DHS, Labor Department to Streamline Farmworker Visa Processing

US Citizenship and Immigration Services is adopting regulations that will allow it to process petitions for seasonal farmworkers at the same time as the Labor Department certifies US workers aren’t available to perform the labor.

Beginning Oct. 2, agricultural employers will be able to petition for unnamed farmworkers on H-2A temporary work visas after the DOL confirms it received an application for temporary labor certification, USCIS announced Tuesday. Existing regulations require that the worker petitions be submitted to DHS along with an approved labor certification.

The rule change comes amid other steps by the Trump administration to deliver on agricultural ...