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
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.
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.