If the employee is returning to their place of recruitment at the end of the contract, the employer is also responsible to pay the economic costs of the transportation to return there. Before you can apply for an H2A visa, you have to have a job offer from an employer in the U.S. Make sure you review your work contract carefully and check that the offer and the employer’s petition (see below) is valid. They may leave the country and return, but only if authorized by their employer. The answer is that they can. What are the requirements for H-2A employers? The housing will be inspected and should comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. Yes, a worker may apply for Green Card while on H-2A visa. The H2A Visa is a work visa issued by the United States to foreign workers in seasonal, as opposed to year-round, agricultural jobs. Government regulations for this process require the farmer or rancher to bear the costs for it. H2a visa to card. K Visa Processing Update. Many foreign workers also wonder whether they can apply for a Green Card when they have an H-2A visa. The employer has to prove the following: The employer has to demonstrate to the DOL that they made efforts to recruit U.S workers. Take a look at the U.S. State Department Visa Bulletin, which is published monthly, to get a sense of the waiting times for the various categories of jobs under the numerical limitations. The H-2A visa also requires that workers only stay for three years, after which point, they must return to their home country. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has determined the number of countries from which H-2A workers can be hired. You might be able to apply for a Green Card through your family, a job offer or employment in the U.S., refugee status, and various other specialized ways. If the visa of the primary H-2A holder is extended, the family can also apply for an extension of their H-4 visa. Green Cards Employment-based. They will have to apply for an H-4 visa. However, many farmers and ranchers find that the payback period is satisfactory, given the annual cost of the H-2A visa. Important Notice for K visa applicants affected by COVID-19. In many if not most cases, even after the approval of a labor certification and the employer’s petition based on that labor certification, the last step of green card processing must wait for a slot to open up under the numerical limitations. Court Order regarding Presidential Proclamation 10052. There is no cap for the H-2A visas. Step 1: Find a job. Once you have a J1 visa in hand and some experience in America under your belt, it is extremely tempting to take the next step and become a permanent resident. H1B visa. A less obvious reason arises from the numerical limitations governing the yearly distribution of employment-based green cards. The process of getting a U.S green card from the H1B visa is called the H1B to Green Card transfer or the Employment Based Green Card. Is it possible to change status on an H-2A visa? Need help obtaining an H-2A Work Visa? A Green Card Process is definitely not cheap – it includes legal fees, USCIS filing fees, and required advertising. The second U.S work visa amongst non-immigrant visas is the H-2 visa. It should also be noted that H2A visa holders can apply for various types of Green Cards (Employment or Family-based). You can find resources related to COVID-19 and the H … If you are a farmer or vineyard owner who needs the essential workforce, and cannot find it locally, the H2A program is for you. If you have an H-2B visa and you want to obtain a green card, you will need to plan and time the process carefully in order to ensure you are able to maintain your H-2B status during the processing of your green card application. Since H-2A visas are temporary for agricultural work, they are valid for 1 year. Am I eligible for a Green Card on H-2B status? The answer is that they can. How long does it take to process H-2A visas? Extensions are done in one-year increments, and the total amount of time that a H-2A visa holder can stay in the U.S is three years. This can be done by filing the following forms: Form ETA-790 should be submitted to the State Workforce Agency where the work will be performed 60 to 75 days before the employer needs the agricultural foreign workers. If employers provide the meals, they are allowed to charge workers for them and deduct it from their wage. There are several ways to get a Green Card; if you meet the eligibility criteria. This is because it will take less time to process them if they are separated into two groups. Documents for your family members if they are accompanying you, If your visa application is approved, apply for visa stamping. These countries are listed below: Identify the foreign workers by name, date of birth, country of birth, and country of citizenship, Submit proof that the U.S benefits from giving an H-2A visa to the workers, Get certification from the Department of Labor (DOL), Form ETA-790 – Agricultural and Food Processing Clearance Order (job offer), Form ETA-9142A – Foreign Labor Certification, When 50% of the contract has been completed, the U.S employer has to reimburse the transportation expenses of the employee if they were incurred, If the employer provides housing, they are also responsible to provide transportation from the housing to the place of work. The US Green Card website is privately owned and operated by Bronza Tech OOD and is not a governmental agency. But how do you deal with the apparent conflict if you really do want to stay permanently? This can be done by getting an American Green Card. This means that anyone who applies for the visa and gets approved can come into the U.S to work and there are not restrictions on how many people can be employed in this work. The H-1B category seems fairly broad compared to these other categories, authorizing work in professional occupations requiring at least a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field. In addition, if the family finds jobs which require H-2A visas, they can try to change their status if employers go through the necessary procedures. If their employment ends for any reason, their visa expires. Be aware of the intent issue if you are using a nonimmigrant status to bridge to a green card; and consider consulting an immigration lawyer about the implications. If you’re looking for a stepping stone to an employment-based green card, your best bet is a nonimmigrant visa or status that authorizes employment. Why would the U.S Embassy deny my H-2A visa? The L-1 visa category, for instance, is for intracompany transferees; R-1 is for religious workers; P-1 is for internationally recognized athletes and entertainers; and O-1 is for “persons of extraordinary ability.”. Note: This visa is also used for entertainers going on a tour, for film workers or professional minor league players You may certainly apply for a Green card on H-2B status. With reference to E-1, E-2, P-1, and O-1 status, for example, immigration lawyers sometimes talk about “quasi nonimmigrant intent.”. However, in case they have not completed the work and the employer needs them, or they find another employer, the H-2A visa can be extended. EB2 Green Cards; EB3 Green Cards; EB4 Green Cards; EB5 Green Cards; H1B Visa; H1B1 Visa; H2A Visa; H2B Visa; I-Visa; L-1 Visa; O-1 Visa; P-1 Visa; P-2 Visa; P-3 Visa; Q-1 Visa; R-1 Visa; TN Visa; E-3 Visa; Working Holiday Visas; Family Visas. The H2A visa is not self-petitioned. Your Green Card Program application is process by the US State Department. Thus, backlogs often develop, which are worse for workers from some countries because of the historically high demand from those countries. Can the spouse or children of an H-2A worker get a … U.S employers who are hiring workers from countries on the list and off the list are recommended to submit two petitions. There is no path to a green card with a H2A visa. According to the November 2019 Visa Bulletin, for example, someone from the Philippines with an advanced degree coming to the U.S. to perform a job that requires that advanced degree (a “second preference” worker) will not have to wait at all to apply for a green card, whereas an unskilled worker (“other workers”) from the Philippines will have to wait almost two years. Be of a certain nationality. H-2A Visa Program H-2A and COVID-19 We are committed to delivering USDA services to America’s farmers and ranchers while taking safety measures in response to the COVID-19, or new coronavirus, outbreak. Can i apply for a card while working in the US with a valid h2a permit - Answered by a verified Immigration Lawyer. U.S employers must pay the same wage rate for foreign workers as they would U.S workers. The conditions to qualify for an H-2A visa as an employee are: However, if a U.S employer wants to hire an agricultural worker from a country that is not on the list, they will have to go through some procedures, such as: The DHS will take into account the request and might update the list to include that country if they determine that it is in the interest of the U.S to have that worker in the country. How we can help. Any U.S farm owner who needs extra workers qualifies to initiate the H-2A visa process for foreign workers. The reasons as to why the U.S Embassy might deny an H-2A visa are mostly employer related. (For more information about the process, see Procedures to Sponsoring a Worker for a Green Card.) Recipients are required to work during their stay. DHS will apply this temporary final rule to H-2A petitions requesting an extension of stay, if they were received on or after Aug. 19, 2020, through Dec. 18, 2020. These are the procedures: Processing times vary for H-2A visas since there is seasonality and sometimes it might take longer. Step 2: Labor certification. F-2 Visa for Dependents of F-1 Visa Holders, J-2 Visa for Dependents of J-1 Visa Holders, M-1 Visa for Vocational and non-Academic Education, H-1B Visa for Person in Specialty Occupations, H-1B1 Visa for Professionals from Chile and Singapore, H-4 Visa for Dependents of H Visa Holders, L-2 Visa for Dependents of L visa holders, O-1 Visa for Persons With Extraordinary Ability, P Visa for Athletes, Artists and Entertainers, E-3 Visa – Work Visa for Australian Nationals, IR-2 Visa for Unmarried Children of a U.S Citizen, IR-3 Visa for Children Adopted Abroad by a U.S Citizen, IR-4 Visa for Children Adopted Within the U.S by a U.S Citizen, F-2A Visa for spouses and minor children under 21 years old, F-2B Visa for adult children over 21 years old, F-3 Visa for married children of U.S citizens and their families, F-4 Visa for siblings of U.S citizens and their families. 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