I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3516 
To permit interview waivers for returning H–2A workers, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 18, 2023 
Ms. MACE (for herself, Ms. HOULAHAN, and Mr. ROSE) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To permit interview waivers for returning H–2A 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 ‘‘Farmworker Access 
and Waiver Act’’ or ‘‘FAWA’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that the H–2A program provides a 
critical source of labor for American farmers, especially 
during the busy planting and harvesting seasons. How-
ever, the administrative burdens associated with the H– 
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2A program can be cumbersome and time consuming, 
leading to delays in the arrival of essential workers. Con-
gress also finds that the interview waiver for returning H– 
2A workers implemented during the COVID–19 pandemic 
has proven successful in reducing administrative burdens 
and allowing farmers to access the workers they need more 
quickly. 
SEC. 3. INTERVIEW WAIVER FOR RETURNING H–2A WORK-
ERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity shall waive the interview requirement under section 
222(h)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1202(h)(1)) for returning H–2A workers who— 
(1) were previously issued an H–2A visa and 
seek to reenter the United States to resume employ-
ment with the same employer as the previous year; 
and 
(2) are not inadmissible. 
(b) DURATION OF WAIVER.—The waiver described in 
subsection (a) shall be valid for a period of up to 3 years 
from the date of issuance. 
(c) NOTICE.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall provide notice to H–2A workers and employers of 
the availability of the waiver described in subsection (a), 
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including the eligibility requirements and application proc-
ess. 
(d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 1 
year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 
thereafter for 5 years, the Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall submit a report to Congress annually, detailing the 
number of waivers granted under this Act and any issues 
that arose during the application process. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall take effect 90 
days after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(f) SUNSET.—This Act shall cease to be in effect 6 
years after the date of enactment of this Act, unless Con-
gress takes further action to extend it. 
(g) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this Act, or 
the application of such provision to any person or cir-
cumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder 
of this Act, or the application of the provision to persons 
or circumstances other than those as to which it is held 
unconstitutional, shall not be affected thereby. 
(h) H–2A VISA DEFINED.—For the purposes of this 
Act, the term ‘‘H–2A visa’’ means a nonimmigrant visa 
issued pursuant to section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Im-
migration 
and 
Nationality 
Act 
(8 
U.S.C. 
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