Modernizing Recruitment Requirements for the Temporary Employment of H-2A Foreign Workers in the United States

The Department of Labor (Department or DOL) is amending its regulations governing the certification of agricultural labor or services to be performed by temporary foreign workers in H-2A nonimmigrant status (H-2A workers). The Department issues this certification pursuant to Section 218(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which requires a prospective employer of H-2A workers to apply for a certification from the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) that there are not sufficient able, willing, and qualified United States (U.S.) workers available to fill the petitioning employer's job opportunity, and that the employment of H-2A workers in that job opportunity will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed. This final rule modernizes and improves the labor market test that the Department uses to assess whether able, willing, and qualified U.S. workers are available by: Rescinding the requirement that an employer advertise its job opportunity in a print newspaper of general circulation in the area of intended employment; expanding and enhancing the Department's electronic job registry; and leveraging the expertise and existing outreach activities of State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) to promote agricultural job opportunities.