Sponsors
This bill creates a temporary legal work pathway and enforcement waivers that give experienced noncitizen farmworkers legal status and farms reliable labor, but it imposes substantial fees on workers and employers, offers only time-limited relief rather than permanent residency, and may provoke enforcement-related objections.
Noncitizen farmworkers with at least two years of qualifying U.S. agricultural work can obtain temporary H-2A/H-2 status to work legally in the U.S. for up to three years (renewable), reducing undocumented employment risk and enabling lawful earnings.
U.S. agricultural employers gain access to experienced, legal labor during the covered three-year period, helping reduce farm labor shortages and stabilize production for farms and related rural businesses.
Eligible workers receive legal protections—waivers of certain inadmissibility/removability grounds and immunity for past unlawful entry/employment—lowering immediate risk of detention or deportation for those who apply and are approved.
Each covered worker must pay a substantial fee (at least $2,500), imposing a heavy upfront cost on low-income agricultural workers that could limit take-up or strain household finances.
Employers must pay a matching fee (at least $2,500), increasing labor costs for farms—particularly small operations—which may reduce hiring, raise consumer prices, or squeeze farm margins.
The program is temporary (three-year covered period), limiting long-term stability and failing to create permanent immigration pathways for workers and employers who rely on ongoing labor continuity.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a 3-year temporary H-2 agricultural admission path for certain noncitizens with 2+ years of U.S. farm work, waives specified immigration bars, requires fees, and grants limited immunity for past conduct.
Introduced July 23, 2025 by Derrick Van Orden · Last progress July 23, 2025
Creates a temporary 3-year pathway for certain noncitizens who performed agricultural labor in the U.S. to obtain an H-2 (agricultural worker) admission. Eligible individuals must have done at least two years of qualifying farm work between Jan 1, 2021 and their departure/removal, must wait at least 30 days after departure/removal to apply, and must not have unlawfully received federal, state, or local public benefits as defined in law. The measure waives specified inadmissibility and removability grounds for qualifying applicants, provides limited immunity from certain past criminal and employment penalties tied to unauthorized entry or hiring, limits each admission to up to three years (renewable), and requires both the worker and the employer to pay a fee of not less than $2,500 set by the Secretary of Labor.