101 
of a temporary or seasonal nature,’’ and inserting ‘‘agri-
cultural labor or services of a temporary nature (as such 
term is defined in section 218)’’. 
(b) DEFINITION.—Section 218 is further amended in 
subsection (i) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) AGRICULTURAL LABOR OR SERVICES OF A 
TEMPORARY NATURE.—The term ‘agricultural labor 
or services of a temporary or seasonal nature’— 
‘‘(A) has the meaning given such term by 
the Secretary of Agriculture in regulations; 
‘‘(B) includes non-seasonal employment; 
and 
‘‘(C) includes— 
‘‘(i) agricultural labor as defined in 
section 3121(g) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986; 
‘‘(ii) agriculture as defined in section 
3(f) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(f)); 
‘‘(iii) all activities required for the 
preparation, processing or manufacturing 
of a product of agriculture (as such term 
is defined in such section 3(f)), or fish or 
shellfish, for further distribution; 
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102 
‘‘(iv) the handling, planting, drying, 
packing, packaging, processing, freezing, 
or grading prior to delivery for storage of 
any agricultural or horticultural com-
modity in its unmanufactured state, but 
only if the operator of the facility where 
such activities are conducted, if not the 
farmer, produced or provides such services 
to a farmer or other entity of which farm-
ers are the owners, partners or members 
who produced more than 50 percent of the 
commodity with respect to which such 
service is performed; 
‘‘(v) forestry-related activities up to 
the point of wholesale to a distribution fa-
cility; 
‘‘(vi) aquaculture activities up to the 
point of wholesale distribution; 
‘‘(vii) activities related to the breed-
ing, management, training, and racing of 
equines; 
‘‘(viii) the pressing of apples for cider 
on a farm; 
‘‘(ix) logging employment; and 
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103 
‘‘(x) the transportation of any agricul-
tural or horticultural product in its un-
manufactured state by any person from the 
farm to a storage facility, to market, or to 
any place of handling, planting, drying, 
packing, packaging, processing, freezing, 
or grading, including at a packing house, 
a processing establishment, a gin, a seed 
conditioning facility, a mill, or a grain ele-
vator.’’. 
SEC. 303. WAGE STRUCTURE AND OTHER AMENDMENTS TO 
H–2A PROGRAM. 
Section 218 is further amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(j) WAGE STRUCTURE.—An H–2A worker shall be 
paid at a rate equal to the highest of— 
‘‘(1) 115 percent of the Federal minimum 
wage; 
‘‘(2) the State minimum wage rate; or 
‘‘(3) the actual wage level paid by the employer 
to all other individuals with similar experience and 
qualifications for the specific employment in ques-
tion. 
‘‘(k) AREA OF INTENDED EMPLOYMENT; NO EXTEN-
SION OF PERIOD OF AUTHORIZED STAY.— 
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104 
‘‘(1) AREA OF INTENDED EMPLOYMENT.—The 
Secretary of Agriculture may consider an increased 
area of employment for an H–2A petition that is not 
larger than the State in which the employer will em-
ploy the worker for the purposes of providing hous-
ing. 
‘‘(2) NO EXTENSION OF PERIOD OF AUTHOR-
IZED STAY.—The period of authorized stay for an 
H–2A worker may not exceed 10 months, and no ex-
tensions of such period may be made. 
‘‘(l) 
APPLICATION
WITH
STAGGERED
START 
DATES.—In the case of any employer under this section 
who is applying for labor certifications for more than 1 
H–2A worker, that employer may file a single consolidated 
application, subject to such terms and conditions as the 
Secretary of Homeland Security may prescribe, for all 
such workers, and may specify multiple dates on which 
the employer first requires the labor or services of H–2A 
workers covered by the application. 
‘‘(m) EXPEDITED APPROVAL FOR CERTAIN WORK-
ERS.—The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish 
a process for expediting consideration of any petition for 
an H–2A worker who has previously been the subject of 
two consecutive petitions that were approved.’’. 
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105 
SEC. 304. BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION CARD. 
Section 218 is further amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(n) BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION CARD.—An H–2A 
worker shall be issued, upon being approved for status as 
an H–2A worker, an encrypted, machine-readable elec-
tronic identification card to be known as a ‘guestworker 
identification card’ which shall— 
‘‘(1) have an electronic identification strip to be 
used for all H–2A workers; 
‘‘(2) have a 15-digit numerical identification 
code that may be used for tax withholdings and for 
verifying an H–2A worker’s employment approval 
for agriculture specifically; 
‘‘(3) include a photograph on the front, and 
such other information as the Secretary determines 
necessary stored on a card containing micro-
processors for data storage including, fingerprints, 
retinal scans, DNA, blood type, and facial recogni-
tion; 
‘‘(4) be eligible for replacement not more than 
once in a 5-year period; 
‘‘(5) include the start and end date of the pe-
riod of approved stay of the H–2A worker and a 
statement that the H–2A worker is a seasonal work-
er; 
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106 
‘‘(6) have physical and electronic security fea-
tures to prevent fraudulent uses or any misuse as 
determined by the Secretary; and 
‘‘(7) have the H–2A worker’s program identi-
fication number clearly visible. 
‘‘(o) SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.—An H–2A work-
er may not be issued a social security account number. 
In any case where such number would be necessary, the 
guestworker identification number issued by the Secretary 
of Agriculture shall be used.’’. 
SEC. 305. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This title and the amendments made by this title 
shall take effect beginning on the date that is not more 
than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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