H-2A Deadline April 21st Pt 2

H-2A Deadline April 21st Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. Farm labor employers who use H-2A-visa foreign workers have a newly established application deadline just over a month away.

WAFLA's Montse Walker says a growing labor force made up largely of the foreign workers and the hiring process involved led to creation of the deadline ...

MONTSE WALKER ... "The deadline is specifically oriented towards employers. So, what that means is we will accept applications and requests for applications until April 21st of this year. But, of course, we will file applications with "dates of need" for as late in the year as employers need them. We're just putting that deadline in so that employers can get information into us as soon as possible and we can plan for the year."

Walker says the deadline is focused mainly on getting new applicants prepared, not the members who have been using the program for years ...

MONTSE WALKER ... "You know, I think we're going to see a huge increase in the use of the H-2A program especially, given all the possible changes in immigration. We talked to a lot of employers that are interested in getting into the program so that they can have a stable work force where we want to make sure that employers are ready to use the program and comply with their requirements and be as helpful as we possibly can."

WAFLA predicts as many as 15,000 H-2A workers are expected in Washington state this year, up from over 13,600 last year.

Questions? Contact WAFLA for more information.

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