US EditionThe H-2A visa workers who feed America — and the system that traps them
- In 2025, hundreds of thousands of seasonal laborers holding H-2A visas travel to farms throughout the U.S., performing tasks like tree pruning and crop harvesting in states ranging from Washington to New York and California.
- The H-2A program exists because many crops require human labor and farmers say they cannot afford costly equipment or attract local workers willing to perform arduous tasks.
- Workers depend on the visa tied to specific employers, often facing debt from recruiters and limited mobility, while farms such as Crist Bros Orchards in New York rely on H-2A employees year-round to produce food sold along the East Coast.
- Farmers spend over $30 per hour per worker including housing and transport, and experts warn removing H-2A regulations could turn the program into legalized exploitation, while activists highlight that deportations clear the way for more H-2A labor instead of legalizing longtime farmworker families.
- Federal immigration policy uncertainty leaves farmers and workers unsure of the future, but the guest-worker program remains central to U.S. agriculture, with debates intensifying over labor conditions, automation, and the rights of migrant and undocumented farmworkers.
14 Articles
14 Articles
J-1 Visa holders essential to Galveston's summer workforce
Utilizing temporary foreign labor during peak tourism months is nothing new for the local hospitality industry, with Landry’s Inc. — which owns The San Luis Resort, 5222 Seawall Blvd., and three other hotels on the island — entering its 20th…
The H-2A visa workers who feed America — and the system that traps them
By Tareq Saghie | Edited by Dianne Solis & Alfredo CorchadoLast spring, Carmelo Méndez was pruning peach trees in Colorado on an H-2A visa, missing his children and wife back home, but excited about how his $17.70 hourly wage would improve their lives. This spring, he’s back in the Mexican state of Tlaxcala frantically searching Facebook for a job on one of the thousands of farms across the U.S. that primarily employ guest workers like him.
AFBF: Labor Costs May Continue Rising in 2025 - Southern Farm Network
Labor challenges are among some of the most difficult issues facing farmers and ranchers, especially for those who utilize the H-2A program. John Walt Boatright, director of government affairs for the American Farm Bureau Federation, explains how the program works. “The H2A Program is the temporary and seasonal guest worker program that many farms and ranches are increasingly relying on for their farm labor needs. It’s set by USDA’s Farm Labor S…
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