I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2801 
To provide temporary resident status and employment authorization for 
certain non-seasonal agricultural workers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 16, 2019 
Mr. COLLINS of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide temporary resident status and employment au-
thorization for certain non-seasonal agricultural workers, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helping Labor Per-
sonnel on Farms Act’’ or the ‘‘HELP Farms Act’’. 
SEC. 2. TEMPORARY RESIDENT STATUS AND EMPLOYMENT 
AUTHORIZATION 
FOR 
CERTAIN 
NON-SEA-
SONAL AGRICULTURAL WORKERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
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(1) TREATMENT OF PRINCIPAL ALIENS.—In the 
case of an alien described in subsection (b) who sat-
isfies the requirements of subsection (c) and is not 
ineligible under subsection (e), the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of Labor and the Secretary of State, shall— 
(A) adjust the status of the alien to that 
of an alien lawfully admitted for temporary res-
idence for a two-year period not subject to re-
newal, and issue documentary evidence of such 
temporary resident status; 
(B) grant the alien authorization to engage 
in employment in the United States during 
such two-year period in an agricultural labor or 
services occupation not of a seasonal nature; 
and 
(C) provide the alien an ‘‘employment au-
thorized’’ endorsement or other appropriate 
work permit valid during such two-year period. 
(2) TREATMENT
OF
SPOUSES
AND
CHIL-
DREN.—A spouse or unmarried child under 21 years 
of age of a principal alien who is included in an ap-
plication under subsection (c)(1) and is not ineligible 
under subsection (e) shall be eligible for the same 
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temporary resident status (and documentation of 
such status) as is granted to the principal alien. 
(b) ALIENS DESCRIBED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—An alien is described in this 
subsection if the alien— 
(A) during the preceding calendar year, 
was considered a United States resident for 
purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 
(B) does not qualify for status under sec-
tion 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(a)); 
and 
(C) is, and during the 2-year period pre-
ceding the date of the filing of the application 
under subsection (c) has been, employed by the 
sponsoring 
employer 
described 
in 
sub-
section(c)(2) in an agricultural labor or services 
occupation not of a seasonal nature. 
(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, 
the term ‘‘agricultural labor or services’’ includes— 
(A) agricultural labor as defined in section 
3121(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 
(B) agriculture as defined in section 3(f) 
of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 
U.S.C. 203(f)); 
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(C) all activities required for the prepara-
tion, processing or manufacturing of a product 
of agriculture (as such term is defined in such 
section 3(f)), or fish or shellfish, for further dis-
tribution; 
(D) the handling, planting, drying, pack-
ing, packaging, processing, freezing, or grading 
prior to delivery for storage of any agricultural 
or horticultural commodity in its unmanufac-
tured state; 
(E) dairy cattle and milk production; 
(F) range production of livestock; 
(G) sheep herding or goat herding; 
(H) commercial beekeeping and polli-
nation; 
(I) animal shearing; 
(J) the killing of animals for meat or poul-
try processing and the breakdown of their car-
casses; and 
(K) activities related to the management 
and training of equines. 
(c) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—An alien shall apply for ad-
justment of status and work authorization under 
this section during the 6-month period beginning on 
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the date of the enactment of this Act. The applica-
tion shall collect such information as the Secretary 
of Homeland Security determines necessary and ap-
propriate. The Secretary shall establish a process 
through which an alien may submit a single applica-
tion under this section on behalf of the alien and the 
alien’s eligible spouse and children. 
(2) SPONSORING EMPLOYER.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—An application under 
paragraph (1) shall be accompanied by an at-
testation from the alien’s employer that the 
alien continuously has been employed by the 
employer in an agricultural labor or services oc-
cupation not of a seasonal nature during the 2- 
year period preceding the date of the filing of 
the application. 
(B) EMPLOYER PROTECTIONS.— 
(i) USE OF EMPLOYMENT RECORDS.— 
Copies of employment records or other evi-
dence of employment provided by an alien 
or by an alien’s employer in support of an 
alien’s application under paragraph (1) 
may not be used in a civil or criminal pros-
ecution or investigation of that employer 
under section 274A of the Immigration 
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and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) or 
under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
for the prior unlawful employment of that 
alien regardless of the adjudication of such 
application or reconsideration by the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security of such 
alien’s prima facie eligibility determination. 
Employers 
that 
provide 
unauthorized 
aliens with copies of employment records 
or other evidence of employment pursuant 
to an application under paragraph (1) shall 
not be subject to civil and criminal liability 
pursuant to such section 274A for employ-
ing such unauthorized aliens. 
(ii) LIMIT
ON
APPLICABILITY.—The 
protections for employers and aliens under 
clause (i) shall not apply if the aliens or 
employers submit employment records that 
are determined to be fraudulent. 
(d) SPECIAL RULES FOR APPLICANTS.— 
(1) DOCUMENTATION.—Upon the filing of an 
application under subsection (c)(1), the Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall furnish the applicant or ap-
plicants with documentation of status as an appli-
cant under this section. 
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(2) ALIENS APPREHENDED BEFORE OR DURING 
THE APPLICATION PERIOD.—If an alien who is ap-
prehended during the period beginning on the date 
of the enactment of this Act and ending on the last 
day of the application period described in subsection 
(c)(1) appears prima facie eligible for temporary 
resident status under this section, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security— 
(A) shall provide the alien with a reason-
able opportunity to submit an application for 
such status under this section during such pe-
riod; and 
(B) if such an application is submitted, 
may not remove the individual until a final ad-
ministrative determination is made on such ap-
plication. 
(3) ALIENS IN REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) if an 
alien is in removal, deportation, or exclusion pro-
ceedings during the period beginning on the date of 
the enactment of this Act and ending on the last day 
of the application period described in subsection 
(c)(1) and is prima facie eligible for temporary resi-
dent status under this section, upon motion by the 
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Secretary of Homeland Security and with the con-
sent of the alien or upon motion by the alien, the 
Executive Office for Immigration Review shall— 
(A) terminate such proceedings without 
prejudice to future proceedings; and 
(B) permit the alien a reasonable oppor-
tunity to apply for such status. 
(4) PERIOD PENDING ADJUDICATION OF APPLI-
CATION.—During the period beginning on the date 
on which an alien applies for temporary resident sta-
tus under this section and ending on the date on 
which the Secretary of Homeland Security makes a 
final decision regarding such application, the alien— 
(A) is eligible to apply for advance parole; 
(B) may not be detained by the Secretary 
or Homeland Security or removed from the 
United States unless the Secretary makes a 
prima facie determination that such alien is, or 
has become, ineligible for temporary resident 
status; 
(C) shall not be considered unlawfully 
present under section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Im-
migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1182(a)(9)(B)); and 
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(D) shall not be considered an unauthor-
ized alien (as defined in section 274A(h)(3) of 
such Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)(3))). 
(e) INELIGIBLE ALIENS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—An alien shall be ineligible 
for adjustment of status and work authorization 
under this section if the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity determines that— 
(A) the alien ordered, incited, assisted, or 
otherwise participated in the persecution of any 
person on account of race, religion, nationality, 
membership in a particular social group, or po-
litical opinion; 
(B) the alien has been convicted in the 
United States by a final judgment of a particu-
larly serious crime (as defined in paragraph 
(2)); 
(C) there are serious reasons for believing 
that the alien has committed a serious non-
political crime outside the United States prior 
to the arrival of the alien in the United States; 
(D) there are reasonable grounds for re-
garding the alien as a danger to the security of 
the United States; 
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(E) the alien is described in subclause (I), 
(II), 
(III), 
(IV), 
or 
(VI) 
of 
section 
212(a)(3)(B)(i) or section 237(a)(4)(B) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1101 et seq.) (relating to terrorist activity), un-
less, in the case only of an alien inadmissible 
under subclause (IV) of section 212(a)(3)(B)(i) 
of such Act, the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity determines, in the Secretary’s discretion, 
that there are not reasonable grounds for re-
garding the alien as a danger to the security of 
the United States; or 
(F) the alien has not satisfied all Federal, 
State, and local tax liabilities. 
(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of paragraph 
(1)(B), an alien who has been convicted of the fol-
lowing shall be considered to have been convicted of 
a particularly serious crime: 
(A) A felony for which the alien was sen-
tenced to a term of imprisonment of not less 
than 60 months. 
(B) Murder, rape, kidnapping, or a felony 
offense described in chapter 77 (relating to pe-
onage and slavery) or 113B (relating to ter-
rorism) of title 18, United States Code. 
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(C) Three or more felonies of any kind. 
(3) TERMINATION
OF
BENEFITS.—Temporary 
resident status and work authorization granted 
under this section shall be terminated if the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security determines that the 
alien— 
(A) meets a condition described in para-
graph (1); or 
(B) is not employed in an agricultural 
labor or services occupation not of a seasonal 
nature. 
(f) DOCUMENTATION FEATURES.—Documentary evi-
dence of temporary resident status provided under this 
section shall— 
(1) be machine-readable and tamper-resistant; 
(2) contain a digitized photograph; 
(3) during the alien’s authorized period of ad-
mission, serve as a valid travel and entry document 
for the purpose of applying for admission to the 
United States; and 
(4) include such other features and information 
as the Secretary of Homeland Security may pre-
scribe. 
(g) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Except for purposes of car-
rying out paragraph (2), and consistent with sub-
section (c)(2)(B), the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity, the Attorney General, or any other official or 
employee of the Department of Justice or the De-
partment of Homeland Security shall not— 
(A) use the information furnished by the 
applicant, or the sponsoring employer described 
in subsection (c)(2)(A), pursuant to an applica-
tion filed under this section for any purpose 
other than to make a determination on the ap-
plication; 
(B) make any publication whereby the in-
formation furnished by any particular applicant 
or sponsoring employer can be identified; or 
(C) permit anyone other than the sworn of-
ficers and employees of the Department of 
Homeland Security to examine individual appli-
cations. 
(2) PENALTIES FOR FALSE STATEMENTS IN AP-
PLICATIONS.—Whoever files an application under 
this section and knowingly and willfully falsifies, 
misrepresents, conceals, or covers up a material fact 
or makes any false, fictitious, or fraudulent state-
ments or representations, or makes or uses any false 
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writing or document knowing the same to contain 
any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or 
entry, shall be subject to section 1001 of title 18, 
United States Code. 
SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF H-2A REGULATIONS. 
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall modify the 
Secretary’s regulations governing the program under sec-
tion 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)) so as to ensure 
that aliens desiring to come temporarily to the United 
States to work in an agricultural labor or services occupa-
tion not of a seasonal nature are eligible to be granted 
authorization for employment in the United States on an 
annual, rather than a seasonal, basis under such program. 
Æ 
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