OMAHA (DTN) -- As a GOP-led bill to reform the H-2A guestworker program appears to have hit a wall amid opposition from fellow Republicans, lawmakers are calling on Cabinet secretaries to use their existing authorities to improve the handling of H-2A visas, arguing foreign guestworkers are "indispensable to agriculture."

Six Republican senators and 12 GOP House members wrote to the secretaries of the departments of Homeland Security, Labor and State urging administrative actions to deal with "growing processing delays, regulatory imbalances and structural barriers" that lawmakers said are threatening the effectiveness of the H-2A program for farmers around the country.

"Ensuring our nation's farmers and small businesses have dependable access to a stable workforce is crucial to the economic wellbeing of our nation," the lawmakers wrote.

As the program has expanded, H-2A regulations have not kept up with the growing demand for farmworker visas, the lawmakers stated.

Farmers' reliance on H-2A continues to steadily grow. Through the first half of FY 2026, there were 17,280 applications from farmers requesting a total of 262,144 positions. The Labor Department shows 254,688 positions have been certified.

So far this year, farmers have filled 44,387 more jobs with foreign guestworkers than they did just two years ago, according to DOL statistics.

Six states -- Florida, Georgia, Washington, California, North Carolina and Texas -- make up 54% of H-2A guestworkers.

House and Senate members, in their letter to the Cabinet secretaries, said they have received "many reports" from farmers about significant challenges and delays in processing H-2A visas across multiple stages. Reflecting the complexities of obtaining H-2A visas for workers, an application from a farmer and the guestworker's visa application must be approved by the Office of Foreign Labor Certification within the Labor Department, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. consulates under the State Department.

"Visa processing instability and delays harm our country's agriculture sector and broad economy, and we encourage the Departments to act swiftly to resolve current challenges and prevent further interruptions to ensure an adequate workforce is in place for the agricultural season," the lawmakers wrote.

Still, DOL statistics show 97.3% of applications are processed in a timely manner, meaning they were completed no later than 30 days before the needed start date for workers.

Lawmakers want to change the current processing timelines for H-2A applications to provide more margin for specialty crop growers to ensure they can get their workers in time for harvests. Lawmakers recommended expanding the current 60-75 day window to 120 days before a worker's start date. That would effectively require all three departments to adjust their timelines for approving applications and visas. Lawmakers said this change is also needed because of how much the H-2A program has expanded in recent years.

The lawmakers also called on DOL to redefine "seasonal agricultural employment," citing that the current definition doesn't allow for livestock or dairy workers to perform the year-round labor needed in those industries. Because of that, the livestock industry doesn't have access to the same labor pool. This has been a long-standing bone of contention for the livestock industry.

In June, the Labor Department and Homeland Security issued new guidance clarifying that dairy farms can use H-2A workers. Under the guidance, dairies can petition for workers on a case-by-case basis.

In their letter, lawmakers called on the Labor Department to include broader definitions of livestock jobs such as ranch hands, swine and poultry workers.

Employers are also required to provide housing and transportation to guestworkers "without reciprocal safeguards." The lawmakers want provisions that would require workers to complete their contracts and allow payroll deductions for housing and transportation costs if a worker fails to finish their contract.

The lawmakers also had requests over interpretations of the Adverse Effect Wage Rate rule in light of a court ruling, and lawmakers also want information on how U.S. consulates handle English-language proficiency criteria for applicants.

The letter from lawmakers comes as at least four GOP House members have recently announced they will pull their support for the Securing America's Workforce Act (SAWA), which House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., introduced just last month. Conservative critics have branded the bill as "amnesty" for foreign farmworkers.

Thompson was among the 18 lawmakers who sent the letter to Cabinet officials. Others included Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Mike Crapo of Idaho, John Cornyn of Texas, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. In the House, along with Thompson, the signers included Reps. Dan Newhouse of Washington, Austin Scott and Rich McCormick of Georgia, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Jefferson Van Drew of New Jersey, Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, Maria Salazar of Florida, Mike Ezell of Mississippi, Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, Monica De La Cruz of Texas and David Valadao of California.

The letter also had the backing of a broad range of agricultural groups.

See, "4 Republicans Distance Themselves From House H-2A Reform Over Amnesty," https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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