If you’re a farm that relies on seasonal help, then you probably regularly turn to migrant workers to maintain operations. In the current political climate, you might be worried about navigating the immigration system in a way that protects your business and those you hope to hire, which is why it’s important to ensure you seek visas in a careful and informed fashion. When it comes to H-2A visas, there are many mistakes that can be made, too. Let’s look at some of them here so that you know how to protect your interests moving forward.
Employment-related visas can be tricky
Both employers and employees can make mistakes that jeopardize an H-2A visa. For example, employers can make the following mistakes:
- Requiring H-2A visa holders to perform work that is non-agricultural in nature.
- Neglecting to pay the Adverse Effect Wage Rate that is necessary to maintain an H-2A visa.
- Mandating that H-2A visa holders pay their own travel costs.
- Neglecting to maintain accurate employment records, include payments made to H-2A visa holders.
- Misrepresenting job duties.
There are also multiple errors that workers can make. Amongst them are submitting erroneous or incomplete visa applications and paying labor contractors to complete immigration paperwork. Once an H-2A visa is obtained, workers should also be sure to complete the work agreed to and maintain an intent to leave the country once their visa expires.
There are all sorts of immigration issues that can arise when operating a business. You have to know how to competently navigate them if you want to avoid bad outcomes.
