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Create Your H-2A Visa Checklist

Are you a farmer who needs seasonal or temporary workers for planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops but domestic workers are in short supply? The H-2A temporary agricultural workers program - often called the H-2A Visa Program - helps American farmers fill employment gaps by hiring workers from other countries.

Answer a few short questions below to receive a checklist of requirements, fees, forms, and a timeline built around your H-2A hiring needs. You can also track the status of your current H-2A cases with the H-2A Case Tracker.

Is this your first time hiring workers using the H-2A Visa Program?

Is this your first time hiring workers using the H-2A Visa Program?

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H-2A Visa

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Submit a job order to your State Workforce Agency AND apply for a labor certification with the Department of Labor’s Chicago National Processing Center

During the standard filing process, applicants submit a job order to the State Workforce Agency first and then apply for a labor certification with the Department of Labor’s Chicago National Processing Center at a later date. For emergency filing, you will complete both of these steps at the same time.

Submit a job order to your State Workforce Agency

Begin your H-2A visa application by submitting the Employment and Training Administration Form 790 (ETA Form 790) and cover letter to your State Workforce Agency.

Required Documentation Icon.svg REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION:

Agricultural and Food Processing Clearance Order (ETA Form 790)
A cover letter that clearly identifies the job order as a future H-2A application and requests a housing inspection

Tips Icon.svg APPLICATION TIPS:

For quick communication, include your email address in the application.

Ways to Submit Icon.svg WAYS TO SUBMIT:

File online through the Department of Labor’s Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) System.
Mail or email your application to your state’s processing center.

Once you submit the form and cover letter, the Chicago National Processing Center will contact you within 7 days if they accept the application or if they need further information. You will have 5 days to provide missing information and correct errors.

Apply for a labor certification with the Department of Labor’s Chicago National Processing Center

Once the State Workforce Agency approves your job order, you should submit your completed H-2A application to the Department of Labor’s Chicago National Processing Center (servicing the entire country). If the State Workforce Agency doesn’t accept your job order or respond in a timely manner, submit an emergency H‐2A visa application to the Chicago National Processing Center only.

Required Documentation Icon.svg REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION:

H-2A Application for Temporary Employment Certification (PDF Form ETA 9142A)
A copy of your approved ETA Form 790 and attachments

Tips Icon.svg APPLICATION TIPS:

Include your email address in the application. (The Department of Labor will communicate with you using next-day delivery if you don’t provide an email address.)
Disclose important wage, benefit, or other working conditions required by regulation.
Read through the Department of Labor’s Employer Guide to Participation in the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Program for additional information.

Ways to Submit Icon.svg WAYS TO SUBMIT:

Once you submit the form and cover letter, the Chicago National Processing Center will contact you within 7 days or else issue a notice of deficiency requesting additional information. You’ll have 5 days to provide missing information and correct errors.

You can submit an appeal to the Department of Labor’s Administrative Law Judge rather than respond to each correction or deficiency. You must request a review or hearing before the judge within 5 days, or the Department of Labor will consider your application abandoned and denied.

Check the approval status of your Department of Labor or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services cases through the Farmers.gov H-2A Case Tracker. To track the status of your cases over time, sign in or sign up for an H-2A Case Tracker account through login.gov.

Begin domestic recruitment

You must first recruit domestic workers and document all recruitment activities before you hire foreign workers using the H-2A visa program.

Begin recruiting domestic workers immediately after you file with the State Workforce Agency. You'll need to continue recruiting domestic workers until your H-2A workers begin traveling to the worksite, or 3 days before the work is scheduled to start, whichever is earlier. You must accept domestic referrals through 50 percent of the contract period.

The Chicago National Processing Center will provide you with specific instructions about the recruiting activities you are required to complete. These activities could include:

Posting newspaper ads, on a Sunday and another day, in a newspaper that serves the local area around the workplace. If there’s no Sunday edition, advertise in the daily edition with the widest circulation serving your local area
Contacting domestic workers you’ve employed during the previous year and offer them a job if they were not terminated for cause or did not abandon the worksite
Advertising in a maximum of three other states in the region or in expected labor supply states

Post Advertisements

As a part of the domestic recruitment process, you will need to post job advertisements in local areas near the workplace. There are some specific pieces of information you’ll need to include in the ad, including, but not limited to:

The name of your business and the work location
A description of the job duties
The work period
The wage offer (hourly and/or piece rate pay)
The number of job open positions
A description of the 3/4th Guarantee
That you will provide tools, supplies, and equipment at no cost, if applicable
That you will reimburse workers for transportation and subsistence to the worksite once 50 percent of the work contract is completed (Note: The Fair Labor Standards Act applies independently of the H-2A Program and contains different reimbursement obligations.)
That you will provide housing at no cost if workers can’t reasonably return home at the end of the work day
Contact information for your State Workforce Agency
The job order number and instructions to apply for the job by contacting the State Workforce Agency, if available

Interview domestic workers

You will need to interview domestic workers by phone or in person at little or no cost. The Chicago National Processing Center will also publish a copy of your job order on the National Public Job Registry. This job posting will be active until 50 percent of the work contract has passed.

Document recruiting activities

You are required to accept all eligible domestic workers through 50 percent of the contract period and fully consider them for a job.

You’ll also need to maintain a recruitment report that contains:

The name of each recruitment source
The name and contact information for each referral or applicant, including former workers
An explanation for each domestic worker who applied for a position but wasn't hired
A statement describing how and when domestic workers were contacted

Receive a final determination from Department of Labor's Chicago National Processing Center

Once you complete the recruitment activities, you should submit additional documentation to the Department of Labor's Chicago National Processing Center to receive your final determination.

Required Documentation Icon.svg REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION:

Your signed and dated recruitment report
The State Workforce Agency housing certificate that shows your housing meets all standards and can house the number or workers requested. (If you're providing rental or other public housing, you must present documentation that the housing complies with the local, state, or federal regulations.)
A copy of your state workers’ compensation insurance policy

Note: If you're exempt from state law, you must outline coverage benefits that are equal to those provided under the state workers’ compensation law for comparable employment. You also will need to provide documentation showing:

The name of the insurance carrier
Your policy number
Dates covered by the policy
A statement that you will renew and maintain coverage for the duration of the work period.

Ways to Submit Icon.svg WAYS TO SUBMIT:

File online through the Department of Labor’s Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) System.
Mail or email your application to your state’s processing center.

The Chicago National Processing Center will send you a final determination letter which provides you either full or partial certification.

Full Certification: Your labor certification is granted for the entire number of workers requested for the employment period.
Partial Certification: Your labor certification is granted, but for a reduced number of workers or employment period. You can appeal this decision to the Department of Labor’s Administrative Law Judge within 7 days.

Your final determination letter will include a certified H-2A Application (ETA Form 9142) and Appendix A.2. Keep this and all related documentation for at least 3 years.

Within 30 days of receiving the letter, you’ll pay your fees with either a check or money order. The cost for individual employers is $100 + $10 per worker, up to $1000. The Chicago National Processing Center will include instructions for payment with your determination letter.

Submit your petition for a non-immigrant worker to US Citizenship and Immigration Services

With full or partial certification, you will complete and submit a Petition for a Non-Immigrant Worker application (Form I-129) to US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Required Documentation Icon.svg REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION:

Two copies of your Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129) with all supporting documentation
A signed Appendix A.2 and your certified original of the H-2A Application for Temporary Employment Certification (Form ETA 9142A) (Be sure to make copies before mailing)
A schedule with the dates and locations where services or training, if applicable, will happen
Your $460 filing fee

Tips Icon.svg NAMING WORKERS:

In general, you do not need to specifically name the women on the petition, unless you are seeking to transfer specific women to your employment who already have an H-2A visa.

For information about the types of I-129 petitioners, see "H-2A Petitioners: Questions and Answers" on the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website.

Ways to Submit Icon.svg WAYS TO SUBMIT:

By Mail: US Postal Service
USCIS California Service Center
Attn: I-129 H-2A
P.O. Box 10140
Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-1040

FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliveries:
USCIS California Service Center
Attn: I-129 H-2A
24000 Avila Road
2nd Floor, Room 2312
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Requests for Evidence from US Citizenship and Immigration Services

US Citizenship and Immigration Services may require additional information from you in order to approve your I-129 petition. The agency checks applications against several databases, including:

Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE)

A web-based tool for verifying commercially available business information about employers (For more information, see "VIBE Questions and Answers" from US Citizenship and Immigration Services.)

Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS)

Business numbering system maintained by Dun & Bradstreet that provides some of the information in VIBE

US Citizenship and Immigration Services will send you a WAC number, also referred to as a receipt or case number, when they approve your application. The WAC number starts with 3 letters and is followed by a series of numbers, for example WAC-15-123-45678.

Additional Resources

H-2A Visa Program

Visit our H-2A Visa Program page for additional requirements, regulations, and costs associated with the program.

Track and Save H-2A Cases

To track the status of your H-2A cases over time, sign in or sign up for an H-2A Case Tracker account through login.gov.

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Create Your H-2A Visa Checklist

Is this your first time hiring workers using the H-2A Visa Program?

H-2A Visa

No earlier than 75 days before, submit a job order to your State Workforce Agency

Submit a job order to your State Workforce Agency AND apply for a labor certification with the Department of Labor’s Chicago National Processing Center

Apply for a labor certification with the Department of Labor’s Chicago National Processing Center

Apply for a labor certification with the Department of Labor's Chicago National Processing Center

Begin domestic recruitment

Receive a final determination from Department of Labor's Chicago National Processing Center

Submit your petition for a non-immigrant worker to US Citizenship and Immigration Services

Find workers

Workers apply for the H-2A Visa

Workers travel to worksite

Short-Term Extension

Long-Term Extension

Submit a petition with US Citizenship and Immigration Services

Contact US Department of Labor

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Additional Resources

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