H-2A Applications for Temporary or Seasonal Agricultural Workers

In the agriculture industry of the United States, there are situations by which there are very few agricultural workers that are readily available. Even if such agricultural companies have exhausted efforts in advertising for job openings and hiring opportunities, there is still a need to hire workers from elsewhere, such as outside of the United States. In this regard, the H-2A classification of visa includes temporary or seasonal workers that are hired by American agricultural companies because of the shortage of employees.

With regards to the applications for H-2A workers, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is attempting to centralize the receiving of all applications to the California Service Center. Applications that arrived in other service centers after the announced date of centralization will be returned to the sender, so they have to mail it again to the new specified address by the USCIS.

The following address should be used for filing of applications via mail: US Citizenship and Immigration Services, California Service Center, ATTN: H-2A Processing Unit, PO Box 10140, Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-1040. Private couriers like FedEx or UPS, or those who deliver via other non-United States Postal Service (USPS) modes should address their applications to: US Citizenship and Immigration Services, California Service Center, ATTN: H-2A Processing Unit, 24000 Avila Road, Room 2312, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677. If the employers wish to receive a mailed -notice of the USCIS decision on the petition, a self-addressed and stamped envelope can be included with the application.

Individual proprietorship, or a partnership or corporation, are the types of agricultural business entities that may petition for temporary or seasonal non-immigrant workers then the need arises. There are also authorized agents like attorneys or other associations which can also file the H-2A petition as a representative of the business entity or employer. It is very crucial that the agricultural business intends to hire foreign or non-immigrant seasonal workers on a short-term and temporary basis. This can be with regards to the types of crops that are to be grown at a given season.

There are also additional requirements as stated by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services for H-2A certification: as mentioned earlier the employer or business should have proof that they have advertised for the job openings, but there were no takers. On comparing the pay rate of regular US agricultural workers with temporary or seasonal agricultural workers, the employer is required to offer them the same rate.