Sponsors (10)
Official title: To protect United States workers by creating annual restrictions on the H-2A temporary worker program.
Introduced February 12, 2026 by Pramila Jayapal · Last progress February 12, 2026
The bill limits H-2A visas and protects access for workers covered by certified bargaining representatives (with a clear NLRA-based standard), but is largely declaratory and risks reducing opportunities for non‑union immigrant farmworkers while raising costs and administrative burdens for employers.
Unionized or contract-covered agricultural workers keep eligibility for H-2A jobs because certified bargaining representatives are exempted from the 400,000 cap and the bill sets an NLRA-based standard for who qualifies.
Employers and domestic workers may face pressure to hire more U.S. workers because the bill caps H-2A visas at 400,000 per year, which could reduce reliance on temporary foreign labor.
The bill brings clearer congressional attention and raises awareness about rapid growth in the H-2A program and potential wage/working-condition risks for U.S. farmworkers, which could prompt future oversight or policy fixes.
Farm employers may face labor shortages or higher labor costs if H-2A certifications are constrained by a 400,000 cap, which can raise consumer prices or reduce farm output.
Immigrant farmworkers who lack qualifying certified bargaining representatives risk losing access to H-2A jobs if petitions are denied under the cap, reducing work opportunities for non-union migrant workers.
The LM-2/LM-3/LM-4 filing and collective-bargaining-agreement requirements may exclude informal or newly formed worker organizations, limiting which represented workers qualify for the exemption.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Imposes a 400,000 annual cap on H‑2A labor certifications and excludes positions covered by qualifying bargaining representatives, while defining that term by NLRA standards and LM filing/CBA requirements.
Imposes a nationwide cap of 400,000 H‑2A temporary agricultural labor certifications per fiscal year and excludes from that cap positions that will be filled by workers represented by a certified bargaining representative. It also adds a statutory definition of “bargaining representative,” tying that term to the NLRA concept of a labor organization and requiring public LM filings and a collective bargaining agreement covering agricultural employees.