Processing an H-2A visa application through any H-2A visa processing company can take anywhere between 75 days and five months to complete. The slightest mistake may slow the H-2A visa processing time to a stop. Don’t leave the success of your business to chance; make sure your H-2A visa is processed right every time. As the most qualified H-2A visa processing company, you can rely on H2Aide to make it all happen for you!
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The United States government created the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program to help farmers and other agribusiness employers bring in nonimmigrant foreign workers to the US to help perform temporary or seasonal agricultural work to fill employment gaps created by labor shortages.
Typically, the H-2A visa processing program helps American farmers find seasonal or temporary workers to assist with planting, cultivating, and harvesting when domestic workers are in short supply. Farms, plantations, ranches, nurseries, ranges, greenhouses, orchards, and similar businesses often need temporary or seasonal agricultural workers.
To qualify for the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program, a business must need laborers for seasonal or temporary work. The federal government classifies seasonal work as any work tied to a particular time of year. In addition, any work that lasts for one year or less is considered temporary work.
The employer or their representative will first need to prepare and submit an agricultural job order to the State Workforce Agency or SWA. The employer should file the job order to the SWA where the work is performed. This process should start 75 calendar days before the first start day.
The SWA will then review your job order for needed corrections and initiate an attempt to recruit workers from the United States.
After submitting your domestic job order with the SWA, you must file an H-2A application with the Department of Labor’s Chicago National Processing Center (the Chicago NPC).
The Chicago NPC will review your application for any flaws and provide additional instructions to complete the temporary labor certification process. If the Department of Labor identifies any errors in your application, they will need fixing before continuing.
Once you’ve filed with both the SWA and Chicago NPC, you must attempt to recruit US workers. The government will provide you with specific instructions on how to perform the recruitment process, including where and when to advertise your available jobs.
The recruitment period begins on the date when you have received your Notice of Acceptance from the Chicago NPC.
To qualify for the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker Program, you must complete all recruitment steps correctly.
Upon receiving your Department of Labor temporary labor certification, you will need to submit the original certification along with the necessary H-2A visa forms to begin your petition with USCIS. Your original temporary labor certification serves as initial evidence.
After the USCIS approves your forms, you instruct the intended H-2A workers to apply for visas or admission to the United States. They do this either with the United States Department of State (DOS) at a local US Embassy or Consulate, or they can directly seek admission to the United States at a US port of entry with the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
If everything is done the first time correctly, it can cost between $10,500 and $20,000 per worker to process an H-2A visa and stay in compliance; however, your costs can vary. The visa program fees are broken down:
● $100 labor certification application fee, plus $10 per certified worker. This fee will not exceed $1000.
● $460 non-immigrant worker petition filing fee.
● $190 consulate fee per worker. You must reimburse this amount to the worker in their first paycheck.
● $6 border stamp fee per worker.
● $100 agent fee per worker.
All other fees and expenses are for transportation, housing, and various additional costs. Your costs may be higher or lower depending on several factors.
Keep in mind that you will likely lose your money if your H-2A visa application is rejected. Working with an H-2A visa processing company can help protect you from lost application fees.
As of November 10, 2021, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services there are 82 different countries eligible for the H-2A temporary worker program.
● Andorra
● Argentina
● Australia
● Austria
● Barbados
● Belgium
● Brazil
● Brunei
● Bulgaria
● Canada
● Chile
● Colombia
● Costa Rica
● Croatia
● Czech Republic
● Denmark
● Dominican
● Republic
● Ecuador
● El Salvador
● Estonia
● Fiji
● Finland
● France
● Germany
● Greece
● Grenada
● Guatemala
● Honduras
● Hungary
● Iceland
● Ireland
● Israel
● Italy
● Jamaica
● Japan
● Kiribati
● Latvia
● Liechtenstein
● Lithuania
● Luxembourg
● North Macedonia
● Madagascar
● Malta
● Moldova
● Mexico
● Moldova*
● Monaco
● Montenegro
● Mozambique
● Nauru
● The Netherlands
● Nicaragua
● New Zealand
● Norway
● Panama
● Papua New Guinea
● Paraguay
● Peru
● Poland
● Portugal
● Romania
● San Marino
● Serbia
● Singapore
● Slovakia
● Slovenia
● Solomon Islands
● South Africa
● South Korea
● Spain
● St. Vincent and the Grenadines
● Sweden
● Switzerland
● Taiwan**
● Thailand
● Timor-Leste
● Turkey
● Tuvalu
● Ukraine
● United Kingdom
● Uruguay
● Vanuatu