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 Statistics on H-2As from Second Quarter of FY2014
DOL’s OFLC statistics on H-2As as of 3/31/14, including number of applications received, top states and employers, as well as the status of applications processed.
Minutes from DOL Stakeholder Meeting (4/9/14)
AILA minutes from the 4/9/14 meeting with DOL. Topics included processing times, prevailing wage determinations including ACWIA wages, PERM advertising, supervised recruitment, Section K PERM denials and mechanism for addressing such denials, LCAs, H-2As, H-2Bs, and area of intended employment.
CSC Quarterly Stakeholders Newsletter (3rd Quarter 2014)
CSC quarterly stakeholders newsletter for the 3rd quarter of 2014, including H-2A and H-2B best practices, I-130 filing tips and best practices, and a save the date announcement for the next CSC open house on 6/11/14.
USCIS Performance Data on H-2A Petitions for Fourth Quarter of FY2013
USCIS statistics on I-129 H-2A petitions, broken down by case status (received, approved, denied, or pending) and petitioner location (by state and company) for fourth quarter of FY2013.
DOS Extension of Comment Period for DS-160
DOS extension of the comment period for an additional 30 days for the Online Application for Nonimmigrant Visas (DS-160). Comments are now due 4/14/14. (79 FR 14566, 3/14/14)
ALJ Rules on “Prevailing Practice” to Provide H-2A Family Housing in Oregon
The ALJ reversed the denial of the H-2A temporary labor certification, rejecting the Oregon SWA’s contention that the FHA and Oregon case law create a “prevailing practice” for farm labor family housing when an SWA-conducted survey indicated otherwise. (Matter of Adelsheim Vineyard, 3/7/14)
DOL Notice of 2014 Allowable Charges for H-2A Workers
DOL notice of allowable charges for 2014 that employers seeking H-2A workers may charge their workers. Notice includes a reminder regarding employers’ obligations with regards to overnight lodging costs as part of the required subsistence. (79 FR 12528, 3/5/14)
DOL Alert: iCERT Now Requires Encrypted Connection
DOL alert that the iCERT system now requires an encrypted connection and has a new URL address.
DOL Alert: Deactivation of Select H-2A and H-2B E-mail Boxes
DOL alert that the OFLC Chicago National Processing Center will deactivate several H-2A and H-2B e-mail boxes on 2/3/14. H-2A employers who need to request amendments/extensions or submit notices of abandonment/terminations must use the TLC.Chicago@dol.gov e-mail. Fax and mailing address provided.
DHS February 2014 Report on Size and Characteristics of Resident Nonimmigration Population
DHS report with estimates of size and characteristics of the resident nonimmigrant population (foreign nationals legally admitted for specific, temporary purposes and whose classes of admission are associated with residency, e.g., students and temporary workers) between 7/1/11 and 6/30/12.
Grand Jury Indictment Charges Company in Temporary Worker Fraud Scheme
The grand jury handed down a 41-count indictment against the International Labor Management Corporation, alleging fraudulent activity that included falsifying visa petitions to obtain extra H-2Bs and petitioning for H-2A visas knowing that workers would not engage in agricultural work.
DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) FY2012 Annual Report
Department of Labor OFLC FY2012 Annual Report from 10/1/11 to 9/30/12, including information on the prevailing wage determination process, permanent labor certification, temporary nonimmigrant labor certification, STEM-related occupations, and H-2A statistics.
List of Foreign Countries Eligible to Participate in the H-2A/H-2B Programs
USCIS notice with a list of the 63 countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B programs for 2014. (79 FR 3214, 1/17/14).
DOL 2014 Adverse Effect Wage Rates for H-2As
DOL notice announcing the 2014 Adverse Effect Wage Rates for the employment of temporary or seasonal nonimmigrant foreign workers (H-2A workers) to perform agricultural labor or services. (79 FR 664, 1/6/14)
DOL Statistics on H-2As from First Quarter of FY2014
DOL’s OFLC statistics on H-2As as of 12/31/13, including number of applications received, top states and employers, as well as the status of applications processed.
Minutes from DOL Stakeholder Meeting (12/12/13)
AILA minutes from the 12/12/13 meeting with DOL. DOL confirmed that it is no longer denying cases where the job requires an “engineering” degree without more for computer/tech positions, and that if a license is required, box K.9 can be used to indicate that the beneficiary has the license.
DOS Request for Comments on DS-160
DOS notice of request for public comment on the Online Application for Nonimmigrant Visa (DS-160). (78 FR 73233, 12/5/13)
BALCA Reverses CO’s Decision on Seasonal Needs of H-2A Petition
BALCA reverses CO’s denial of an open range cattle herder position, finding that the position was seasonal in nature and that the seasonal changes of the weather and the gestational cycle of cattle result in differing seasonal labor needs. (Vermillion Ranch Limited Partnership, 12/5/13)
FY2014 DOL’s OIG Office of Audit Workplan
DOL’s FY2014 OIG Office of Audit Workplan, including goals related in immigration such as the ongoing review of the effectiveness of ETA’s internal controls over the PERM approval process, review of the prevailing wage determinations process, continued review of iCERT, and more.
ARB Finds H-2A Employer Must Pay Untimely Certification Fee Yet Reverses Debarment Order (Updated 1/9/13)
DOL's Administrative Review Board (ARB) affirmed the ALJ's finding that the employer’s withdrawal of its application for H-2A workers after OFLC granted the certification did not excuse its obligation to pay the fee, yet reversed the debarment order. (OFLC v. Castro Harvesting, 11/26/13)
DOL Statistics on H-2As from Fourth Quarter of FY2013
DOL’s OFLC statistics on H-2As as of 9/30/13, including number of applications received, top states and employers, as well as the status of applications processed.
DOL Final Rule Rescinding Logging Employment Regulations
DOL final rule rescinding the regulations for employers in the logging industry utilizing foreign workers, as they became obsolete after a rulemaking in 2010 reassigned “logging employment” within the definition of “agricultural labor or services” under the H-2A program. (78 FR 69541, 11/20/13)
USCIS Temporary Accommodation for H-2A Petitions Expires on 11/29/13
USCIS alert that its temporary accommodation to allow H-2A petitioners to file Form I-129 with a copy of the signed, certified TLC, will expire on 11/29/13. Beginning 12/2/13, H-2A petitions filed without the certified TLC on blue security paper and original signatures will not be accepted.
USDA Postponed Release of 2014 H-2A AEWR Wage Data
DOL alert that the USDA postponed the release of the Farm Labor Survey until 12/5/13, which is used to establish the Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) in the H-2A program.
AILA/SCOPS Liaison Q&As (11/13/13)
Q&As from the 11/13/13 teleconference with SCOPS include an update on FY2014 H-1B processing and H-1B extensions, late filings post-government shutdown, EB-1(3) denials, boilerplate O-1 RFEs, translations, and OPT unpaid employment.