I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1778 

To reform the H–2A program for nonimmigrant agricultural workers, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 24, 2023 

Mr. ALLEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To reform the H–2A program for nonimmigrant agricultural 

workers, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as— 

5 (1) the ‘‘Better Agriculture Resources Now 

6 Act’’; or 

7 (2) the ‘‘BARN Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. H–2A PROGRAM REFORMS. 

9 (a) DEFINITION OF AGRICULTURAL LABOR OR SERV10 ICES.—Section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration 


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1 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)) is 

2 amended— 

3 (1) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Labor’’ and in4 serting ‘‘Secretary of Agriculture’’; 

5 (2) by striking ‘‘and the pressing’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘the pressing’’; and 

7 (3) by striking ‘‘of a temporary’’ and all that 

8 follows through the end and inserting ‘‘, and the 

9 handling, planting, drying, packing, packaging, proc10 essing, freezing, grading, storing, or delivering to 

11 storage or to market or to a carrier for transpor12 tation to market, in its unmanufactured state, any 

13 agricultural or horticultural commodity, or’’. 

14 (b) ADMINISTERING OFFICIAL.—Section 218 of such 

15 Act (8 U.S.C. 1188) is amended by striking ‘‘Secretary 

16 of Labor’’ each place such term appears and inserting 

17 ‘‘Secretary of Agriculture’’. 

18 (c) DEEMED APPROVAL.—Section 218(c)(3)(A) of 

19 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(c)(3)(A)) is amended by insert20 ing before ‘‘In considering’’ the following: ‘‘The Secretary 

21 of Agriculture shall review such application and shall pro22 vide a determination on the application within 15 days of 

23 the date of the filing of the application. If the Secretary 

24 does not comply with the deadline in the preceding sen25 tence, the application shall be deemed approved.’’. 


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1 (d) EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT.—Section 

2 218(c)(3)(A) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(c)(3)(A)), as 

3 amended by subsection (c), is further amended by adding 

4 at the end the following: ‘‘A job offer may contain an expe5 rience requirement as long as work performed in an illegal 

6 status may not be counted towards such requirement.’’. 

7 (e) ELIMINATION OF 50-PERCENT RULE.—Section 

8 218(c)(3) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(c)(3)) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘(A)’’; 

10 (2) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

11 (3) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as sub12 paragraphs (A) and (B). 

13 (f) WAGE RATE.—Section 218(a)(1)(B) of such Act 

14 (8 U.S.C. 1188(a)(1)(B)) is amended by striking the pe15 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘, except that no employer 

16 shall be required to pay a wage rate greater than 115 per17 cent of the greatest of the Federal and State minimum 

18 wage rates.’’. 

19 (g) DEADLINE FOR FILING APPLICATIONS.—Section 

20 218(c)(1) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(c)(1)) is amended 

21 by striking ‘‘45’’ and inserting ‘‘30’’. 

22 (h) PERIOD OF AUTHORIZED NONIMMIGRANT STA23 TUS.—Section 218(h) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(h)) is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) The initial period of authorized status as a non2 immigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) shall 

3 not exceed 1 year. Such period may be extended once by 

4 the Secretary of Homeland Security for a period of up 

5 to 1 year, except that such extension may be granted only 

6 if the Secretary of Agriculture determines that the em7 ployer has engaged in the positive recruitment efforts de8 scribed in subsection (b)(4) (including the obligation to 

9 circulate the employer’s job offer through the interstate 

10 employment service system). In the case of a non11 immigrant who has remained in the United States for the 

12 full 2-year period, the nonimmigrant shall be obliged to 

13 depart the United States and shall not be eligible to re14 apply for a visa to re-enter the United States as such a 

15 nonimmigrant for a period of 2 months. If at any time 

16 during a period of authorized admission the alien has a 

17 work lapse period of 60 days or more, the visa of the alien 

18 shall be deemed revoked and the alien shall be required 

19 to depart from the United States, except that if an em20 ployer has applied for a certification under subsection 

21 (a)(1) with respect to an alien who has a work lapse of 

22 60 days or less, such period shall not begin until after 

23 the Secretary has made a determination on the application 

24 consistent with subsection (c).’’. 


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1 (i) HOUSING.—Section 218(c)(4) of such Act (8 

2 U.S.C. 1188(c)(4)) is amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(4) HOUSING REQUIREMENT.— 

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

5 under subparagraph (F), each employer apply6 ing for workers under subsection (b) shall offer 

7 to provide housing at no cost to— 

8 ‘‘(i) all workers in job opportunities 

9 for which the employer has applied; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) all other workers in the same oc11 cupation at the same place of employment 

12 whose place of residence is beyond normal 

13 commuting distance. 

14 ‘‘(B) COMPLIANCE.—An employer meets 

15 the requirement under subparagraph (A) if the 

16 employer— 

17 ‘‘(i) provides the workers with housing 

18 that meets applicable Federal standards 

19 for temporary labor camps; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) secures housing for the workers 

21 that— 

22 ‘‘(I) meets applicable local stand23 ards for rental or public accommoda24 tion housing, or other substantially 

25 similar class of habitation; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) in the absence of applicable 

2 local standards, meets State stand3 ards for rental or public accommoda4 tion housing or other substantially 

5 similar class of habitation. 

6 ‘‘(C) INSPECTION.— 

7 ‘‘(i) REQUEST.—At the time an em8 ployer that plans to provide housing de9 scribed in subparagraph (B) to H–2A 

10 workers files an application for H–2A 

11 workers with the Secretary of Agriculture, 

12 the employer shall request a certificate of 

13 inspection by an approved Federal or State 

14 agency. 

15 ‘‘(ii) INSPECTION; FOLLOWUP.—Not 

16 later than 28 days after the receipt of a re17 quest under clause (i), the Secretary of Ag18 riculture shall ensure that— 

19 ‘‘(I) such an inspection has been 

20 conducted; and 

21 ‘‘(II) any necessary followup has 

22 been scheduled to ensure compliance 

23 with the requirements under this 

24 paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) DELAY PROHIBITED.—The Sec2 retary of Agriculture may not delay the ap3 proval of an application for failing to com4 ply with the deadlines set forth in clause 

5 (ii). 

6 ‘‘(D) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary of Ag7 riculture shall issue regulations that address 

8 the specific requirements for the provision of 

9 housing to workers engaged in the range pro10 duction of livestock. 

11 ‘‘(E) HOUSING ALLOWANCE.— 

12 ‘‘(i) AUTHORITY.—If the Governor of 

13 a State certifies to the Secretary of Agri14 culture that there is adequate housing 

15 available in the area of intended employ16 ment for migrant farm workers and H–2A 

17 workers who are seeking temporary hous18 ing while employed in agricultural work, an 

19 employer in such State may provide a rea20 sonable housing allowance instead of offer21 ing housing pursuant to subparagraph (A). 

22 An employer who provides a housing allow23 ance to a worker shall not be required to 

24 reserve housing accommodations for the 

25 worker. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) ASSISTANCE IN LOCATING HOUS2 ING.—Upon the request of a worker seek3 ing assistance in locating housing, an em4 ployer providing a housing allowance under 

5 clause (i) shall make a good faith effort to 

6 assist the worker in identifying and locat7 ing housing in the area of intended em8 ployment. 

9 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION.—A housing allow10 ance may not be used for housing that is 

11 owned or controlled by the employer. An 

12 employer who offers a housing allowance to 

13 a worker, or assists a worker in locating 

14 housing which the worker occupies under 

15 this subparagraph shall not be deemed a 

16 housing provider under section 203 of the 

17 Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker 

18 Protect Act (29 U.S.C. 1823) solely by vir19 tue of providing such housing allowance. 

20 ‘‘(iv) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(I) NONMETROPOLITAN COUN22 TY.—If the place of employment of 

23 the workers provided an allowance 

24 under this subparagraph is a non25 metropolitan county, the amount of 


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1 the housing allowance under this sub2 paragraph shall be equal to the state3 wide average fair market rental for 

4 existing housing for nonmetropolitan 

5 counties for the State, as established 

6 by the Secretary of Housing and 

7 Urban Development pursuant to sec8 tion 8(c) of the United States Hous9 ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(c)), 

10 based on a 2-bedroom dwelling unit 

11 and an assumption of 2 persons per 

12 bedroom. 

13 ‘‘(II) METROPOLITAN COUNTY.— 

14 If the place of employment of the 

15 workers provided an allowance under 

16 this subparagraph is in a metropolitan 

17 county, the amount of the housing al18 lowance under this subparagraph shall 

19 be equal to the statewide average fair 

20 market rental for existing housing for 

21 metropolitan counties for the State, as 

22 established by the Secretary of Hous23 ing and Urban Development pursuant 

24 to section 8(c) of the United States 

25 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 


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1 1437f(c)), based on a 2-bedroom 

2 dwelling unit and an assumption of 2 

3 persons per bedroom. 

4 ‘‘(v) INFORMATION.—If the employer 

5 provides a housing allowance to H–2A em6 ployees, the employer shall provide a list of 

7 the names and local addresses of such 

8 workers to the Secretary of Agriculture 

9 and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

10 once per contract period.’’. 

11 (j) LEGAL ASSISTANCE FROM THE LEGAL SERVICES

12 CORPORATION.—Section 218(h) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

13 1188(h)), as amended by subsection (h) of this Act, is fur14 ther amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(4)(A) The Legal Services Corporation may not pro16 vide legal assistance for, or on behalf of, any alien, and 

17 may not provide financial assistance to any person or enti18 ty that provides legal assistance for, or on behalf of, any 

19 alien, unless— 

20 ‘‘(i) the alien is present in the United States at 

21 the time the legal assistance is provided; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) the parties to the dispute have attempted, 

23 in good faith, mediation or other non-binding dis24 pute resolution of all issues involving all such par25 ties. 


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1 ‘‘(B) If an employer and a nonimmigrant having sta2 tus under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) have an arbitration 

3 arrangement, the Legal Services Corporation shall respect 

4 the arbitration process and outcome. 

5 ‘‘(C) No employer of a nonimmigrant having status 

6 under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) shall be required to 

7 permit any recipient of a grant or contract under section 

8 1007 of the Legal Services Corporation Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 2996f), or any employee of such a recipient, to enter upon 

10 the employer’s property, unless such recipient or employee 

11 has a pre-arranged appointment with a specific non12 immigrant having such status.’’. 

13 (k) EFFECT OF VIOLATIONS WHILE IN UNITED

14 STATES.—Section 218(f) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(f)) 

15 is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(f) EFFECT OF VIOLATIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) OVERSTAYS.—An alien may not be admit18 ted to the United States as a nonimmigrant having 

19 status under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) if the alien 

20 was admitted to the United States as such a non21 immigrant within the previous 5-year period and the 

22 alien remained after the alien’s period of authorized 

23 admission expired or otherwise violated a term or 

24 condition of such previous admission. 


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1 ‘‘(2) FRAUD.—An alien may not be admitted to 

2 the United States as a nonimmigrant having status 

3 under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) if the alien was 

4 admitted to the United States as such a non5 immigrant on the basis of fraud. 

6 ‘‘(3) OTHER CRIMES.—An alien may not be ad7 mitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant hav8 ing status under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) if the 

9 alien was admitted to the United States as such a 

10 nonimmigrant and committed an offense that ren11 dered the alien deportable while in the United States 

12 pursuant to such admission. 

13 ‘‘(4) EMPLOYER BAR.—The Secretary of Agri14 culture may not issue a certification under sub15 section (a) with respect to an employer if the Sec16 retary finds, after notice and an opportunity for a 

17 hearing, that the employer knowingly hired an H–2A 

18 worker whose period of authorized admission had ex19 pired or that the employer otherwise engaged in 

20 fraud or misrepresentation with respect to the pro21 gram for the admission of such workers into the 

22 United States. The Secretary of Homeland Security 

23 shall not thereafter approve petitions filed by such 

24 employer under section 214(c). An employer that es25 tablishes that it has complied in good faith with the 


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1 requirements of this Act has established an affirma2 tive defense in an action brought under this para3 graph.’’. 

Æ 


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