Overhaul temporary workers program

Kevin Dippert
Published: March 2, 2008

As a matter of interest, I took it upon myself to find out what exactly is involved with legally utilizing a foreign person for temporary or seasonal work in the U.S. In contacting the U.S. Department of Labor and Virginia Employment Commission, I found that the government has two programs that offer assistance in these areas.

A business can apply for an H-2A visa if it needs temporary or seasonal workers in agriculture or an H-2B visa for temporary, non-agricultural workers. Surprisingly, those illegal immigrants already in the U.S. are not eligible for these visas unless they first go back to their native country to start the process.

For acceptance of an H-2A visa, a business must meet several conditions, including:

1) first attempting to recruit U.S. workers before foreign workers can be hired;

2) paying U.S. workers and H-2A workers similar wages (minimum $9.02/hr);

3) providing free housing to all workers who can't return to their residences the same day;

4) providing either 3 meals a day to each worker or furnishing cooking facilities and

5) providing free transportation for the worker from the place of recruitment (i.e. their native country) to the place of housing, as well as back-and-forth from the place of housing to the workplace. Other conditions deal with workers' compensation insurance and a percentage of guaranteed work for both U.S. and the foreign workers.

If all of the stipulations are accepted by the employer, then the application process begins with filling out a two-page form (ETA 750A) and a single-page form (ETA 790). Once approved, the employer then needs to complete a 17-page petition (form I-129) asking permission to use a non-immigrant worker.

The whole process will take 60 to 120 days and cost approximately $600.

If you don't have known workers in another country then, for a fee, recruiters can be hired to help you. Their fees range from $200 to $3,100. The application and recruiter fees tend to be the same whether you want one or several foreign workers.

It's important to understand that the temporary workers visa program is valid only for one year. Another application will be needed, with fees, if you desire new or returning workers.

An H-2B employer faces similar, sometimes even more burdensome, red tape. The major downfall to the H-2B program is the fact that the government puts a cap of 33,000 applicants accepted every six months, starting April 1 and Oct. 1. Having only 66,000 foreign workers accepted each year is a drop in the bucket to the actual number needed in this country. 

To put it bluntly, the U.S. temporary workers visa programs are of no use to the average small business owner. The government has made the process so tedious, restrictive and expensive that its impractical for the average business owner.

There's no wonder why so many employers are forced to use undocumented workers. If one truly wants to reduce the illegal immigrant population in the U.S., then there needs to be an overhaul of the temporary workers program so there is a realistic and efficient means of hiring legal foreign workers.