; (2) the State minimum wage rate; or (3) the actual wage level paid by the employer to all other individuals with similar experience and qualifications for the specific employment in question. (k) Area of intended employment; no extension of period of authorized stay (1) Area of intended employment The Secretary of Agriculture may consider an increased area of employment for an H–2A petition that is not larger than the State in which the employer will employ the worker for the purposes of providing housing. (2) No extension of period of authorized stay The period of authorized stay for an H–2A worker may not exceed 10 months, and no extensions of such period may be made. (l) Application with staggered start dates In the case of any employer under this section who is applying for labor certifications for more than 1 H–2A worker, that employer may file a single consolidated application, subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary of Homeland Security may prescribe, for all such workers, and may specify multiple dates on which the employer first requires the labor or services of H–2A workers covered by the application. (m) Expedited approval for certain workers The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish a process for expediting consideration of any petition for an H–2A worker who has previously been the subject of two consecutive petitions that were approved. . 304. Biometric identification card Section 218 is further amended by adding at the end the following: (n) Biometric identification card An H–2A worker shall be issued, upon being approved for status as an H–2A worker, an encrypted, machine-readable electronic identification card to be known as a guestworker identification card which shall— (1) have an electronic identification strip to be used for all H–2A workers; (2) have a 15-digit numerical identification code that may be used for tax withholdings and for verifying an H–2A worker’s employment approval for agriculture specifically