The H-2A Visa is for temporary agricultural workers. An employer, in need of labor hands, can use this visa to hire immigrants on a temporary basis. The period of stay for an H-2A Visa is up to one year, or to the amount of time specified on the employers labor certificate filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. However, upon new labor certificates and H-2A Visa extensions, an H-2A Visa holder’s period of stay can be as long as three years.
As for the family of an H-2A Visa holder, the spouse and any children under the age of 21 and who are unmarried may accompany the H-2A Visa Holder. However, the family will need to acquire an H-4 Visa, which does not permit employment. Meaning, an H-4 Visa holder generally cannot work and cannot request employment from USCIS through the Employment Authorization Process (EAD).
As a general rule, after three years, an H-2A Visa holder and his family must (1) leave the United States, (2) return to their home country for at least three months, and (3) may then return on a new visa if they so choose. However, what is the date of a 3-year limit can be confusing.
Qualifying time is described below:
While on H-2 Status for 18 months or less: | While on H-2 Status for more than 18 months, but less than 3 years: |
45 days outside the U.S., but less than 3 months | 2 months outside the U.S., but less than 3 months |
An interrupted stay may become important if periods of stays from other visas may lead to a 3-year limit violation, which could bar the immigrants re-admission to the United States on another visa for 3 years or 10 years.
As a final note, the following list of countries signifies the nationals that are eligible to receive an H-2A Visa (List Effective January 18, 2016):
Andorra Argentina Australia Austria Barbados Belgium Belize Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Canada Chile Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Czech Republic Denmark |
Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Germany Greece Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Hungary Iceland Ireland |
Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Kiribati Latvia Lichtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Madagascar Malta Mexico Moldova Monaco Montenegro Nauru |
New Zealand Nicaragua Norway Panama Papua New Guinea Peru Poland Portugal Romania Samoa San Marino Serbia Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa |
South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Thailand The Netherlands The Philippines Timor-Leste Tonga Turkey Tuvalu Ukraine United Kingdom Uruguay Vanuatu |
For more information on the matter, please review the USCIS website. (Link provided here ). If you have any questions about attaining an H-2A visa, you should speak with a local immigration attorney.
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