The number of foreign workers employed under a temporary agricultural visa increased 4% between 2019 and 2020, despite the pandemic restricting international movement.
Under the H-2A program, agricultural employers may petition the government to issue temporary work visas provided they can prove that there aren’t enough US workers “who are able, willing, qualified, and available to do the temporary work.” Employers must also show that the temporary foreign workers will not negatively affect the wage or work conditions of similar US-based workers.
There were 213,394 H-2A visas issued in fiscal year 2020, up from 204,801 in fiscal year 2019. In 2007, there were 50,791 H-2A workers.
