H-2A Program Overview
In Oregon, employers that use the H-2A program must use the following statement in their H-2A applications: "Housing is provided at no cost to those who live outside the local commuting area. Fair housing law generally applies to farm labor housing."
The H-2A temporary agricultural program allows agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of domestic workers to bring nonimmigrant foreign workers to the U.S. to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature. Employment is of a seasonal nature where it is tied to a certain time of year by an event or pattern, such as a short annual growing cycle, and requires labor levels above what is necessary for ongoing operations. Employment is of a temporary nature when the employer's need to fill the position with a temporary worker will, except in extraordinary circumstances, last no longer than one year.
In order to participate in the H-2A program you must create an account and upload the application materials to the Foreign Labor Application Gateway:
https://flag.dol.gov/
Video tutorials are available on creating a FLAG System account and more.
The Oregon Employment Department Foreign Labor Certification program staff will automatically receive notification of the submitted application via email.
H-2B Program Overview
The H-2B temporary non-agricultural program permits employers who meet the program requirements to hire nonimmigrant workers to temporarily come to the U.S. and perform non-agricultural services or labor based on the employer's temporary need. The employer applicant must establish that its need for non-agricultural services or labor is temporary in nature, regardless of whether the underlying job is permanent or temporary.
To participate in the H-2B program, an applicant must:
-
Be an employer with a valid Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN);
-
Have a place of business (i.e., physical location) in the United States; and
- Have a means by which it can be contacted for employment.
The employer's job opportunity (opportunities) must be:
- Temporary (i.e., nine months or less, except one-time occurrences);
- Full-time (i.e., 35 or more hours per week); and
- Non-agricultural employment within a specified area(s) of intended employment.
Temporary need must be established as one of the following:
- One-time occurrence;
- Seasonal need;
- Peakload need; or
- Intermittent need.
With the exception of a one-time occurrence need which can last up to three years, temporary need
will not be approved for longer than nine months.
Permanent Labor (PERM) Program Overview
A permanent labor certification issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) allows an employer to hire a foreign worker to work permanently in the United States. In most instances, before the U.S. employer can submit an immigration petition to the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the employer must obtain a certified labor certification application from the DOL's Employment and Training Administration (ETA). The DOL must certify to the USCIS that there are not sufficient U.S. workers able, willing, qualified and available to accept the job opportunity in the area of intended employment and that employment of the foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.
DOL processes Applications for Permanent Employment Certification, ETA Form 9089, with the exception of Schedule A and sheepherder applications filed under 20 CFR § 656.16. The date the labor certification application is received by the DOL is known as the filing date and is used by USCIS and the Department of State as the priority date. After the labor certification application is certified by DOL, it should be submitted to the appropriate USCIS Service Center with a Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. The certification has a validity period of 180-days and expires if not submitted to USCIS within this period.
Detailed Program Description available
HERE.