Information for employers for the recruitment of temporary and permanent migrant workers:

• Temporary Working Individuals 

H-2A: The H-2A temporary agricultural program allows agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of domestic workers to bring nonimmigrant foreign workers to the United States to perform agricultural labor or services on a temporary or seasonal basis. For more information: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/programs/h-2a

H-1B: The H-1B program allows companies to temporarily employ foreign workers in the United States on a nonimmigrant basis in specialty occupations or as fashion models of distinguished merit and ability. For more information: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/programs/h-1b

• Permanent Working Persons 

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 cases, before the U.S. employer can file an immigration petition with 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 USCIS that there are not enough able, willing, qualified and available U.S. workers to accept the job opportunity in the area of intended employment and that the employment of the foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. Once the application for permanent labor certification has been approved by the Department of Labor, the employer must apply to USCIS for immigration authorization. For more information: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/programs/permanent

For more information related to the recruitment of migrants, please consult: https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/hiring/foreign

*Note: Once the application is certified/approved, the employer must apply for a visa from Immigration and Citizenship Services. Approval from the Department of Labor does not guarantee issuance of a visa.