Bill Sponsor
Senate Bill 1578
115th Congress(2017-2018)
Paperwork Reduction for Farmers Act
Introduced
Introduced
Introduced in Senate on Jul 19, 2017
Overview
Text
Sponsor
Introduced
Jul 19, 2017
Latest Action
Jul 19, 2017
Origin Chamber
Senate
Type
Bill
Bill
The primary form of legislative measure used to propose law. Depending on the chamber of origin, bills begin with a designation of either H.R. or S. Joint resolution is another form of legislative measure used to propose law.
Bill Number
1578
Congress
115
Policy Area
Immigration
Immigration
Primary focus of measure is administration of immigration and naturalization matters; immigration enforcement procedures; refugees and asylum policies; travel and residence documentation; foreign labor; benefits for immigrants. Measures concerning smuggling and trafficking of persons may fall under Crime and Law Enforcement policy area. Measures concerning refugees may fall under International Affairs policy area.
Sponsorship by Party
Republican
Kentucky
Democrat
Montana
Senate Votes (0)
House Votes (0)
No Senate votes have been held for this bill.
Summary

Paperwork Reduction for Farmers Act

This bill directs the Department of Labor to establish a process for filing petitions for nonimmigrant temporary agricultural workers (H-2A visa) that ensures that: (1) petitions may be filed through Labor's website or in a paper format, and (2) any technical deficiency in the petition will be indicated to the petitioner before submission.

An employer that has received a request for evidence from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) may request that such evidence request be delivered in an online format. CIS, within 10 days of the employer's submission of evidence, shall: (1) provide an online response indicating whether the evidence is sufficient; and (2) if the evidence is insufficient, provide the employer with an opportunity to address the deficiencies.

The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended to include year-round equine or livestock workers (including dairy or poultry workers) within the H-2A visa category. The requirement that apple pressing be performed on a farm in order to qualify for H-2A status is eliminated.

The bill permits multiple employers to submit a joint petition to import nonimmigrant H-2A visa temporary agricultural workers. Upon approval of such petition, each joint employer shall be subject to the Act's H-2A provisions with respect to each alien listed in the petition.

An employer seeking to rehire H-2A workers who previously worked for the employer as H-2A workers at any time may submit a simplified petition, to be developed by CIS, which shall include a certification that the employer complies with all applicable employment requirements. Such petitions shall be approved upon completion of applicable security screenings.

An employer seeking to hire H-2A workers during different time periods in a given fiscal year may submit a single petition to CIS detailing each alien's employment period.

Text (1)
Actions (2)
07/19/2017
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
07/19/2017
Introduced in Senate
Public Record
Record Updated
Jan 11, 2023 1:37:05 PM