To reform the H–2A program for nonimmigrant agricultural workers, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
Reforms the H-2A agricultural worker program by shifting oversight to the Department of Agriculture, broadening covered agricultural work, accelerating application review, and limiting certain wage and status rules.
Who Benefits and How
Agricultural employers could face faster approvals, broader H-2A job coverage, a wage cap tied to minimum wages, and more flexibility in structuring job requirements.
Who Bears the Burden and How
USDA and DHS would have to administer the revised program, while H-2A workers could face tighter wage protections and revised status rules.
Key Provisions
- Transfers core H-2A certification responsibilities from Labor to Agriculture.
- Broadens the covered agricultural work definition to include more post-harvest activities and imposes a 15-day deemed-approval rule.
- Caps required wage rates at 115 percent of the highest applicable minimum wage and revises status-duration and other application rules.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Reforms the H-2A agricultural worker program by shifting oversight to the Department of Agriculture, broadening covered agricultural work, accelerating application review, and limiting certain wage and status rules.
Key Policy Areas
Agriculture, Immigration, Labor, Government Operations
Primary Purpose
Reforms the H-2A agricultural worker program by shifting oversight to the Department of Agriculture, broadening covered agricultural work, accelerating application review, and limiting certain wage and status rules.
Policy Domains
Main Provisions
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Agricultural employers using the H-2A program
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- USDA and DHS administrators implementing the revised program
- H-2A workers affected by revised wage and status rules
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Allen introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Agricultural employers using the H-2A program
USDA and DHS administrators implementing the revised H-2A rules
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology