I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3319 
To streamline the application process for H–2A employers and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 18, 2019 
Mr. KELLY of Mississippi introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To streamline the application process for H–2A employers 
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 ‘‘Paperwork Reduction 
for Farmers and H–2A Modernization Act’’. 
SEC. 2. H–2A PROGRAM UPDATES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a)(15)(H) of the Im-
migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)) 
is amended— 
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(1) by striking ‘‘an alien (i)(b) subject to’’ and 
inserting the following: ‘‘an alien— 
‘‘(i)(b) subject to’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘or (ii)(a)’’ and all that follows 
through ‘‘seasonal nature,’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(ii)(a) who has a residence in a foreign 
country that the alien has no intention of aban-
doning and is coming temporarily to the United 
States to perform agricultural labor or services 
(as defined by the Secretary of Labor, by regu-
lation), of a temporary or seasonal nature, in-
cluding agricultural labor (as defined in section 
3121(g) of the Internal Revenue Act of 1986), 
agriculture (as defined in section 3(f) of the 
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
203(f))), the pressing of apples for cider on a 
farm, fish cutting and trimming, including 
labor or services relating to landscaping and 
groundskeeping, forestry- and conservation-re-
lated services, services relating primarily to the 
cultivation, installation, and establishment of 
horticultural commodities (without regard to 
commodity source or location), labor as a year- 
round equine worker, labor as a year-round live-
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stock worker (including as a dairy, cattle, or 
poultry worker), labor in aquaculture, and the 
processing of wild seafood, and all other labor 
that falls within Standard Occupational Classi-
fication Code 37–3000 (Grounds Maintenance 
Workers), 45–0000 (Farming, Fishing, and 
Forestry Occupations), or 45–4000 (Forest, 
Conservation, and Logging Workers);’’; and 
(3) by striking ‘‘(iii) having a residence in a 
foreign country which he has no intention of aban-
doning who’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(iii) who has a residence in a foreign 
country that the alien has no intention of aban-
doning and’’. 
(b) JOINT APPLICATION; DEFICIENCY REMEDY.— 
Section 214(c)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(1)) is amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(1)’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(B) Multiple employers may submit a joint petition 
under subparagraph (A) to import aliens as non-
immigrants described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a). 
Upon the approval of such petition, each joint employer 
shall be subject to the provisions under section 218 with 
respect to each alien listed in such petition. If any indi-
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vidual party to such a joint contract violates any condition 
for approval with respect to the application or provisions 
under section 218 with respect to each alien listed in such 
petition, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, the 
contract may be modified to remove the party in violation 
from the contract at no penalty to the remaining parties. 
‘‘(C) If a petition to import aliens as nonimmigrants 
described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) is denied or if 
the issuance of visas requested through such petition is 
delayed due to a problem with the petition, the Director 
of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shall 
promptly notify the petitioner of the reasons for such de-
nial or delay and provide the petitioner with reasonable 
time to remedy the problem.’’. 
(c) LABOR CERTIFICATION; STAGGERED EMPLOY-
MENT DATES.—Section 218(h) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(h)), as amended by sec-
tion 3(b), is further amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(4) An employer that is seeking to rehire aliens as 
H–2A workers who previously worked for the employer as 
H–2A workers may submit a simplified petition, to be de-
veloped by the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigra-
tion Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, 
which shall include a certification that the employer main-
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tains compliance with all applicable requirements with re-
spect to the employment of such aliens. Such petitions 
shall be approved upon completion of applicable security 
screenings. 
‘‘(5) An employer that is seeking to hire aliens as 
H–2A workers during different time periods in a given fis-
cal year may submit a single petition to U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration Services that details the time period dur-
ing which each such alien is expected to be employed. 
‘‘(6) Upon receiving notification from an employer 
that the employer’s H–2A worker has prematurely aban-
doned employment or has failed to appear for employment 
and such employer wishes to replace such worker— 
‘‘(A) the Secretary of State shall promptly issue 
a visa under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) to an eligi-
ble alien designated by the employer to replace that 
worker; and 
‘‘(B) the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
promptly admit such alien into the United States 
upon completion of applicable security screenings.’’. 
SEC. 3. ELECTRONIC FILING AND APPEALS SYSTEM FOR H– 
2A PETITIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor 
shall establish a process for filing petitions for non-
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immigrant visas under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the 
Immigration 
and 
Nationality 
Act 
(8 
U.S.C. 
1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)) that ensures that— 
(1) petitioners may file such petitions through 
the Department of Labor’s website; 
(2) any software developed to process such peti-
tions indicates to the petitioner any technical defi-
ciency in the application before submission; and 
(3) any petitioner may file such petition in a 
paper format if such petitioner prefers such format. 
(b) REQUEST FOR EVIDENCE.—Section 218(h) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(h)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) If U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 
issues a Request for Evidence to an employer— 
‘‘(A) the employer may request such Request 
for Evidence to be delivered in an online format; and 
‘‘(B) if the employer makes the request de-
scribed in subparagraph (A)— 
‘‘(i) the Request for Evidence shall be pro-
vided to the employer in an online format; and 
‘‘(ii) not later than 10 business days after 
the employer submits the requested evidence 
online, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Serv-
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