Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2025

The Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2025 seeks a broad restructuring of agricultural labor in the United States. It creates a new temporary status called Certified Agricultural Worker (and a dependent status for eligible family members) for workers who perform agricultural labor or services. The act sets eligibility rules, timelines, and protections around this status, including continuous presence rules, employer obligations to maintain records, background checks, and a process for administrative and judicial review. It also provides an optional pathway to permanent residency for long-term agricultural workers, subject to hour-based requirements and other conditions, plus a separate, reform-focused track for the H-2A program and a broader push to modernize farm labor oversight, housing, and recruitment. In addition, the bill would implement a nationwide electronic employment eligibility verification system for agriculture and bolster oversight of foreign labor recruiters, while directing related housing and funding programs and appropriate federal rulemaking. In short, the bill aims to secure a domestic agricultural workforce by offering a structured, documented status for farm workers, a potential route to permanent residence for those with long-term farm labor histories, tighter employment verification, and stronger protections and accountability across the recruitment, housing, and visa-related aspects of agricultural labor.