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H-2A, H-2B, & H-1B Solution List for Rating

We ask you to rate each category of solutions below on a 7-point scale with a “1” being “Not at all promising” and a “7” being “Extremely promising”.

We define “promising” as a strong combination of:

Impact—Would be a significant improvement over the status quo if it passed.
Political Feasibility—Would attract the broad support needed to pass.

We ask that you rate no more than three categories as “1” and no more than three categories as a “7”.

For the sub-questions, please select the exact number indicated and choose the proposals you find most promising.

Process Improvements for both H-2A & H-2B

Streamline processes by digitizing and creating consolidated electronic portal for applications to both agencies and serve as a national job-posting and recruitment tool.

Please click on the box in the middle of the slider bar to move it left or right.

Pilot or create a trusted employer program that allows employers to have a streamlined path to sponsoring workers for employers with strong records of complying with immigration and labor laws.

Increase validity of labor certifications and petitions to 3 years rather than 1 year to reduce recruiting time and facilitate returning workers.

Streamline hiring process by permanently waiving in-person visa interviews for returning workers.

Fund DOL to process applications more quickly (DOL labor certification division is not fee-funded, but appropriated).

Require employers to recruit US workers nationwide, not just within the area of employment.

Offer an opt-in system for states to individually petition for temporary work visas based on their states’ specific population and labor needs, eliminating individual market tests.

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

H-2A Solutions

Improve H-2A-specific processing.

Please click on the box in the middle of the slider bar to move it left or right.

Which of these proposals to improve H-2A-specific processing is most promising?(Required)

Select exactly 1 choice.

Require DOL to consult with USDA before any rule changes.

Expedite review of delayed worker waiver applications.

Extend contracts to 12 months from 10 months or less.

Allow employers to file for staggered worker entry during a single year or growing season.

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

Refine how wages are set.

Which of these proposals to refine how wages are set for H-2A is most promising?(Required)

Select exactly 1 choice.

Set at least at state minimum wage level.

Reform H-2A Wages to limit large wage fluctuations by capping wage increases and decreases from year to year (Farm Workforce Modernization Act/Ag Committee Recommendations).

Allow the completion of a portion of work at higher wage without raising wage for all work performed if higher wage portion is de minimis.

Eliminate mid-contract wage adjustments.

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

Improve labor protections.

Which of these proposals to improve labor protections for H-2A is most promising?(Required)

Select exactly 1 choice.

Create a program for immigrants who report labor violations to retain their status.

Allow worker portability via a regional labor permit valid for agricultural work within a state without need to reapply for a visa.

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

Expand Eligibility.

Which of these proposals to expand eligibility for H-2A is most promising?(Required)

Select exactly 1 choice.

Redefine the seasonal and temporary work to allow for year-round work, expanding to other agricultural labor like dairy, agricultural, manufacturing jobs (e.g. meat processing), greenhouses and year-round indoor farms.

Codify regulations for certain specialty industries like sheep and goat herders and custom harvester and silage cutters that have “special procedures” under current rules.

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

H-2B Solutions

Improve H-2B-specific processing.

Please click on the box in the middle of the slider bar to move it left or right.

Which of these proposals to improve H-2B-specific processing is most promising?(Required)

Select exactly 1 choice.

Require positions to be only in areas with low unemployment in lieu of individual recruitment.

Require civil penalties for program violations, including failing to meet the requirements of the H-2B petition or making willful misrepresentations of a material fact in the petition.

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

Create a new visa category for non-seasonal, non-degree jobs, expand H-2B category to include non-seasonal jobs, or permit the hiring of non-seasonal workers when they prove they cannot hire US workers for the role.

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

Improve how caps operate.

Which of these proposals to improve how caps operate for H-2B is most promising?(Required)

Select exactly 2 choices.

Expand caps (either overall, or for specific industries/jobs that are particularly in demand or critical).

Mandate supplemental visas (currently discretionary by DHS) be issued based on current market conditions.

Create permanent cap exemptions for returning workers who had a cap-counted visa in one of the preceding 3 years.

Authorize an expert body to adjust visa caps in lieu of lottery, allocating visas within the limit based on highest wages within an occupation or geographic area.

Allocate visas based on workers’ years of experience.

Exempt certain employers from caps based on “demonstrated historical workforce needs."

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

Refine how wages and other benefits are set.

Which of these proposals to refine how wages and other benefits are set for H-2B is most promising?(Required)

Select exactly 1 choice.

Require wages at the upper end of prevailing wage for occupation.

Require employers to pay for housing and transportation to and from the worksite.

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

Improve labor protections.

Which of these proposals to improve labor protections for H-2B is most promising?(Required)

Select exactly 2 choices.

Allow workers to have open labor market access in their occupation/job classification.

Separately register employers, jobs, and workers to allow registered workers to work for any registered employer in a registered job.

Require guarantee of 40 hours a week.

Allow workers who are likely helpful in a workplace claim to obtain U Visa status for victims of criminal activity.

Authorize DOL to impose penalties and seek injunctions for program violations.

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

H-1B Solutions

H-1B Process Improvements

Streamlined process for applying for visas perhaps including a more centralized online system.

Create a trusted employer program that can speed processing at DOL and USCIS for employers with good track records of abiding by the visa rules and/or extend period of labor certifications.

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

Create a sub-category and/or cap for contractors.

Which of these proposals to create a sub-category and/or cap for contractors is the most promising?(Required)

Select exactly 1 choice.

Create specific rules or a sub-category for contracting companies that acknowledges the unique employer-contracting company-employee relationship to separate it from the single employer/employee circumstance.

Treat contracting situations as co-employer/petitioner scenarios and require both contracting and contractor to meet the labor and skill requirements for the category.

Create a new category just for contracting employers.

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

Change definitions and rules for “H-1B Dependent” employers.

Which of these proposals to disincentivize the usage of H-1B visas as a primary source of labor for employers is the most promising?(Required)

Select exactly 1 choice.

Adjust the threshold for designation as an "H-1B dependent" employer.

Increase the salary threshold for exempting employers from this designation.

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

Prioritize petitions from companies that can show that they first tried to recruit US workers for the job.

Which of the proposed adjustments to the H-1B cap appears most promising?(Required)

Select exactly 2 choices.

Eliminate/increase the H-1B cap.

Update the H-1B cap to reflect current demand and allow for regular adjustments based on demand and/or labor market data.

Exempt graduates of US universities from the annual cap.

Recapture visas from petitions that are unused or revoked in the following year; add H-1B visas back to the cap when a worker is sponsored for a green card within 3 years (note – this last would allow the H-1B to serve as a Bridge Visa).

Designate state and local governments and school systems as cap-exempt institutions.

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

Which of these proposals to improve the lottery process (prioritizing cases under the cap) seems most promising?(Required)

Select exactly 2 choices.

Prioritize petitions from companies that can show that they first tried to recruit US workers for the job.

Create a limit on the number of petitions that can be filed by any employer each year.

Require employers who file more than a certain number of petitions each year to pay an additional fee.

Prioritize the lottery on a skills or wage-based selection process to improve the allocation of H-1B visas to promote economic growth.

Allow small businesses who are asking for single employees to be exempt from the cap.

Allow companies to request a cap exemption for an individual petition based on extraordinary need or circumstances.

Create a separate cap for STEM visas or those working in national interest positions or a cap exemption for such people.

Exempt STEM PhDs from the cap or STEM PhDs that graduate from US institutions.

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

Which of the proposals to create categories currently excluded from the H-1B program seems most promising?(Required)

Select exactly 1 choice.

Create or revive new visa programs for nurses and doctors.

Create a new category for or exempt public school teachers from the cap.

Create an entrepreneur visa or allow people who meet entrepreneur requirements to obtain a limited 3-year H-1B visa outside of the cap to establish a business.

Create a separate visa category for workers whose employers intend to sponsor them for green cards within 3 years.

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

Which of the proposals to address wage issues seems most promising?(Required)

Select exactly 1 choice.

Set a wage floor based on years of experience/education for H-1B sponsorship.

Require a minimum wage floor that adjusts annually based on labor market data.

Determine required wages not based on the average but the median wage in an occupation and area of employment, which would downplay outliers and be more likely to be near the most common wages paid.

Strengthen enforcement and audits of wages paid to H-1B workers and allow workers to file a complaint without losing H-1B status.

Any other comments you’d like to add to this category?

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