I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 641 
To reform the H–2A program for nonimmigrant agricultural workers, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 24, 2017 
Mr. ALLEN (for himself, Mr. BOST, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Mr. CRAMER, 
Mr. MESSER, and Mr. RICE of South Carolina) 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. 
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— 
(1) the ‘‘Better Agriculture Resources Now 
Act’’; or 
(2) the ‘‘BARN Act’’. 
SEC. 2. H–2A PROGRAM REFORMS. 
(a) DEFINITION OF AGRICULTURAL LABOR OR SERV-
ICES.—Section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration 
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and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)) is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Labor’’ and in-
serting ‘‘Secretary of Agriculture’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘and the pressing’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘the pressing’’; and 
(3) by striking ‘‘of a temporary’’ and all that 
follows through the end and inserting ‘‘, and the 
handling, planting, drying, packing, packaging, proc-
essing, freezing, grading, storing, or delivering to 
storage or to market or to a carrier for transpor-
tation to market, in its unmanufactured state, any 
agricultural or horticultural commodity, or’’. 
(b) ADMINISTERING OFFICIAL.—Section 218 of such 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1188) is amended by striking ‘‘Secretary 
of Labor’’ each place such term appears and inserting 
‘‘Secretary of Agriculture’’. 
(c) DEEMED APPROVAL.—Section 218(c)(3)(A) of 
such Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(c)(3)(A)) is amended by insert-
ing before ‘‘In considering’’ the following: ‘‘The Secretary 
of Agriculture shall review such application and shall pro-
vide a determination on the application within 15 days of 
the date of the filing of the application. If the Secretary 
does not comply with the deadline in the preceding sen-
tence, the application shall be deemed approved.’’. 
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the Secretary of Homeland Security for a period of up 
to 1 year, except that such extension may be granted only 
if the Secretary of Agriculture determines that the em-
ployer has engaged in the positive recruitment efforts de-
scribed in subsection (b)(4) (including the obligation to 
circulate the employer’s job offer through the interstate 
employment service system). In the case of a non-
immigrant who has remained in the United States for the 
full 2-year period, the nonimmigrant shall be obliged to 
depart the United States and shall not be eligible to re- 
apply for a visa to re-enter the United States as such a 
nonimmigrant for a period of 2 months. If at any time 
during a period of authorized admission the alien has a 
work lapse period of 60 days or more, the visa of the alien 
shall be deemed revoked and the alien shall be required 
to depart from the United States, except that if an em-
ployer has applied for a certification under subsection 
(a)(1) with respect to an alien who has a work lapse of 
60 days or less, such period shall not begin until after 
the Secretary has made a determination on the application 
consistent with subsection (c).’’. 
(i) HOUSING.—Section 218(c)(4) of such Act (8 
U.S.C. 1188(c)(4)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(4) HOUSING REQUIREMENT.— 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Except as provided 
under subparagraph (F), each employer apply-
ing for workers under subsection (b) shall offer 
to provide housing at no cost to— 
‘‘(i) all workers in job opportunities 
for which the employer has applied; and 
‘‘(ii) all other workers in the same oc-
cupation at the same place of employment 
whose place of residence is beyond normal 
commuting distance. 
‘‘(B) COMPLIANCE.—An employer meets 
the requirement under subparagraph (A) if the 
employer— 
‘‘(i) provides the workers with housing 
that meets applicable Federal standards 
for temporary labor camps; or 
‘‘(ii) secures housing for the workers 
that— 
‘‘(I) meets applicable local stand-
ards for rental or public accommoda-
tion housing, or other substantially 
similar class of habitation; or 
‘‘(II) in the absence of applicable 
local standards, meets State stand-
ards for rental or public accommoda-
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tion housing or other substantially 
similar class of habitation. 
‘‘(C) INSPECTION.— 
‘‘(i) REQUEST.—At the time an em-
ployer that plans to provide housing de-
scribed in subparagraph (B) to H–2A 
workers files an application for H–2A 
workers with the Secretary of Agriculture, 
the employer shall request a certificate of 
inspection by an approved Federal or State 
agency. 
‘‘(ii) INSPECTION; FOLLOWUP.—Not 
later than 28 days after the receipt of a re-
quest under clause (i), the Secretary of Ag-
riculture shall ensure that— 
‘‘(I) such an inspection has been 
conducted; and 
‘‘(II) any necessary followup has 
been scheduled to ensure compliance 
with the requirements under this 
paragraph. 
‘‘(iii) DELAY PROHIBITED.—The Sec-
retary of Agriculture may not delay the ap-
proval of an application for failing to com-
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ply with the deadlines set forth in clause 
(ii). 
‘‘(D) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary of Ag-
riculture shall issue regulations that address 
the specific requirements for the provision of 
housing to workers engaged in the range pro-
duction of livestock. 
‘‘(E) HOUSING ALLOWANCE.— 
‘‘(i) AUTHORITY.—If the Governor of 
a State certifies to the Secretary of Agri-
culture that there is adequate housing 
available in the area of intended employ-
ment for migrant farm workers and H–2A 
workers who are seeking temporary hous-
ing while employed in agricultural work, an 
employer in such State may provide a rea-
sonable housing allowance instead of offer-
ing housing pursuant to subparagraph (A). 
An employer who provides a housing allow-
ance to a worker shall not be required to 
reserve housing accommodations for the 
worker. 
‘‘(ii) ASSISTANCE IN LOCATING HOUS-
ING.—Upon the request of a worker seek-
ing assistance in locating housing, an em-
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ployer providing a housing allowance under 
clause (i) shall make a good faith effort to 
assist the worker in identifying and locat-
ing housing in the area of intended em-
ployment. 
‘‘(iii) LIMITATION.—A housing allow-
ance may not be used for housing that is 
owned or controlled by the employer. An 
employer who offers a housing allowance to 
a worker, or assists a worker in locating 
housing which the worker occupies under 
this subparagraph shall not be deemed a 
housing provider under section 203 of the 
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker 
Protect Act (29 U.S.C. 1823) solely by vir-
tue of providing such housing allowance. 
‘‘(iv) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(I) NONMETROPOLITAN
COUN-
TY.—If the place of employment of 
the workers provided an allowance 
under this subparagraph is a non-
metropolitan county, the amount of 
the housing allowance under this sub-
paragraph shall be equal to the state-
wide average fair market rental for 
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existing housing for nonmetropolitan 
counties for the State, as established 
by the Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development pursuant to sec-
tion 8(c) of the United States Hous-
ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(c)), 
based on a 2-bedroom dwelling unit 
and an assumption of 2 persons per 
bedroom. 
‘‘(II) METROPOLITAN COUNTY.— 
If the place of employment of the 
workers provided an allowance under 
this subparagraph is in a metropolitan 
county, the amount of the housing al-
lowance under this subparagraph shall 
be equal to the statewide average fair 
market rental for existing housing for 
metropolitan counties for the State, as 
established by the Secretary of Hous-
ing and Urban Development pursuant 
to section 8(c) of the United States 
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437f(c)), based on a 2-bedroom 
dwelling unit and an assumption of 2 
persons per bedroom. 
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‘‘(v) INFORMATION.—If the employer 
provides a housing allowance to H–2A em-
ployees, the employer shall provide a list of 
the names and local addresses of such 
workers to the Secretary of Agriculture 
and the Secretary of Homeland Security 
once per contract period.’’. 
(j) LEGAL ASSISTANCE FROM THE LEGAL SERVICES 
CORPORATION.—Section 218(h) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 
1188(h)), as amended by subsection (g), is further amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4)(A) The Legal Services Corporation may not pro-
vide legal assistance for, or on behalf of, any alien, and 
may not provide financial assistance to any person or enti-
ty that provides legal assistance for, or on behalf of, any 
alien, unless— 
‘‘(i) the alien is present in the United States at 
the time the legal assistance is provided; and 
‘‘(ii) the parties to the dispute have attempted, 
in good faith, mediation or other non-binding dis-
pute resolution of all issues involving all such par-
ties. 
‘‘(B) If an employer and a nonimmigrant having sta-
tus under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) have an arbitration 
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arrangement, the Legal Services Corporation shall respect 
the arbitration process and outcome. 
‘‘(C) No employer of a nonimmigrant having status 
under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) shall be required to 
permit any recipient of a grant or contract under section 
1007 of the Legal Services Corporation Act (42 U.S.C. 
2996f), or any employee of such a recipient, to enter upon 
the employer’s property, unless such recipient or employee 
has a pre-arranged appointment with a specific non-
immigrant having such status.’’. 
(k) EFFECT
OF VIOLATIONS WHILE
IN UNITED 
STATES.—Section 218(f) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(f)) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(f) EFFECT OF VIOLATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) OVERSTAYS.—An alien may not be admit-
ted to the United States as a nonimmigrant having 
status under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) if the alien 
was admitted to the United States as such a non-
immigrant within the previous 5-year period and the 
alien remained after the alien’s period of authorized 
admission expired or otherwise violated a term or 
condition of such previous admission. 
‘‘(2) FRAUD.—An alien may not be admitted to 
the United States as a nonimmigrant having status 
under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) if the alien was 
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admitted to the United States as such a non-
immigrant on the basis of fraud. 
‘‘(3) OTHER CRIMES.—An alien may not be ad-
mitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant hav-
ing status under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) if the 
alien was admitted to the United States as such a 
nonimmigrant and committed an offense that ren-
dered the alien deportable while in the United States 
pursuant to such admission. 
‘‘(4) EMPLOYER BAR.—The Secretary of Agri-
culture may not issue a certification under sub-
section (a) with respect to an employer if the Sec-
retary finds, after notice and an opportunity for a 
hearing, that the employer knowingly hired an H–2A 
worker whose period of authorized admission had ex-
pired or that the employer otherwise engaged in 
fraud or misrepresentation with respect to the pro-
gram for the admission of such workers into the 
United States. The Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall not thereafter approve petitions filed by such 
employer under section 214(c). An employer that es-
tablishes that it has complied in good faith with the 
requirements of this Act has established an affirma-
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tive defense in an action brought under this para-
graph.’’. 
Æ 
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