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"Workers deserve justice no matter which country they hail from or work. Advocates in both nations need to be better supported to more effectively respond to this new reality."
  - Jorge Madrazo
Former Mexico Attorney General

More H-2 Information

The Process of Requesting H2 Workers

The process of obtaining H2 workers involves several steps and three separate government agencies. Because of this, each department issues differing statistics and information on the number of H2 workers. For more statistics from each department, see the Department of Labor, Department of State, and Department of Homeland Security section. To see the steps an employer, and eventually employee, must take to bring a foreign worker into the United States under an H-2 visa see below.

Department of Labor
1. The Employer completes an Application for Temporary Employment Certification, ETA 9142 for H-2B, or ETA 9142 and an Agricultural and Food Processing Clearance Order, ETA 790 for H-2A, and returns it to the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) or the State Workforce Agency (SWA).
2. USDOL issues a temporary Certificate of Temporary Employment to the Employer.

Department of State
3. The Employer completes a Petition for a Non-Immigrant Workers, I-129 for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
4. USCIS issues an I-797, a Notice of Action, to the Employer.
5. The Employer sends the I-129 and I-797 to the appropriate Consulate.
6. The Employee submits a Visa Application to the US Consulate.
7. Consular officials interview applicants and issue the H-2 visas.

Department of Homeland Security
8. Once the employee has a visa, they are permitted to enter the United States.

Rights for H2 Workers

H2 Workers

Regardless of visa status, all workers are entitled to many of the same protections as U.S. workers, including;

• the right not to be retaliated against;
• the right to be paid;
• the right to at least federal minimum wage ($7.25/hour), or the higher state minimum wage;
• the right to a safe and health workplace;
• the right not to be discriminated against;
• the right to join a union and bargain collectively; and
• the right to leave an abusive workplace situation*.

For state by state information on minimum wage, see DOL Minimum Wage Law in the States.

*While all workers are entitled to leaving an abusive situation, H2 workers are not permitted to work for an employer other than the one listed on the H-2 visa. Once an H2 worker leaves their place of employment, they must return to his or her home country.

For more detailed information on these protections, see the brochure, contributed to by Global Workers' Mexico Director Griselda Vega, which is distributed by the State Department to all work visa applicants.

For the Spanish version, click here.

H-2A Seasonal Agricultural Workers

In addition to the above protections, H-2A workers are entitled to other rights specific to their visa.

• Workers must receive a written copy of the terms of their employment on or before their first day of work which includes information on wages, benefits, housing, and transportation.
• Workers must receive a wage at or above a wage that is set by the government.
• Workers are not required to pay social security taxes.
• Employers are required to provide housing at no charge.
• Employers are required to reimburse workers their transportation from the country of origin, as well as the return travel after employment has ended.
• Workers are guaranteed at least 3/4 of the number of days of work specified in their contract.

H-2B Seasonal Non-Agricultural Workers

H-2B workers are entitled to rights in addition to those given to H2 workers. They are not entitled to H2A rights.

• Workers must receive a wage at or above a wage that is set by the government.
• Employers are required to pay for return travel if the work ends earlier than anticipated.

Department of Labor

The United States Department of Labor records the number of workers requested and certified. However, the number of visas requested does not always reflect the number of guest workers that actually receive visas.

Number of H2 Workers Certified by the Department of Labor
Workers Requested/Workers Certified

For H2A statistics for FY 2005 from the Department of Labor reference the Employment and Training Division Data, H-2A Program.12

The statistics from FY 2000-2005 for H2B visas can be accessed from the Employment and Training Division Data, H-2B Program.13

H-2A Seasonal Agricultural Workers

H-2B Seasonal Non-Agricultural Workers

Department of State

The Department of State maintains statistics on the number of visas issued by various consulates.

H-2A Seasonal Agricultural Workers14

In 2009, DOS issued 60,112 H-2A visas.

 

H-2B Seasonal Non-Agricultural Workers15

In 2009, DOS issued 44,847 H-2B visas.

 

Department of Homeland Security

The statistics published by the Department of Homeland Security are cited below.16 The data recorded represents entrances of visa holders and not issuances of visas, therefore one visa can be counted multiple times as a result of more than one entry.

H-2B Seasonal Non-Agricultural Workers

In 2009, DHS recorded 56,543 H-2B & H-2R* entrances.

*While the H-2R program was not renewed, there were unexplained H-2R entrances recorded in 2008. Global Workers projects that these were entrances of visa holders who were issued the visas in fiscal year 2007, but did not enter the United States until fiscal year 2008, which begins October 1, 2007.

For a record of H2 Visas from fiscal year 1978 to fiscal year 2006 see Global Workers' Historical H2 Chart.

For fiscal years 2002-2006 organized by country of origin, see Global Workers' 2002-2006 chart.

H-2A Seasonal Agricultural Workers

In 2009, DHS recorded 149,763 H-2A entrances.

Note: For H2 visa statistics from previous years, please refer to the Department of Homeland Security Office of Immigration Statistics Immigration Yearbook for 2005 and 2006, and 2007.

 

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