What You Should Expect from an H2A Agency
A checklist to evaluate, compare, and make an informed decision
Operating a successful farm is hard enough. Leveraging the H2A Program to fill your labor gap with H2A workers is a smart move. And, given the complexity of the process and constant changes, working with an experienced H2A agency can simplify your life and strengthen your farm or ag business.
All H2A agencies aren’t created equal
When it comes to the H2A Program, you need a true partner, not just a paper pusher. A true partner helps you minimize your risk, has the expertise to troubleshoot issues and perform crisis control, apply best practices to ensure approval and keep you compliant, and invest in the infrastructure needed to ensure reliable, consistent outcomes every season.
Not all H2A agencies are created equal. But how do you evaluate them to choose the H2A agency that’s right for you? This blog provides you with some helpful tools to help assess and compare H2A agencies.
A checklist of what you should expect from your H2A agency
If you’re already using an H2A agency, how do you know if it's delivering everything it should? If you’re new to the H2A Program, you may not even be aware of all the ways an H2A agency can help support you.
Here’s a useful checklist of what we believe you should be getting from your H2A agency. Does your current agency:
Manage Notices of Deficiencies (NODs) and all communications from your State Workforce Agency (SWA), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Keep you informed with clear communication and updates
Help source verified, skilled workers
Ensure everything stays on track to get workers here on time
Support you and your workers throughout your entire season
Provide the flexibility to get help when you need it, in both your peak and off seasons
Help you stay compliant and minimize your risk
5 questions you should ask every H2A agency
On the surface, most H2A agencies look similar. But it’s all about the details. That means, knowing how, or if, an H2A agency will support you in specific situations to help separate the paper pushers from true long-term partners that care about your success as much as you do.
Be sure to ask your current, or any potential, agency these 5 key questions:
1. Do you provide both my labor certification and help me source quality workers?
2. How do you help ensure the workers are experienced and reliable?
3. What if I have issues with any of the workers after they arrive?
4. What if I want my good workers to return?
5. What if I get audited?
USA Farm Labor gets asked these questions every day. Here’s how we answer each one:
Question 1: Do you provide both my labor certification and help me source quality workers?
Answer: USA Farm Labor manages the entire H2A process of getting your labor certification, plus provides you access to our proprietary database of 6,000-plus verified, skilled workers.
Question 2: How do you help ensure the workers are experienced and reliable?
Answer: USA Farm Labor’s global network of recruiters verify worker skills and references. And through our partnership with USA Truck Labor, you can quickly identify workers that have completed comprehensive training on driving and operating farm equipment.
Question 3: What if I have issues with any of the workers after they arrive?
Answer: Your dedicated Worker Placement Coordinator is just a phone call away throughout your entire season. And USA Farm Labor’s 30-day money-back guarantee ensures that, if your worker isn’t working out, your paid fees will go towards finding a suitable replacement.
Question 4: What if I want my good workers to return?
Answer: Your Worker Placement Coordinator can also help you rehire reliable workers year after year, reducing turnover, training time, and risk.
Question 5: What if I get audited?
Answer: With one of the most trusted H2A attorneys on staff, and our Strategic Compliance Alliance, at your disposal, you have all the resources you need to make sure you’re always audit-ready.
5 more good reasons to talk with USA Farm Labor
You deserve to partner with an H2A agency that’s there for you all season long. USA Farm Labor’s team of experts provides you with personalized, hands-on, end-to-end support—rain or shine. From understanding your specific needs, managing your DOL paperwork, and making sure you pass your housing inspection to putting 6,000-plus verified, skilled workers at your fingertips, managing your visa petitions, preparing you for worker arrival, and providing answers and solutions for any questions or issues that come up throughout your entire season—you can count on us. See for yourself why we have a 97% customer satisfaction rate and 93% successful worker placement rate.
“It’s safe to say we chose USA Farm Labor because they truly care about our success. Everyone we talked to and dealt with … processing, coordinators, were just so caring, it seemed they cared as much as we do.”
– Valerie (Hutchinson, KS)
Here are 5 more good reasons to have a conversation with USA Farm Labor:
1. Avoid delays, denials, audits, and costly mistakes thanks to our experts and best practices on everything from Statements of Needs, DOL and SWA paperwork, to housing, visa petitions and Homeland Security
2. Browse resumes, references, and skills for 6,000-plus verified skilled workers
3. Have one centralized place to manage all your H2A-related documents
4. Get answers and support through your entire season and beyond
5. Hire skilled workers for both your peak and off seasons
Whether you need time to focus on growth, set your business up for future generations, or simply want to spend more time with your family, USA Farm Labor can help you get there. Learn how partnering with USA Farm Labor impacted both the business and personal lives of Matt and Valerie Brack in ways they hadn’t even imagined.
