The H-2A visa program is designed to assist employers in the United States who need temporary or seasonal agricultural workers.

This program is intended to address situations where employers in the agricultural industry are unable to find enough domestic workers to meet their labor needs. If an employer can demonstrate a lack of available U.S. workers, they may be eligible to hire foreign workers through the H-2A program.

Employers must submit a job order to their State Workforce Agency (SWA) indicating the need for H-2A workers. Following that, they must apply for a labor certification with the DOL (Department of Labor), providing information about the job requirements, wages, and other relevant details. This labor certification ensures that the employment of foreign workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers.

As part of the labor certification process, employers are required to actively recruit U.S. workers for the job positions. This may involve placing advertisements in local newspapers, posting job notices at appropriate locations, and contacting relevant labor organizations.

As a company you must comply with all the H2A program requirements. Please consider that your contract must be competitive in order to attract new workers for your company.

Once the temporary labor certification is approved by the DOL, the employer can file a visa petition on behalf of the prospective H-2A workers with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This petition establishes the employer’s need for foreign workers and includes supporting documentation.

After the visa petition is approved or in process, please contact International Connections so we can help you to start the process either recruiting new workers based on your needs as a company, or contacting workers you already have in mind and would like hire for the season.