A Detailed Breakdown of H-2A Visa Program Costs
More and more farms and ag businesses are participating in the H2A Visa Program—for good reason. It provides a lifeline that ensures they have enough hands to produce a profitable harvest and frees up time for them to work on growing their business instead of just working in their business.
Aside from H-2A Visa Program eligibility requirements, H-2A program costs are one of the top questions we get from H-2A employers. This blog provides a summary of all the costs involved when participating in the H-2A Visa Program.
3 ways to apply for the H-2A Visa Program
As an H-2A Program employer, you basically have three ways to apply for the H-2A Program—on your own, using the services of an attorney, or using an H-2A agency. The total costs vary depending on which option you choose. This blog focuses on typical costs when using an H-2A agency such as USA Farm Labor to apply.
Learn more about your H-2 Visa Program application options
Look at the H-2A Visa Program as an investment
At first glance, H-2A Program requirements like housing may seem daunting. But when you consider it from all angles, it’s best to look at the H-2A Visa Program as an investment.
Consider these key facts:
Over time, expenses such as housing will more than pay for themselves with appreciation and other benefits
Your one-time investment in housing will yield value and house workers year after year
Some costs can be categorized as business expenses that result in tax offsets that reduce your total costs
H-2A Program employers aren’t responsible for paying workers’ taxes (Medicare, Social Security, and unemployment) which can run approximately $300 per month for a worker that earns $3,000 per month
The total costs per worker on average run $5,000 per season. Tax offsets can lower that down to a few thousand dollars, depending on the number of workers. The more workers, the lower the per worker cost.
How much does the H-2A Visa Program cost?
Categories of H-2A Visa Program costs
The various H-2A Visa Program costs can be broken down into these main categories:
Application fees
Worker fees
Government fees
Program fees
Hourly wages and overtime
Other possible fees
The following sections go into each of these categories in more detail.
Application fees
Most agencies charge a one-time new client fee if it’s the first time you’re applying to the H-2A program through that agency. There’s also an application fee that, for USA Farm Labor, covers:
Collecting and managing all the necessary paperwork to meet eligibility requirements and submit your application
Fine-tuning your Statement of Temporary Need and Job Description
Transferring all your information to the required government forms
Submitting your application to both the State Workforce Agency (SWA) and the Department of Labor (DOL)
Monitoring your Temporary Labor Certification approval
Handling any communications from the SWA and DOL
Resolving Notices of Deficiency from the DOL
Keep in mind that the application fee varies depending on if you’re submitting a Summer or Winter application. Winter application fees are a bit higher because they’re typically under more scrutiny and require additional justification.
Worker fees
Worker fees come in several forms. The first portion may be paid in two parts, the first due before workers arrive and the remaining paid after their arrival. These fees vary based on worker experience. The total fee covers the costs required to perform ongoing candidate recruitment, management, and tracking, which allows us to provide you with the most qualified worker candidates possible.
In addition, there’s a monthly per worker fee that covers:
Providing a bridge between you, recruiters, consulates, and workers
Handling and organizing consulate and travel arrangements, and other logistics to get your workers over to America
Preparing you for worker arrival, including providing worker arrival documents
Daily support for both you and workers through your entire contract
Reaching out periodically throughout your contract to ensure everything is going smoothly
Helping to resolve any questions, concerns, or conflicts
Government fees
The H-2A Visa Program application process involves working with several government agencies, each with its own set of fees.
The Department of Labor (DOL) fee to apply for a Temporary Labor Certification runs $100, plus $10 per worker. For example, if you’re requesting four workers, the total DOL application fee would be $140.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) fees for worker visa petitions come with certain caveats:
Filing fees range from $760 to $1,690 based on your business size and where the workers are coming from:
Employers with 25+ employees pay slightly more
U.S. workers cost slightly more since they typically have more experience from already working in America
You may include multiple workers on a single petition but they must be coming from the same place, meaning all workers are coming from out of the country or all are coming from within the U.S.
If you have workers coming from both out of the country and within the U.S., you need two separate petitions, one for the out-of-country workers, one for the U.S. workers, each with its own petition fee
To keep costs down, we recommend you hire workers from the same place, meaning all from out of the country or all from the U.S.
The per-worker Consulate fee is $205
Program fees
Aside from the application and worker fees, there are certain costs that are incurred in order to be eligible for and stay compliant with the H-2A Visa Program requirements.
Learn more about H-2A Program requirements
The costs related to meeting H-2A Visa Program requirements include:
Workers’ Compensation—While ag businesses are typically exempt from Workers’ Comp, the H-2A Visa Program requires all H-2A employers to have an active policy in place. Costs vary by region and state.
Worker travel—This includes the most economical option for round-trip flights, which typically runs around $1,800 per worker
Meals for workers while traveling—The daily meal allowance is $16.28 minimum, $68 maximum with receipts. Find the current rates here.
Housing—Acceptable housing may vary from a house you own to rentals that may include a house, apartment, hotel or motel—even a camper, trailer or RV in some states
3 meals per day during the job contract—You have two options for providing meals:
Providing housing with full kitchen facilities where workers can make their own meals
Catering meals—If you choose this option you can deduct the DOL’s daily rate (currently $16.28 per day) from workers’ pay. You can check the going rate here.
Weekly transportation—This entails either providing a vehicle for workers to drive, provided they have a valid drivers’ license, or driving them at least once a week to do essential errands, such as buying groceries, banking, or doing laundry. If you provide a car, you’re responsible for reimbursing them for gas.
Hourly wages and overtime
H-2A Program workers are paid the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR). This is a minimum wage designed to prevent adversely affecting wages of similarly employed domestic workers. You can pay H-2A workers more, as well as provide bonuses, but the AEWR is the minimum H-2A wage.
The most recent AEWR methodology recognizes skill levels, job complexity, and the value of housing, transportation, and other statutory benefits. There’s a published unadjusted AEWR for both skill levels. The published rate is what appears on your ETA-790. The DOL applies an Adverse Compensation Adjustment (ACA), which varies by state. Farm Labor Contractors and Custom Harvesters pay the average AEWR for all states if their worksites cross different states.
The range for AEWR wages based on skill level is as follows:
Unadjusted Adjusted
Skill Level 1 $9.50 - $17.47 $8.79 - $14.83
Skill Level 2 $10.37 - $23.80 $9.66 - $21.16
Find the specific H-2A Program wage rates for your state
It should be noted that, if your state’s minimum wage is higher than the AEWR, you must pay that higher wage rate.
In most states, H-2A employees are exempt from overtime requirements but some states require H-2A employers to pay the overtime rate (time-and-a-half) if H-2A employees work more than a set number of hours (in most but not all states). The threshold varies by state, with most thresholds not kicking in until 48 hours per week).
Other possible fees
Depending on your specific situation, there are some additional costs that might be involved, including:
Emergency Filing fee—If you’re applying for the H-2A Visa Program for the first time, and are late getting your application started, you can pay this $300 fee no later than 45 days from your start date to potentially save 15 days
Joint application fee—If multiple employers are planning to share H-2A workers, they can file a joint application. Each additional employer must pay a $100 fee.
H-4 visa fees—If you’re bringing H-2A Program worker family members to the U.S. on an H-4 non-working visa, the government fee to add a spouse is $490, $200 extra per child
Farm Labor Contractor (FLC) Licensing fees:
The application fee for an FLC license is $1,000, which includes 1 FLC owner, 1 FLC employee, and 1 car
$50 per additional car or employee up to 10
$25 per additional car or employee from 11 up
You may also choose to pay the agency to manage all your FLC documents
Surety Bond—This is required for FLCs and typically runs a few hundred dollars, with rates varying based on your provider and credit score
Custom Harvester fees—The application fee for Custom Harvesters is $200. No FLC license is required.
Learn more about Farm Labor Contractor requirements
Invest in your growth
The H-2A Visa Program is an integral part of the growth plan for thousands of ag businesses across the U.S. USA Farm Labor’s experts can help you clearly understand the value and costs of the program to ensure you make the most of it.
