Ag Guest Worker Act Details Explained
Ag Guest Worker Act Details Explained
BY: JIM DICKRELL
The new
Agricultural Guest Worker Act, introduced this week, would create a guest worker program that would allow up to an additional 500,000 non-residents to work year round on American farms and ranchers.
Commonly referred to as the AG Act, the legislation was introduced to the House of Representatives by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R., Va.). There was hope of passage out of the 43-member House Judiciary Committee Tuesday. The vote was pulled back, however, when Goodlatte, who chairs the committee, determined he did not have enough votes to pass it.
The Ag Act would replace the H-2A program, which is another guest worker program that has proven impractical for dairy farms because it only offers 9-month visas. The new program could also be used by agricultural processors and custom operators, including manure haulers, says Laurie Fischer, CEO of the American Dairy Coalition (ADC).
"We are in need of a way to legalize current undocumented workers and secure legal workers for the future," says Fischer. "This is a guest worker program at this point, and not a residency program." The H-2C program would not allow an employee's family to accompany him or her to the United States.
The AG Act would create a new H-2C guest worker visa that initially would be valid for 3 years. During that period, H-2C guest workers would have to "touch back" to their home countries for 45 days within that 3-year period, though the "touch back" days would not have to be consecutive. After the initial 3-year period, workers would have to renew their H-2C visas every 18 months.
Register to read more...
