Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2025
Latest action. Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Workforce, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdictionA court's legal authority to hear a case: over the subject matter, the parties, and the territory.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) of the committee concerned.
Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2025
This bill establishes a new certified agricultural worker (CAW) visa status for foreign farmworkers, heightens requirements under the current H-2A temporary worker program, and provides for mandatory employment eligibility verification for the agricultural workforce.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may grant CAW status to an applying non-U.S. national ( alien under federal law) who meets certain requirements, such as hours worked in agricultural labor during a specified time period and having a continuous presence in the United States.
The bill establishes a path to lawful permanent resident status for those with CAW status.
CAW status shall be valid for 5.5 years and may be extended. The applicant's spouse or children may receive CAW dependent status.
A CAW applicant may not be detained or removed by DHS and shall be authorized for employment until DHS makes a final decision on the application.
The bill also modifies the H-2A visa program, which allows employers to hire foreign workers for temporary or seasonal agricultural work. The changes include (1) requiring H-2A employers to guarantee certain minimum work hours, and (2) making the program available for agricultural work that is not temporary or seasonal.
DHS must also establish an electronic system patterned on the E-Verify Program for employers to verify an individual's identity and employment authorization. Employers hiring individuals for agricultural employment must use the system.
The bill extends through FY2030 and codifies the Multifamily Housing Preservation and Revitalization program for rural and farmworker housing.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on May 7, 2025. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 7, 2025: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Workforce, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced it on May 7, 2025, and 11 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 7 Democrats, 4 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 7, 2025, 538 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 538 days ago, on May 7, 2025.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 119th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2027 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers