Featured Issue: Resources for H-2A Practice at DOL, USCIS, and DOS
The AILA Department of Labor (DOL) Liaison Committee provides a resource page with links to legal authorities, agency guidance and publications, and AILA resources and publications helpful for H-2A practice.
Legal Authorities
- INA 101(a)(15)(H) Noncitizens coming temporarily to the United States to perform services
- 8 CFR 214.2(h) Temporary employees
DOL-OFLC Guidance
- H-2A Temporary Agricultural Program
- H-2A Program Flow Chart
- H-2A Application and Appendix Forms (most current versions including parties subject to Kansas litigation)
- H-2A Temporary Certification for Agriculture Workers
- H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR)
- Agricultural Online Wage Library
- H-2A Meals & H-2A and H-2B Subsistence Rates
- H-2A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- OFLC Searchable Database of FAQs
- Processing Times for Prevailing Wage Determinations and H-2A, H-2B Applications
- State Workforce Agency (SWA) and National Processing Center Contacts
- H-2A Labor Supply State Determinations
- Prevailing Wage Surveys 2022 H-2A Final Rule
Farmworker Protection Rule
- DOL Final Rule
- FAQs on the Farmworker Protection Rule
- H-2A Employers Guide to the Farmworker Protection Rule
- Materials from DOL Webinar on Farmworker Protection Rule
Litigation To Block Farmworker Protection Rule
- U.S. District Court (GA) ruling blocking enforcing Farmworker Protection Rule in 17 states “Kansas Litigation”
- North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation complaint to block Farmworker Protection Rule
- DOL General Notice for Emergency Request to Reinstate H-2A Forms
DOL-WHD
- Wage and Hour Regulatory Library: H-2 (Temporary Nonagricultural Labor or Services) Program and Guidance Documents
- Section 1188 — Admission of Temporary H2A Workers
- H-2A WHD Fact Sheets
- H-2A Workers Rights Card for U.S. Workers
- Workplace Poster: Employee Rights Under the H-2A Program (English)
- Agricultural Transportation Safety
- Transportation Safety Checklist
- ETA Housing Safety and Health Checklist
- Wage and Hour Fact Sheets
- H-2A Employee Rights Poster
USCIS/DHS Guidance
US DOS Guidance
- Foreign Affairs Manual
9 FAM 402.10-4(D) H-2A Nonimmigrants
9 FAM 402.10-8(D) Effect of DOL Revocation for H-2A Beneficiaries
9 FAM 402.10-12 Length and Extension of Stay
9 FAM 402.10-13(B) H-2A, H-2B Nonimmigrants Maximum Allowable Time
AILA Publications:
- The Seasonal Visas: H-2A and H-2B: Temporary Yet Essential Workers Immigration Practice Pointers, 2024-25 Ed. (AILA 2024) by Loan T. Huynh, L.J. D’Arrigo, Ashley Foret Dees, and Ed White (AILA 2024)
- H-2A and H-2B Practice: What Are We So Afraid Of? Immigration Practice Pointers, 2021-22 Ed. (AILA 2021), by Loan T. Huynh, L.J. D’Arrigo, Ashley Foret Dees, and Sujata Ajmera
Alerts
- DOL Announces Delay in Transition Schedule for Implementing the 2024 H-2A Final Rule
- DOL Alert on the Implementation of the Worker Protection Rule
- DOL Notice of Updates to the Adverse Effect Wage Rates for H-2A Workers
- Practice Pointer: Implementation of DOL’s H-2A Final Rule Improving Worker Protections
Browse the Featured Issue: Resources for H-2A Practice at DOL, USCIS, and DOS collection
DOL Resource Page on Foreign Labor Certification Forms
DOL resource page with foreign labor certification forms.
VSC Temporarily Suspends Receipt of Courier Deliveries
VSC confirms the suspension of courier service deliveries for 5/3/2012. Items scheduled for delivery on 5/3/12, will be considered received on 5/3/12 for filing purposes. AILA Doc. No. 12050354.
CIS Ombudsman’s Office May 2012 Quarterly Update
CIS Ombudsman’s Office May 2012 Quarterly Update, including information on the expedited review process for specific administrative errors, the extended accommodation for sheepherder H-2A visas and more.
DOL Revised Filing Tips for H-2A Agricultural Employers
DOL issued a May 2012 document from the Office of Foreign Labor Certification with new H-2A filing tips to alert employers to common filing mistakes which can delay the processing of an H-2A application for agricultural job orders.
AILA DOS Liaison Q&As with U.S. Consulate, Mexico City (4/27/12)
U.S. Consulate, Mexico City approved liaison Q&As address Mission Mexico organization, security issues, medical exams, DHL tracking, fingerprinting, administrative processing, visa annotation, visa reciprocity, Es, H-2Bs, TNs, and more.
USCIS Re-Grants Temporary Extension of Accommodation for H-2A Sheepherders
USCIS press release announcing extension of accommodation for H-2A workers in sheepherding industry while they transition to three-year limitation of stay requirements and require them to depart the United States by 8/6/12 for at least three months before petitioning again.
DOL Guidance Letter on FY2012 Foreign Labor Certification Grant Planning Guidance
DOL guidance letter providing guidance for the funding and management of FY2012 annual grant allocations in order to perform Foreign Labor Certification program activities.
DOL Fact Sheet on Prohibition of Retaliation Under H-2A Visa Program
DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) provides a fact sheet with general information concerning the prohibition against retaliating against individuals for exercising their rights or participating in matters protected under the H-2A nonimmigrant temporary visa program. Revised April 2012.
DOL Statistics from FY2012 on H-2A Agricultural Visa Program
DOL fact sheet presenting selected statistics from H-2A program based on applications submitted during the first two quarters of FY2012. The Fact Sheet includes information on the H-2A program use, including top filing states, activities and crops.
Visa Processing Fees to Change on April 13, 2012
DOS press release announcing that effective April 13, 2012, the Department of State will adjust visa processing fees. The fees for most nonimmigrant visa applications and Border Crossing Cards will increase, while all immigrant visa processing fees will decrease.
DOS Notice on Consular Schedule of Fees
DOS interim final rule amending the Schedule of Fees for consular services for NIV application processing fees, border crossing card application processing fees and immigrant visa application processing fees. Comments due 5/29/12. (77 FR 18907, 3/29/12)
Minutes from DOL Stakeholders Meeting (3/29/12)
AILA DOL Liaison Committee minutes from the 3/29/12 stakeholders meeting in Washington, D.C. Topics include updates from the H-2A Ombudsman, statistics and information on prevailing wage requests, H-2B 2012 Final Rule updates, and supervised recruitment issues.
H-2A E-Mail Notification Program Expanded
DOL update announcing that Chicago National Processing Center will expand E-Mail Notification Program to all H-2A stakeholders who elect to participate. Participating H-2A employers will no longer receive hard copy notifications of certain actions.
USCIS Grants Temporary Extension of Accommodation for H-2A Sheepherders
USCIS press release announcing that it extended an accommodation for H-2A workers in the sheepherding industry while they transition to the three-year limitation of stay requirements.
DOL Allowable Charges for H-2A Worker Meals and Travel Subsistence Reimbursement
DOL notice on lodging costs and allowable charges for 2012 that employers seeking H–2A workers may charge their workers when the employer provides three meals a day, and the maximum meal reimbursement which a worker with receipts may claim. (77 FR 13635, 03/07/12)
USCIS Returns to Original I-797 Receipt and Approval Mailing Process
USCIS alert announcing resumption of sending original I-797 receipt and approval notices to attorney or accredited representative listed on Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative, and copies to applicant or petitioner.
DOL Notice on Allowable Charges for Agricultural Workers’ Meals and Travel Subsistence Reimbursement
DOL notice on lodging costs and allowable charges for 2012 that employers seeking H–2A workers may charge their workers when the employer provides three meals a day, and the maximum meal reimbursement which a worker with receipts may claim. (77 FR 12882, 03/02/12)
VOICE: March/April 2012
Spring into the March/April edition of VOICE! This issue contains great information and helpful tips on hiring the right employees for your firm, I-129 forms, prosecutorial discretion, and more! Plus, watch AILA’s first animated video, “The Impossible Dream.”
DOL Resource Page for OFLC Case Data
DOL resource page on OFLC PERM, H-2A, H-2B, Prevailing Wage, and LCA program disclosure data files broken down by fiscal year.
DOL Employer Guide: H-2A Agricultural Program
DOL Employer Guide for Participating in the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Program provides information on H-2A regulatory requirements, documentary requirements, timeframes and deadlines, filing tips, and contact information for the Chicago NPC.
DHS Fact Sheet on Counting Changes on Nonimmigrant Admissions
February 2012 DHS Office of Immigration Statistics fact sheet providing an indication of the overall impact on counting changes by displaying trends in nonimmigrant admissions compared to trends in the number of individuals admitted each year during 2001–2010.
DOL Round Five FAQs on 2010 H-2A Final Rule
DOL Round Five FAQs on the 2010 H-2A final rule addressing ETA Form 790, wage rate assurances, paycheck frequency, experience requirements, post-certification and other hot-button topics.
iCERT Prevailing Wage Module Enhancements
Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) fact sheet on several major enhancements to its web-based iCERT Visa Portal System to enhance customer service and improve the processing of employer requests for prevailing wage determinations.
DOL Round Six FAQs on 2010 H-2A Final Rule
DOL Round Six FAQs on the 2010 H-2A final rule addressing surety bonds, post-certification, abandonment/termination, contract impossibility, staggered dates of need, and other hot-button topics.
USCIS Issues Q&A Document on VIBE Business Validation Tool
USCIS Questions and Answers document from 1/24/12 discussing the web-based Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) online tool designed to enhance USCIS’s adjudications of certain employment-based immigration petitions.