Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue, as well as the Secretaries of State, Labor, and Homeland Security are working together to streamline and simplify the H-2A agricultural visa program. The goal is to reduce cumbersome bureaucracy and ensure adequate protections for U.S. workers. The administration is working to modernize the H-2A visa program in a way that’s more responsive to stakeholder concerns and enables agriculture to have more confidence in the program as a valid source for legal labor. They also want to reinforce the programs strong employment and wage protections for the American workforce.
By reducing the complexity of the current program, the administration is also planning to incentivize farmers’ use of the E-Verify program to make sure that their workforce is legally authorized to work in the United States. All four of the agencies issued a joint statement saying they’re looking forward to rolling out a more responsive program in the near future.