The H2A visa checklist below provides a general idea of what is usually needed for foreign workers working in a temporary or seasonal agricultural job to obtain their H2A work visa. To have a better understanding of this list, please read the H2A visa overview for more details of what is needed for H2A visa petitions.
Please click to download the H2A visa checklist for foreign agricultural workers.
CONCLUSION (TLDR)
The overall emphasis on the documents and requirements/criteria of a H2A visa petition is that it must show that there are no qualified and available U.S. workers to fill the job and that the U.S. sponsoring employer’s need for the H2A visa worker is a temporary or seasonal.
The requirements for a H2A visa petition are extensive and while ticking the boxes of requirements sounds simple enough, figuring out what items should be included and strategizing how the petition is presented is not. It is common practice and strongly encouraged to obtain an attorney for employment-based nonimmigrant visa petitions.
Alternatives to the H2A Visa Petition
The closest alternatives to filing an H2A visa petition would be filing for an H2B visa petition for skilled or nonskilled workers in non-agricultural job positions. Other work visas usually have a higher standard, such as an H1b visa petition (Australians can file for E-3 visa petitions) for workers who have at least a Bachelor’s degree and will be working in a professional job position that requires such as Bachelor’s degree, or a TN visa petition (only for Canadians or Mexicans) to work in a professional job position the United States.
Another possible alternative to filing an H2A visa petition would be to file for a green card petition which is a permanent immigrant visa and not a temporary work visa like the H2A visa. Typically, a person who is qualifiable for an H2A visa would choose to file for an EB3 green card. For more on green cards gained through work, please read the overview for employment-based green cards.
HAVE A H2A VISA IMMIGRATION QUESTION? CONTACT US
If you have an H2A visa (Temporary Agricultural Worker) immigration question, please fill out our contact us form or send us an email with some basic information about your background and your immigration needs. We will do our best to respond within 48 hours.
How we can help?
Kylie Huang Law’s immigration attorney will help identify whether the H2A visa is the appropriate nonimmigrant visa category for the client’s (or the client’s beneficiary’s) professional background and if there are other visa options for the client (or the client’s beneficiary). We will work closely with our client to prepare a convincing case for their (or it’s) H2A visa petition and we will also strategize on how the H2A visa petition should be presented to achieve the best chances of approval. It is strongly advised and common practice to retain an immigration attorney for an H2A visa petition due to the complexities in the immigration process and visa requirements.
What does the typical process look like to retain (hire) us?
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- Fill out the form (with some basic information on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule an appointment online
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom meeting)
- Retainment (signing a contract to hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming contents of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the status of the case
- Close the case when a final determination is issued
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- Fill out the form (on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule an appointment
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom)
- Retainment (signing a contract to hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming contents of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the status of the case
- Close the case when a final determination is issued
- Step 1:
- Step 2:
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- Step 4:
- Step 5:
- a.
- b.
- c.
- Step 6:
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- Step 8:
- Fill out the form (on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule appointment
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom)
- Retainment (hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming content of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the case status
- Close the case when a final determination is issued