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 Reminds H-2A and H-2B Petitioners of Prohibited Fees
USCIS alert reminds petitioners that certain fees may not be collected from H-2A and H-2B workers, including government-mandated fees that are prohibited under DOL rules, petition fees, attorney fees, recruitment costs, and any fees that are conditions of employment.
DOL Requests Comments on Extension of ETA Forms 9141 and 9142
DOL ETA notice of a comment period on the extension of the validity of Form 9141, Application for Prevailing Wage Determination, and Form 9142, Application for Temporary Employment Certification, without revisions. Comments are due 9/27/11. (76 FR 45621, 7/29/11)
DOL H-2A FAQ on Staggered Dates of Need
DOL H-2A FAQ with information about whether an employer can file a single Application for Temporary Employment Certification for staggered dates of need.
DOL Advisory on H-2A Multi-State Custom Combine Owners/Operators
DOL 6/14/11 Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) on updated H-2A special procedures for multi-state custom combine owners/operators who apply for labor certifications to hire temporary foreign workers as crew members to perform work in the U.S.
DOL Advisory on H-2A Itinerant Commercial Beekeepers
DOL 6/14/11 Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) to establish special procedures for itinerant commercial beekeeping employers who apply for labor certifications to hire temporary agricultural foreign workers to perform work in the U.S.
DOL Advisory on H-2A Sheepherders and Goatherders
DOL 6/14/11 Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) on updated special procedures in the H-2A program for employers who apply for the labor certifications to hire temporary agricultural foreign workers to perform sheepherding and/or goatherding activities.
DOL Advisory on H-2A Open Range Occupations
DOL 06/14/11 Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) on updated special procedures in the H-2A program for employers who apply for the labor certifications to hire temporary agricultural foreign workers in the open range production of livestock in the U.S.
DOL Advisory on H-2A Animal Shearing Industry Occupations
DOL 06/14/11 Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) on updated special procedures in the H-2A program for employers who apply for labor certifications to hire temporary agricultural foreign workers in the itinerant animal shearing industry in the U.S.
USCIS Filing Tips from the 6/10/11 Teleconference on H-2A Petitions
USCIS filing tips from its 6/10/11 teleconference on best filing practices for H-2A petitions, provided on templates of the ETA Form 9142 Section C and the revised I-129 Page 1. The original teleconference invitation is attached, following the teleconference notes.
USCIS Checklist for H-2A Petitioners
USCIS optional checklist for petitioners requesting H-2A temporary agricultural workers includes information about general petition requirements, additional documentation to show the workers qualify for H-2A employment, H-2 Eligible Countries List requirements, and more.
USCIS Q&As for H-2A Petitioners
USCIS Q&As address who may file the Form I-129 as an H-2A petitioner, who may be an “agent-petitioner” for H-2A classification, who may assist petitioners in filling out the Form I-129, what agents and associations need to know about requesting H-2A workers, and more.
USCIS Temporarily Suspends the Use of VIBE in the H-2A Program, Offers H-2A Checklist and Q&A
USCIS alert announcing the temporary suspension of VIBE in the H-2A program until 7/18/11, and providing an optional H-2A checklist and Q&As offered to H-2A petitioners. USCIS also is planning a stakeholder engagement to discuss best filing practices for H-2A employers.
DOL Announces Back Wages and Penalties for Violating H-2A Program
DOL press release announcing an order for Global Horizons, Inc. to pay $153,000 in back wages to 88 workers, plus $194,000 in penalties, for violating provisions of the H-2A program. Under the order, Global Horizons will be debarred from the H-2A program for three years.
DOL Notice on the H-2A Abandonment and Termination Notification Process
DOL notice announcing instructions for employers to use when notifying DOL of worker abandonment, or termination for cause for H-2A Temporary Agricultural Labor Certifications. The notice is effective 4/14/11. (76 FR 21041, 4/14/11)
USCIS Report on H-2A Performance Data by State and Company
USCIS report published on 7/18/11 contains information on the number of I-129 Temporary Agricultural Worker (H-2A) cases received, approved, and denied during the second quarter of FY 2011, with data as of 3/31/11, displayed by state and petitioning company.
Minutes from DOL Stakeholders Meeting (4/7/11)
AILA DOL Liaison Committee minutes from the 4/7/11 DOL stakeholders meeting in Washington, D.C. Topics include: 2010 DOL Performance Report and Integrity Review, FAQ publication, LCAs, iCERT enhancements, H-2Bs, ACWIA wages, and PERM recruitment.
DOL Notice of H-2A 2011 Adverse Effect Wage Rates
DOL notice on the 2011 Adverse Effect Wage Rates, Allowable Charges for Agricultural Workers' Meals, and Maximum Travel Subsistence Reimbursement. The effective date for this notice is 3/1/11. (76 FR 11286, 3/1/11)
Notes from DOL Stakeholders Teleconference (2/10/11)
DOL Liaison Committee notes from the 2/10/11 DOL stakeholders teleconference. Topics include: LCAs, H-2As, prevailing wage issues, Help Desk and customer service, audits and denials, and more.
USCIS Announces New Countries Eligible to Participate in the H-2A and H-2B Programs
USCIS press release announcing that DHS, in consultation with DOS, has identified 53 countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B programs for the coming year. The list of eligible countries also was published in the Federal Register on 1/18/11.
DHS Notice on the Identification of H-2A and H-2B Eligible Countries
DHS notice on the identification of foreign countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and the H-2B nonimmigrant worker programs. The notice is effective 1/18/11 for a period of one year. (76 FR 2915, 1/18/11)
ARB on Administrative Notice of Discovery Abuse in H-2A Case
In an H-2A back pay/civil penalty case, the ARB found that the ALJ erred in taking administrative notice of respondent’s prior discovery abuse because the noticed facts were not generally known or verifiable. (Wage & Hour Div. v. Global Horizons Manpower, 12/21/10)
DOL Announces Back Wages and Fines for J&R Baker Farms LLC for Violating H-2A Program
DOL press release announcing that the Wage and Hour Division levied over $1 million in back wages owed to 244 workers and $136,500 in fines to J&R Baker Farms LLC for violating provisions of the H-2A program.
DOL Updates Permanent Labor Certification Debarment List
DOL list of employers, attorneys, and/or agents debarred from the Permanent Labor Certification Program, H-2A program, and H-1B program.
Minutes from DOL Stakeholders Meeting (10/28/10)
AILA DOL Liaison Committee minutes from the 10/28/10 DOL stakeholders meeting in Washington, D.C. Topics include: prevailing wage issues, LCAs, government error queue, employee referral programs, and recent BALCA decisions.
2009 Annual Foreign Labor Certification Report
The Foreign Labor Certification Report: 2009 Data, Trends and Highlights Across Programs and States released by DOL, presenting employment-based immigration program data drawn from applications submitted to the DOL by employers across the country.