Visa Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in Agricultural Industry

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A brand-new week means new developments in the world of immigration. In this blog post, we share with you a new announcement from USCIS released on May 16, 2022, which reveals that an additional 35,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas are up for grabs during the second half of fiscal year 2022.

The H-2B nonimmigrant program makes it possible for U.S. employers to temporarily hire nonimmigrants to perform nonagricultural labor or services in the United States. To qualify, employment must be of a temporary nature for a limited period of time such as a one-time occurrence, seasonal need, peak load need or intermittent need. The H-2B program requires the employer to complete wage attestation requirements with the Department of Labor and certify that there are not enough U.S. workers able, willing, qualified and able to perform the temporary work, and that employment will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

This is especially welcome news for U.S. employers who are looking to employ nonagricultural workers on a temporary basis during the period on or after April 1, 2022, through September 30, 2022. Petitions for the H-2B visas can be filed by employers beginning on Wednesday, May 18, 2022.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas released these additional visa numbers to help U.S. employers meet labor shortages for seasonal workers.

The additional numbers will allow for 23,500 visas to be granted to returning workers who received an H-2B visa or were otherwise granted H-2B status during one of the last three fiscal years. The remaining 11,500 visas will be reserved for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti, regardless of whether they are returning workers.

For more information about these additional visa numbers, please click here.

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The House of Representatives recently made a bold move that could give undocumented farmworkers a pathway to permanent residence.

Yesterday, December 11, 2019, by a vote of 260-165, the House passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, a progressive bill that if approved by the Senate, would create several exciting opportunities for undocumented farmworkers as well as U.S. employers.

What does the Bill propose?

The bill would allow existing agricultural workers in the United States to legalize their status through continued agricultural employment and contribution to the United States economy.

Which workers would be eligible for Permanent Resident Status?

Earned Pathway to Legalization

  • Individuals who have worked in agriculture in the U.S. for at least 10 years before enactment of the bill, must continue to work for at least 4 more years in agriculture on Certified Agricultural Worker (CAW) status before being eligible to apply for permanent residence OR
  • Individuals who have worked in agriculture in the U.S. for less than 10 years, must work at least 8 more years in agriculture on CAW status before being eligible to apply for permanent residence
    • Applicants who qualify based on one of these criteria would be required to pay a $1,000 fine

In addition, the bill would:

  • Create a new temporary worker visa program for current unauthorized farmworkers called Certified Agricultural Worker (CAW) status. CAW visas would be renewable and five-and-a-half years in length. The number of CAW visas would be uncapped.
  • Establish eligibility requirements of the CAW visa.Unauthorized immigrants who have spent at least 180 days of the last two years in agricultural employment would be eligible for the Certified Agricultural Worker Visa.
  • With few exceptions, applicants must meet existing work visa admissibility requirements to be eligible and must pass a criminal background check.
  • Felons and those who have been convicted of multiple misdemeanors (two or more offenses of moral turpitude or three offenses in general) would not be eligible.

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