H.R. 1603: Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021
Bill · 117th Congress (2021–2022). Passed House, 18 Mar 2021. Introduced 8 Mar 2021.
Official title: To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for terms and conditions for nonimmigrant workers performing agricultural labor or services, and for other purposes.
Vote results
- House, 18 Mar 2021: Passed, 247 Yea, 174 Nay, 0 Present, 8 Not voting. The House’s roll call
- President: Not presented to the President.
How each member voted
House
Yea (247): Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ-4); Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD-5); Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9); Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR-4); Fred Upton (R-MI-6); Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-6); Richard E. Neal (D-MA-1); David E. Price (D-NC-4); Jim Cooper (D-TN-5); Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT-3); Maxine Waters (D-CA-43); Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10); Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA-2); James E. Clyburn (D-SC-6); Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA-18); Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX-30); Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY-12); Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA-40); Bobby L. Rush (D-IL-1); Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA-3); Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY-7); Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS-2); Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-35); Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18); Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19); Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3); Danny K. Davis (D-IL-7); Diana DeGette (D-CO-1); Ron Kind (D-WI-3); James P. McGovern (D-MA-2); Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-9); Brad Sherman (D-CA-30); Adam Smith (D-WA-9); Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY-5); Barbara Lee (D-CA-13); John B. Larson (D-CT-1); Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA-32); Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL-9); Michael K. Simpson (R-ID-2); Mike Thompson (D-CA-5); James R. Langevin (D-RI-2); Rick Larsen (D-WA-2); Betty McCollum (D-MN-4); Adam B. Schiff (D-CA-28); Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA-8); Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL-25); Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ-3); C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD-2); Tim Ryan (D-OH-13); David Scott (D-GA-13); Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA-38); Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO-5); Jim Costa (D-CA-16); Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28); Al Green (D-TX-9); Brian Higgins (D-NY-26); Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5); Gwen Moore (D-WI-4); Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-23); Doris O. Matsui (D-CA-6); Albio Sires (D-NJ-8); Kathy Castor (D-FL-14); Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY-9); Steve Cohen (D-TN-9); Joe Courtney (D-CT-2); Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA-4); Jerry McNerney (D-CA-9); Ed Perlmutter (D-CO-7); John P. Sarbanes (D-MD-3); Peter Welch (D-VT-AL); John A. Yarmuth (D-KY-3); André Carson (D-IN-7); Jackie Speier (D-CA-14); Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA-11); James A. Himes (D-CT-4); Chellie Pingree (D-ME-1); Glenn Thompson (R-PA-15); Paul Tonko (D-NY-20); Kurt Schrader (D-OR-5); Mike Quigley (D-IL-5); Judy Chu (D-CA-27); John Garamendi (D-CA-3); Bill Foster (D-IL-11); Karen Bass (D-CA-37); David N. Cicilline (D-RI-1); Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA-3); William R. Keating (D-MA-9); Terri A. Sewell (D-AL-7); Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL-24); Dina Titus (D-NV-1); Kweisi Mfume (D-MD-7); Mark E. Amodei (R-NV-2); Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1); Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA-1); Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-NJ-10); Joyce Beatty (D-OH-3); Ami Bera (D-CA-7); Julia Brownley (D-CA-26); Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17); Matt Cartwright (D-PA-8); Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20); Tony Cárdenas (D-CA-29); Rodney Davis (R-IL-13); Lois Frankel (D-FL-21); Jared Huffman (D-CA-2); Hakeem S. Jeffries (D-NY-8); David P. Joyce (R-OH-14); Daniel T. Kildee (D-MI-5); Derek Kilmer (D-WA-6); Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ-2); Ann M. Kuster (D-NH-2); Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-1); Alan S. Lowenthal (D-CA-47); Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY-18); Grace Meng (D-NY-6); Scott H. Peters (D-CA-52); Mark Pocan (D-WI-2); Raul Ruiz (D-CA-36); Eric Swalwell (D-CA-15); Mark Takano (D-CA-41); Juan Vargas (D-CA-51); Marc A. Veasey (D-TX-33); Robin L. Kelly (D-IL-2); Katherine M. Clark (D-MA-5); Alma S. Adams (D-NC-12); Donald Norcross (D-NJ-1); Pete Aguilar (D-CA-31); Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA-8); Mike Bost (R-IL-12); Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA-2); Ed Case (D-HI-1); Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-11); Debbie Dingell (D-MI-12); Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-7); John Katko (R-NY-24); Brenda L. Lawrence (D-MI-14); Ted Lieu (D-CA-33); Seth Moulton (D-MA-6); Dan Newhouse (R-WA-4); Kathleen M. Rice (D-NY-4); Elise M. Stefanik (R-NY-21); Norma J. Torres (D-CA-35); Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12); Bradley Scott Schneider (D-IL-10); David G. Valadao (R-CA-21); Dwight Evans (D-PA-3); Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44); Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE-AL); Anthony G. Brown (D-MD-4); Salud O. Carbajal (D-CA-24); J. Luis Correa (D-CA-46); Val Butler Demings (D-FL-10); Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13); Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1); Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX-15); Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5); Steven Horsford (D-NV-4); Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7); Ro Khanna (D-CA-17); Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8); Al Lawson, Jr. (D-FL-5); Stephanie N. Murphy (D-FL-7); Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ-1); Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-20); Jamie Raskin (D-MD-8); Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11); Darren Soto (D-FL-9); Thomas R. Suozzi (D-NY-3); Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34); Conor Lamb (D-PA-17); Joseph D. Morelle (D-NY-25); Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-5); Susan Wild (D-PA-7); Colin Z. Allred (D-TX-32); Cynthia Axne (D-IA-3); James R. Baird (R-IN-4); Sean Casten (D-IL-6); Angie Craig (D-MN-2); Jason Crow (D-CO-6); Sharice Davids (D-KS-3); Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4); Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16); Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX-7); Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX-29); Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL-4); Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH-16); Josh Harder (D-CA-10); Jahana Hayes (D-CT-5); Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6); Andy Kim (D-NJ-3); Susie Lee (D-NV-3); Andy Levin (D-MI-9); Mike Levin (D-CA-49); Elaine G. Luria (D-VA-2); Tom Malinowski (D-NJ-7); Lucy McBath (D-GA-6); Joe Neguse (D-CO-2); Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14); Ilhan Omar (D-MN-5); Chris Pappas (D-NH-1); Dean Phillips (D-MN-3); Katie Porter (D-CA-45); Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7); Kim Schrier (D-WA-8); Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ-11); Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-8); Abigail Davis Spanberger (D-VA-7); Greg Stanton (D-AZ-9); Haley M. Stevens (D-MI-11); Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13); Lori Trahan (D-MA-3); David J. Trone (D-MD-6); Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14); Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ-2); Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10); Claudia Tenney (R-NY-22); Chris Jacobs (R-NY-27); Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-4); Cliff Bentz (R-OR-2); Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-GA-7); Jamaal Bowman (D-NY-16); Cori Bush (D-MO-1); Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY-2); Carlos A. Gimenez (R-FL-26); Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53); Mondaire Jones (D-NY-17); Kaiali’i Kahele (D-HI-2); Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM-3); Kathy E. Manning (D-NC-6); Peter Meijer (R-MI-3); Frank J. Mrvan (D-IN-1); Marie Newman (D-IL-3); Deborah K. Ross (D-NC-2); Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27); Marilyn Strickland (D-WA-10); Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15); Nikema Williams (D-GA-5); Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL-20); Michael F. Doyle (D-PA-18); Devin Nunes (R-CA-22); G. K. Butterfield (D-NC-1); Theodore E. Deutch (D-FL-22); Tom Reed (R-NY-23); Filemon Vela (D-TX-34); A. Donald McEachin (D-VA-4); Charlie Crist (D-FL-13); Antonio Delgado (D-NY-19).
Nay (174): Harold Rogers (R-KY-5); Ken Calvert (R-CA-42); Frank D. Lucas (R-OK-3); Steve Chabot (R-OH-1); Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL-4); Kay Granger (R-TX-12); Pete Sessions (R-TX-17); Sam Graves (R-MO-6); Michael C. Burgess (R-TX-26); John R. Carter (R-TX-31); Tom Cole (R-OK-4); Mike Rogers (R-AL-3); Michael R. Turner (R-OH-10); Darrell Issa (R-CA-50); Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5); Michael T. McCaul (R-TX-10); Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL-12); Vern Buchanan (R-FL-16); Jim Jordan (R-OH-4); Doug Lamborn (R-CO-5); Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23); Adrian Smith (R-NE-3); Robert E. Latta (R-OH-5); Robert J. Wittman (R-VA-1); Steve Scalise (R-LA-1); Tim Walberg (R-MI-7); Brett Guthrie (R-KY-2); Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO-3); Tom McClintock (R-CA-4); Bill Posey (R-FL-8); Mo Brooks (R-AL-5); Larry Bucshon (R-IN-8); Eric A. "Rick" Crawford (R-AR-1); Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-4); Jeff Duncan (R-SC-3); Charles J. "Chuck" Fleischmann (R-TN-3); Bob Gibbs (R-OH-7); Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ-4); H. Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9); Andy Harris (R-MD-1); Vicky Hartzler (R-MO-4); Bill Huizenga (R-MI-2); Bill Johnson (R-OH-6); Mike Kelly (R-PA-16); Billy Long (R-MO-7); David B. McKinley (R-WV-1); Steven M. Palazzo (R-MS-4); David Schweikert (R-AZ-6); Austin Scott (R-GA-8); Daniel Webster (R-FL-11); Steve Womack (R-AR-3); Thomas Massie (R-KY-4); Andy Barr (R-KY-6); Richard Hudson (R-NC-8); Markwayne Mullin (R-OK-2); Scott Perry (R-PA-10); Tom Rice (R-SC-7); Chris Stewart (R-UT-2); Ann Wagner (R-MO-2); Randy K. Weber, Sr. (R-TX-14); Brad R. Wenstrup (R-OH-2); Roger Williams (R-TX-25); Jason Smith (R-MO-8); Rick W. Allen (R-GA-12); Brian Babin (R-TX-36); Ken Buck (R-CO-4); Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-GA-1); Tom Emmer (R-MN-6); Garret Graves (R-LA-6); Glenn Grothman (R-WI-6); Jody B. Hice (R-GA-10); J. French Hill (R-AR-2); Barry Loudermilk (R-GA-11); John R. Moolenaar (R-MI-4); Alexander X. Mooney (R-WV-2); Gary J. Palmer (R-AL-6); David Rouzer (R-NC-7); Bruce Westerman (R-AR-4); Lee M. Zeldin (R-NY-1); Trent Kelly (R-MS-1); Darin LaHood (R-IL-18); Warren Davidson (R-OH-8); James Comer (R-KY-1); Jodey C. Arrington (R-TX-19); Don Bacon (R-NE-2); Jim Banks (R-IN-3); Jack Bergman (R-MI-1); Andy Biggs (R-AZ-5); Ted Budd (R-NC-13); Liz Cheney (R-WY-AL); Neal P. Dunn (R-FL-2); A. Drew Ferguson IV (R-GA-3); Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8); Clay Higgins (R-LA-3); Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN-9); Mike Johnson (R-LA-4); David Kustoff (R-TN-8); Brian J. Mast (R-FL-18); John H. Rutherford (R-FL-4); Ron Estes (R-KS-4); Ralph Norman (R-SC-5); John R. Curtis (R-UT-3); Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-8); Michael Cloud (R-TX-27); Troy Balderson (R-OH-12); Kevin Hern (R-OK-1); Kelly Armstrong (R-ND-AL); Tim Burchett (R-TN-2); Ben Cline (R-VA-6); Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-2); Russ Fulcher (R-ID-1); Jared F. Golden (D-ME-2); Lance Gooden (R-TX-5); Mark E. Green (R-TN-7); Michael Guest (R-MS-3); Dusty Johnson (R-SD-AL); John Joyce (R-PA-13); Daniel Meuser (R-PA-9); Carol D. Miller (R-WV-3); Greg Pence (R-IN-6); Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA-14); John W. Rose (R-TN-6); Chip Roy (R-TX-21); Pete Stauber (R-MN-8); Bryan Steil (R-WI-1); W. Gregory Steube (R-FL-17); Van Taylor (R-TX-3); William R. Timmons IV (R-SC-4); Michael Waltz (R-FL-6); Fred Keller (R-PA-12); Dan Bishop (R-NC-9); Gregory F. Murphy (R-NC-3); Mike Garcia (R-CA-25); Thomas P. Tiffany (R-WI-7); Stephanie I. Bice (R-OK-5); Lauren Boebert (R-CO-3); Kat Cammack (R-FL-3); Jerry L. Carl (R-AL-1); Madison Cawthorn (R-NC-11); Andrew S. Clyde (R-GA-9); Byron Donalds (R-FL-19); Pat Fallon (R-TX-4); Randy Feenstra (R-IA-4); Michelle Fischbach (R-MN-7); Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI-5); Scott Franklin (R-FL-15); Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23); Bob Good (R-VA-5); Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14); Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-1); Yvette Herrell (R-NM-2); Ashley Hinson (R-IA-1); Ronny Jackson (R-TX-13); Young Kim (R-CA-39); Jake LaTurner (R-KS-2); Nancy Mace (R-SC-1); Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY-11); Tracey Mann (R-KS-1); Lisa C. McClain (R-MI-10); Mary E. Miller (R-IL-15); Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-2); Barry Moore (R-AL-2); Blake D. Moore (R-UT-1); Troy E. Nehls (R-TX-22); Jay Obernolte (R-CA-8); Burgess Owens (R-UT-4); August Pfluger (R-TX-11); Matthew M. Rosendale, Sr. (R-MT-AL); Victoria Spartz (R-IN-5); Michelle Steel (R-CA-48); Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24); Steve Stivers (R-OH-15); Jackie Walorski (R-IN-2); Jim Hagedorn (R-MN-1).
Not voting (8): Kevin Brady (R-TX-8); Joe Wilson (R-SC-2); Louie Gohmert (R-TX-1); Patrick T. McHenry (R-NC-10); Adam Kinzinger (R-IL-16); Matt Gaetz (R-FL-1); Don Young (R-AK-AL); Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE-1).
Speaker, not listed (1): Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12).
Not in office (19): Julia Letlow (R-LA-5); Troy A. Carter (D-LA-2); Melanie A. Stansbury (D-NM-1); Jake Ellzey (R-TX-6); Shontel M. Brown (D-OH-11); Mike Carey (R-OH-15); Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20); Connie Conway (R-CA-22); Mayra Flores (R-TX-34); Mike Flood (R-NE-1); Brad Finstad (R-MN-1); Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK-AL); Patrick Ryan (D-NY-19); Joseph Sempolinski (R-NY-23); Rudy Yakym III (R-IN-2); Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH-11); Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA-2); Debra A. Haaland (D-NM-1); Ron Wright (R-TX-6).
Summary
Main subject: Creates temporary and permanent residence status for certain agricultural workers, rewrites the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program, funds rural and farmworker housing programs, and requires agricultural employers to use an electronic employment verification system. Title I, Title II, Title III
Its core areas: Certified agricultural worker status and adjustment to permanent residence; H-2A temporary agricultural worker program requirements and wages; Foreign labor recruiter registration and enforcement; Rural rental and farmworker housing programs; Electronic employment eligibility verification for agricultural employment.
Unexpected Items: 8 provisions
These provisions fall outside the bill’s main subject or apply narrowly. This describes the text; it is not a judgment.
Not related to the bill’s main subject (1)
- Sec. 308: Modernizing and streamlining the employment eligibility verification process: Requires a plan to Congress within 12 months to modernize and streamline the employment eligibility verification process, including a proposal to end Form I-9 completion for employers that use the electronic system.
Different amount for specific places or groups (2)
- Sec. 202: H–2A program requirements: Rewrites the H-2A program rules. Within the visa allocation for non-seasonal H-2A jobs, it reserves 50 percent of visas each half-year for dairy industry employers, and separately allows up to 500 visas for range sheep or goat herding outside the general cap.
- Sec. 230: Operating assistance subsidies: Adds a separate operating-assistance rule for projects housing domestic farm labor: assistance is capped at 50 percent of operating costs, and owners qualify only if the Secretary certifies the project was unoccupied or underutilized beforehand.
Exception or delay for a subset (5)
- Sec. 128: Correction of social security records; conforming amendments: Amends the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code so that aliens granted certified agricultural worker or dependent status are excluded from the definition of employment in those provisions, and adds a related exception to a Social Security Act provision on account number conduct.
- Sec. 302: Mandatory electronic verification for the agricultural industry: Sets different start dates for mandatory electronic verification in agricultural hiring by employer size: 6, 9, 12 or 15 months after the application period, and lets the Secretary delay some dates up to 180 days.
- Sec. 132: Exemption from numerical limitations: Exempts people who adjust to lawful permanent resident status under this title from the numerical limits in title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and they are not counted toward those limits.
- Sec. 206: Portable H–2A visa pilot program: Sets up a 6-year pilot program in which registered agricultural employers may employ portable H-2A workers without filing a petition, notwithstanding section 218 requirements, with no more than 10,000 workers holding the status at one time.
- Sec. 207: Improving access to permanent residence: Raises the worldwide employment-based visa level from 140,000 to 180,000, reserves visas for agricultural workers and for H-2A workers with 10 years of employment, and exempts those reserved visas from the per-country limit.
What it does
- Sec. 101: Allows the Secretary of Homeland Security to grant certified agricultural worker status to an eligible alien who performed at least 1,035 hours (or 180 work days) of agricultural labor or services in the 2-year period before the date of the Act's introduction.
- Sec. 111: Allows the Secretary to adjust a certified agricultural worker to lawful permanent resident status after a required number of years of agricultural work, and requires the principal alien to pay a $1,000 penalty fee.
- Sec. 201: Requires the establishment, within 12 months, of an electronic platform through which H-2A petitions are filed and reviewed by the Departments of Homeland Security and Labor and State workforce agencies.
- Sec. 202: Replaces section 218 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, requiring H-2A employers to offer wages at least the greatest of the collective bargaining wage, the adverse effect wage rate, the prevailing wage, or the Federal or State minimum wage.
- Sec. 202: Allows approval of H-2A petitions for agricultural work that is not temporary or seasonal, limited to 20,000 aliens in each of the first 3 fiscal years, with half of the visas in each half-year reserved for the dairy industry.
- Sec. 206: Requires a 6-year pilot program for portable H-2A status, limited to 10,000 holders at one time, under which a worker has 60 days after leaving a job to secure new employment with a registered agricultural employer.
- Sec. 221: Adds a program to the Housing Act of 1949 for preserving and revitalizing rural multifamily rental housing projects, and authorizes $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
- Sec. 251: Requires the Secretary of Labor to establish electronic registration of foreign labor recruiters who recruit H-2A workers, including a sworn declaration, a bond, and an attestation that no recruitment fees will be charged to workers.
- Sec. 301: Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish an electronic system, patterned on the E-Verify Program, for verifying the identity and employment authorization of individuals.
- Sec. 302: Requires persons and entities hiring for agricultural employment to use the electronic verification system, starting 6 months after the application period for employers with 500 or more employees and later for smaller employers.
Written automatically from the official text by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model. Written 15 Oct 2026 and published after the automatic checks, without a person reading it first. Every line names the section it came from.