PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jun 18, 2019
Paperwork Reduction for Farmers and H-2A Modernization Act
This bill expands the H-2A (temporary agricultural worker) visa program to cover additional types of labor, makes various changes to the program, and provides a safe harbor for errors in nonimmigrant worker visa applications in certain instances.
The bill makes H-2A visas available to an alien providing temporary labor that falls within the federal government classification categories for (1) grounds maintenance workers; (2) farming, fishing, and forestry occupations; or (3) forest, conservation, and logging workers.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The bill authorizes joint employers to file a joint petition for an H-2A alien.
The bill allows (1) employers seeking to rehire an H-2A worker to submit a simplified petition, and (2) employers seeking to hire H-2A workers for different time periods during a fiscal year to submit a single petition for such workers.
The Department of Labor shall establish an electronic filing and appeals system for H-2A petitions. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shall communicate electronically with an H-2A employer when USCIS requests evidence from the employer, if the employer asks to do so.
An employer who uses a third-party service to apply for a nonimmigrant worker visa shall not be civilly or criminally liable for errors in the application if the employer reasonably believed that the application was accurate and complied with statutory requirements.
People & committees
Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY] · R–KY
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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