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
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.
DHS Notice of Eligible H-2A and H-2B Countries for 2012
DHS notice identifying 58 countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B programs for 2012, effective 1/18/12. (77 FR 2558, 1/18/12)
USCIS Announces 58 Countries Eligible for H-2A & H-2B Participation
USCIS press release identifying 58 countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B programs for the coming year. Each country’s designation is valid for one year from the date of publication.
USCIS H-2A Performance Data by State and Company
USCIS performance data on the Temporary Agricultural Worker (H-2A) program, including the number of cases received, approved, and denied during the quarter are displayed by state and petitioning companies for the first quarter of FY2012.
Minutes from DOL Stakeholders Meeting (1/6/12)
AILA DOL Liaison Committee minutes from the 1/6/12 DOL Stakeholders Meeting in Washington, D.C. Topics include: OFLC statistics, general updates on temporary and permanent programs, ACWIA, alternative wage surveys, erroneous “Kellogg” denials, and audits.
CIS Ombudsman Recap from VIBE Teleconference
CIS Ombudsman’s Office recap of 1/11/12 teleconference providing an open forum on VIBE, an information system that USCIS adjudicators use to verify and reduce fraudulent business information submitted in support of employment-based petitions.
USCIS H-2A Reminder for Sheepherding Industry
USCIS reminder to the sheepherding industry of the upcoming expiration of the one-time accommodation due to the transition to the three-year limitation-of-stay requirement for the H-2A nonimmigrant visa classification.
Round-Up of Immigration Related Legislation (October- December 2011)
A list of immigration-related legislation introduced into the House of Representatives and the Senate October-December 2011.
DOL Notice of 2012 AEWRs for H-2A Workers
DOL notice announcing the 2012 Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) for H-2A workers. AEWRs are the minimum wage rates that DOL has determined must be offered and paid to H-2A workers. Notice is effective 12/22/11. (75 FR 79711, 12/22/11)
DOL Alert on No USP Mail Delivery on 12/23/11
The DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification announced that UPS will not be providing delivery or pickup services on Friday, 12/23/11.
DOL Updates Labor Certification Debarment List
A 12/19/11 Department of Labor list of employers, attorneys, and/or agents debarred from the permanent labor certification program, and list of employers debarred from the H-2A and H-2B temporary labor certification programs.
DOJ Announces Settlement in U.S. Citizen Discrimination Case
DOJ press release announcing a settlement agreement between S.W.J.J. Inc., or Sernak Farms, to settle allegations that Sernak discriminated by preferring to hire H-2A temporary visa holders over U.S. citizen applicants.
DOL Round Four FAQ on 2010 H-2A Final Rule
DOL Round Four FAQs on the 2010 H-2A final rule address job requirements, contract impossibility provisions, labor contractors, and surety bonds.
DOL Advises Public on Thanksgiving UPS Mail Schedule
The DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification announced that UPS will not be providing delivery or pickup services on Thursday, 11/24/11 and Friday, 11/25/11.
DOL Compliance Assistance Workshops on H-2A and MSPA Rules
DOL Wage and Hour Division invites agricultural employers and farm labor contactors in Florida to attend free labor law trainings being held from 12/5/11 through 12/7/11, covering H-2A and MSPA rules. Information on topics to be discussed and the training schedule is included.
CIS Ombudsman Recap of 10/25/11 Teleconference on Small & Start-Up Business Immigration Issues (Updated 12/5/11)
CIS Ombudsman Office Q&As from the 10/25/11 teleconference, which discussed issues affecting small and start-up business issues with representatives from the Small Business Administration.
Minutes from DOL Stakeholders Meeting (10/5/11)
AILA DOL Liaison Committee minutes from the 10/5/11 DOL stakeholders meeting in Washington, D.C. Topics include: 2011 OFLC report, supervised recruitment, prevailing wage updates, H-2Bs, H-2As, new OES codes, and alternative wage surveys.
Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Agricultural Labor
Testimony from the 10/4/11 Senate Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security Hearing on “America’s Agricultural Labor Crisis: Enacting a Practical Solution.”
CBP Announces Discontinuation of H-2A and H-2B Visa Exit Program Pilot
CBP notice announcing the discontinuation of the H-2A and H-2B Temporary Worker Visa Exit Program Pilot, which implemented a land-border exit system for certain temporary workers who entered the U.S. at certain AZ ports, effective September 29, 2011. (76 FR 60518, 9/29/11)
H.R. 3017- Agricultural Labor Market Reform Act of 2011
H.R. 3017, introduced by Rep. Berman (D-CA) on September 22, 2011, allows for farmworkers who meet requirements to work temporarily and to earn immigration status. The bill would also keep the H-2A program with some reforms.
OFLC Publishes Guidance for H-2A Employers
OFLC filing tips to assist employers with the H-2A program by highlighting common mistakes which can delay the processing of an application, based upon the Chicago National Processing Center’s experiences in processing H-2A applications over the past 16 months.
DOL H-2A FAQs on Amendments, Extensions, and Abandonments/Terminations
DOL H-2A FAQs addressing amendments to applications, post-certification changes to the end date of work, and post-certification notification to the Department regarding workers who have abandoned or have been terminated from their position.
OFLC Q&As on Delays in the Issuance of PWDs and H-1B LCAs
OFLC Q&As regarding delays in the issuance of prevailing wage determinations and H-1B labor condition applications, including information on alternative sources for obtaining a prevailing wage in support of an H-1B application.
House Judiciary Hearing on American Specialty Agriculture Act
Testimony from the 9/8/11 House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security hearing on H.R. 2847-American Specialty Agriculture Act, which would create a H-2C guestworker visa program.
DOL Round Three FAQs on H-2A 2010 Final Rule
DOL FAQs Round Three released regarding H-2A 2010 Final Rule, addressing what should be included in the ETA Form 790, where to find SOC codes and occupation titles, housing requirements, labor contractor requirements, and more.