a signifi24 cant number of applications under section 101 re25 main pending. 


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1 (d) RURAL ACCESS TO ASSISTANCE FOR TENTATIVE

2 NONCONFIRMATION REVIEW PROCESS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

4 Security, in coordination with the Secretary of Agri5 culture, and in consultation with the Commissioner 

6 of Social Security, shall create a process for individ7 uals to seek assistance in contesting a tentative non8 confirmation (as described in section 274E(b)(4)(D) 

9 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by 

10 section 301(a)), at local offices or service centers of 

11 the Department of Agriculture. 

12 (2) STAFFING AND RESOURCES.—The Sec13 retary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of 

14 Agriculture shall ensure that local offices and service 

15 centers of the Department of Agriculture are staffed 

16 appropriately and have the resources necessary to 

17 provide information and support to individuals seek18 ing the assistance described in paragraph (1), in19 cluding by facilitating communication between such 

20 individuals and the Department of Homeland Secu21 rity or the Social Security Administration. 

22 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

23 subsection may be construed to delegate authority or 

24 transfer responsibility for reviewing and resolving 

25 tentative nonconfirmations from the Secretary of 


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•S 4069 IS

1 Homeland Security and the Commissioner of Social 

2 Security to the Secretary of Agriculture. 

3 (e) DOCUMENT ESTABLISHING EMPLOYMENT AU4 THORIZATION AND IDENTITY.—In accordance with section 

5 274E(b)(3)(A)(vii) of the Immigration and Nationality 

6 Act, as added by section 301(a), and not later than 1 year 

7 after the completion of the application period described in 

8 section 101(c), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

9 recognize documentary evidence of certified agricultural 

10 worker status described in section 102(a)(2) as valid proof 

11 of employment authorization and identity for purposes of 

12 section 274E(b)(3)(A) of such Act. 

13 SEC. 303. COORDINATION WITH E–VERIFY PROGRAM. 

14 (a) REPEAL.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title IV of the 

16 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Respon17 sibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) is re18 pealed. 

19 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec20 tions, in section 1(d) of the Illegal Immigration Re21 form and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, is 

22 amended by striking the items relating to subtitle A 

23 of title IV. 

24 (3) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any Fed25 eral, State, or local law, Executive order, rule, reguVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00238 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4069.IS S4069

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•S 4069 IS

1 lation, or delegation of authority, or any document 

2 of, or pertaining to, the Department of Homeland 

3 Security, Department of Justice, or the Social Secu4 rity Administration, to the E–Verify Program de5 scribed in section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration 

6 Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

7 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note), or to the employment eligi8 bility confirmation system established under section 

9 404 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi10 grant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a 

11 note), is deemed to refer to the employment eligi12 bility confirmation system established under section 

13 274E of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 

14 added by section 301(a). 

15 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection, and 

16 the amendments made by this subsection, shall take 

17 effect on the date that is 30 days after the date on 

18 which final rules are published pursuant to section 

19 309(a). 

20 (b) FORMER E–VERIFY MANDATORY USERS, IN21 CLUDING FEDERAL CONTRACTORS.—Beginning on the ef22 fective date set forth in subsection (a)(4), the Secretary 

23 of Homeland Security shall require employers required to 

24 participate in the E–Verify Program described in section 

25 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 


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•S 4069 IS

1 Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) by rea2 son of any Federal, State, or local law, Executive order, 

3 rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, including em4 ployers required to participate in such program by reason 

5 of Federal acquisition laws (and regulations promulgated 

6 under those laws, including the Federal Acquisition Regu7 lation), to comply with the requirements under section 

8 274E of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added 

9 by section 301(a) (and any additional requirements of 

10 such Federal acquisition laws and regulation) instead of 

11 any requirement to participate in the E–Verify Program. 

12 (c) FORMER E–VERIFY VOLUNTARY USERS.—Begin13 ning on the effective date set forth in subsection (a)(4), 

14 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide for the 

15 voluntary compliance with the requirements under section 

16 274E of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added 

17 by section 301(a), by employers voluntarily electing to par18 ticipate in the E–Verify Program described in section 

19 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 

20 Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) before 

21 such effective date. 

22 SEC. 304. FRAUD AND MISUSE OF DOCUMENTS. 

23 Section 1546(b) of title 18, United States Code, is 

24 amended— 


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•S 4069 IS

1 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘identification 

2 document,’’ and inserting ‘‘identification document 

3 or document intended to establish employment au4 thorization,’’; 

5 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘identification 

6 document’’ and inserting ‘‘identification document or 

7 document intended to establish employment author8 ization,’’; and 

9 (3) in the undesignated matter following para10 graph (3) by striking ‘‘of section 274A(b)’’ and in11 serting ‘‘under section 274A(b) or 274E(b)’’. 

12 SEC. 305. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

13 (a) UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT OF ALIENS.—Section 

14 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

15 1324a) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (b) or (ii)’’ and 

18 inserting the following: ‘‘subsection (b); or 

19 ‘‘(ii)’’; and 

20 (B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘subsection 

21 (b).’’ and inserting ‘‘section 274E.’’; and 

22 (2) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding 

23 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The requirements re24 ferred’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in section 

25 274E, the requirements referred’’. 


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1 (b) UNFAIR IMMIGRATION-RELATED EMPLOYMENT

2 PRACTICES.—Section 274B(a) of the Immigration and 

3 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘in the 

5 case of a protected individual (as defined in para6 graph (3)),’’; 

7 (2) by striking paragraph (3); and 

8 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(3) MISUSE OF VERIFICATION SYSTEM.—It is 

11 an unfair immigration-related employment practice 

12 for a person or other entity to misuse the 

13 verification system as described in section 

14 274E(g).’’. 

15 SEC. 306. PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRA16 TION PROGRAMS. 

17 (a) FUNDING UNDER AGREEMENT.—Effective for all 

18 fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2024, the 

19 Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretary of 

20 Homeland Security shall ensure that an agreement is in 

21 place that— 

22 (1) provides funds to the Commissioner for the 

23 full costs of the responsibilities of the Commissioner 

24 with respect to employment eligibility verification, 


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•S 4069 IS

1 including responsibilities described in this title and 

2 in the amendments made by this title, such as— 

3 (A) acquiring, installing, and maintaining 

4 technological equipment and systems necessary 

5 for the fulfillment of such responsibilities, but 

6 only that portion of such costs that are attrib7 utable exclusively to such responsibilities; and 

8 (B) responding to individuals who contest 

9 a tentative nonconfirmation or administratively 

10 appeal a final nonconfirmation provided with 

11 respect to employment eligibility verification; 

12 (2) provides the funds required under para13 graph (1) annually in advance of the applicable 

14 quarter based on an estimating methodology agreed 

15 to by the Commissioner and the Secretary (except in 

16 such instances where the delayed enactment of an 

17 annual appropriation may preclude such quarterly 

18 payments); and 

19 (3) requires an annual accounting and reconcili20 ation of the actual costs incurred and the funds pro21 vided under such agreement, which shall be reviewed 

22 by the Inspector General of the Social Security Ad23 ministration and the Inspector General of the De24 partment of Homeland Security. 


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1 (b) CONTINUATION OF EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION

2 IN ABSENCE OF TIMELY AGREEMENT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which the 

4 agreement required under subsection (a) for any fis5 cal year beginning on or after October 1, 2024, has 

6 not been reached as of October 1 of such fiscal year, 

7 the latest agreement described in such subsection 

8 shall be deemed in effect on an interim basis for 

9 such fiscal year until such time as an agreement re10 quired under subsection (a) is subsequently reached, 

11 except that the terms of such interim agreement 

12 shall be modified to adjust for inflation and any in13 crease or decrease in the volume of requests under 

14 the employment eligibility verification system. 

15 (2) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October 

17 1 of any fiscal year during which an interim 

18 agreement applies under paragraph (1), the 

19 Commissioner and the Secretary shall notify the 

20 Committee on Finance of the Senate, the Com21 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Com22 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate, the 

23 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 

24 Representatives, the Committee on the Judici25 ary of the House of Representatives, and the 


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1 Committee on Appropriations of the House of 

2 Representatives of the failure to reach the 

3 agreement required under subsection (a) for 

4 such fiscal year. 

5 (B) QUARTERLY NOTIFICATIONS.—Until 

6 the agreement required under subsection (a) 

7 has been reached for a fiscal year, the Commis8 sioner and the Secretary, not later than the end 

9 of each 90-day period after October 1 of such 

10 fiscal year, shall notify the congressional com11 mittees referred to in subparagraph (A) of the 

12 status of negotiations between the Commis13 sioner and the Secretary in order to reach such 

14 an agreement. 

15 SEC. 307. REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 

16 ELECTRONIC EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION 

17 SYSTEM. 

18 Not later than 2 years after the date on which final 

19 rules are published pursuant to section 309(a), and annu20 ally thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland Security and 

21 the Attorney General shall jointly submit a report to Con22 gress that includes— 

23 (1) an assessment of the accuracy rates of the 

24 responses of the electronic employment verification 

25 system established under section 274E of the ImmiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00245 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4069.IS S4069

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•S 4069 IS

1 gration and Nationality Act, as added by section 

2 301(a) (referred to in this section and section 308 

3 as the ‘‘System’’), including tentative and final non4 confirmation notices issued to employment-author5 ized individuals and confirmation notices issued to 

6 individuals who are not employment-authorized; 

7 (2) an assessment of any challenges faced by 

8 persons or entities (including small employers) in 

9 utilizing the System; 

10 (3) an assessment of any challenges faced by 

11 employment-authorized individuals who are issued 

12 tentative or final nonconfirmation notices; 

13 (4) an assessment of the incidence of unfair im14 migration-related employment practices described in 

15 section 274E(g) of the Immigration and Nationality 

16 Act, related to the use of the System; 

17 (5) an assessment of the photo matching and 

18 other identity authentication tools described in sec19 tion 274E(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality 

20 Act, including— 

21 (A) the accuracy rates of such tools; 

22 (B) the effectiveness of such tools at pre23 venting identity fraud and other misuse of iden24 tifying information; 


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1 (C) any challenges faced by persons, enti2 ties, or individuals utilizing such tools; 

3 (D) operation and maintenance costs asso4 ciated with such tools; and 

5 (E) the privacy and civil liberties safe6 guards associated with such tools; 

7 (6) a summary of the activities and findings of 

8 the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services E– 

9 Verify Monitoring and Compliance Branch (referred 

10 to in this paragraph as the ‘‘Branch’’), or any suc11 cessor office, including— 

12 (A) the number, types and outcomes of au13 dits, internal reviews, and other compliance ac14 tivities initiated by the Branch in the previous 

15 year; 

16 (B) the capacity of the Branch to detect 

17 and prevent violations of section 274E(g) of the 

18 Immigration and Nationality Act; and 

19 (C) an assessment of the degree to which 

20 persons and entities misuse the System, includ21 ing— 

22 (i) using the System before an individ23 ual’s date of hire; 

24 (ii) failing to provide required notifi25 cations to individuals; 


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1 (iii) using the System to interfere with 

2 or otherwise impede individuals’ assertions 

3 of their rights under other laws; and 

4 (iv) using the System for unauthor5 ized purposes; and 

6 (7) an assessment of the impact of implementa7 tion of the System in the agricultural industry and 

8 the use of the verification system in agricultural in9 dustry hiring and business practices. 

10 SEC. 308. MODERNIZING AND STREAMLINING THE EMPLOY11 MENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROCESS. 

12 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

13 of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in con14 sultation with the Commissioner of Social Security, shall 

15 submit a plan to Congress for modernizing and stream16 lining the employment eligibility verification process. Such 

17 plan shall include— 

18 (1) procedures to allow persons and entities to 

19 verify the identity and employment authorization of 

20 newly hired individuals where the in-person, physical 

21 examination of identity and employment authoriza22 tion documents is not practicable; 

23 (2) a proposal to create a simplified employ24 ment verification process that allows employers that 

25 utilize the System— 


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1 (A) to verify the identity and employment 

2 authorization of individuals without having to 

3 complete and retain Form I–9, Employment 

4 Eligibility Verification, in paper, electronic, or 

5 any subsequent replacement form; and 

6 (B) to maintain evidence of an inspection 

7 of the employee’s eligibility to work; and 

8 (3) any other proposal that the Secretary deter9 mines would simplify the employment eligibility 

10 verification process without compromising the integ11 rity or security of the System. 

12 SEC. 309. RULEMAKING; PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT. 

13 (a) RULEMAKING.— 

14 (1) PROPOSED RULES.—Not later than 270 

15 days before the end of the application period de16 scribed in section 101(c), the Secretary of Homeland 

17 Security shall promulgate and publish in the Federal 

18 Register proposed rules implementing this title and 

19 the amendments made by this title. 

20 (2) FINAL RULES.—The Secretary shall finalize 

21 the rules promulgated pursuant to paragraph (1) 

22 not later than 180 days after the date on which they 

23 are published in the Federal Register. 

24 (b) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements under 

2 chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, (com3 monly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act’’) 

4 shall apply to any action to implement this title or 

5 the amendments made by this title. 

6 (2) ELECTRONIC FORMS.—All forms designated 

7 or established by the Secretary that are necessary to 

8 implement this title and the amendments made by 

9 this title— 

10 (A) shall be made available in paper or 

11 electronic formats; and 

12 (B) shall be designed in such a manner to 

13 facilitate electronic completion, storage, and 

14 transmittal. 

Æ 


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