FAWA

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3516 To permit interview waivers for returning H–2A workers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 18, 2023 Ms. MACE (for herself, Ms. HOULAHAN, and Mr. ROSE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To permit interview waivers for returning H–2A workers, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Farmworker Access 4 and Waiver Act’’ or ‘‘FAWA’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that the H–2A program provides a 7 critical source of labor for American farmers, especially 8 during the busy planting and harvesting seasons. How- 9 ever, the administrative burdens associated with the H– 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3516.IH H3516 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3516 IH 2A program can be cumbersome and time consuming, 1 leading to delays in the arrival of essential workers. Con- 2 gress also finds that the interview waiver for returning H– 3 2A workers implemented during the COVID–19 pandemic 4 has proven successful in reducing administrative burdens 5 and allowing farmers to access the workers they need more 6 quickly. 7 SEC. 3. INTERVIEW WAIVER FOR RETURNING H–2A WORK- 8 ERS. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu- 10 rity shall waive the interview requirement under section 11 222(h)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 12 U.S.C. 1202(h)(1)) for returning H–2A workers who— 13 (1) were previously issued an H–2A visa and 14 seek to reenter the United States to resume employ- 15 ment with the same employer as the previous year; 16 and 17 (2) are not inadmissible. 18 (b) DURATION OF WAIVER.—The waiver described in 19 subsection (a) shall be valid for a period of up to 3 years 20 from the date of issuance. 21 (c) NOTICE.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 22 shall provide notice to H–2A workers and employers of 23 the availability of the waiver described in subsection (a), 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3516.IH H3516 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3516 IH including the eligibility requirements and application proc- 1 ess. 2 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 1 3 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 4 thereafter for 5 years, the Secretary of Homeland Security 5 shall submit a report to Congress annually, detailing the 6 number of waivers granted under this Act and any issues 7 that arose during the application process. 8 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall take effect 90 9 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 10 (f) SUNSET.—This Act shall cease to be in effect 6 11 years after the date of enactment of this Act, unless Con- 12 gress takes further action to extend it. 13 (g) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this Act, or 14 the application of such provision to any person or cir- 15 cumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder 16 of this Act, or the application of the provision to persons 17 or circumstances other than those as to which it is held 18 unconstitutional, shall not be affected thereby. 19 (h) H–2A VISA DEFINED.—For the purposes of this 20 Act, the term ‘‘H–2A visa’’ means a nonimmigrant visa 21 issued pursuant to section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Im- 22 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3516.IH H3516 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3516 IH 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a)) for temporary agricultural work- 1 ers. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3516.IH H3516 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS