The U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has announced a temporary suspension of H-2A labor certification fee collections.
The ETA's Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) will pause the collection of these fees while transitioning to an electronic payment system, in line with Executive Order 14247, Modernizing Payments To and From America's Bank Account. The transition will move away from paper-based payments, such as mailed checks, toward electronic fee remittances.
During the suspension, OFLC will not issue invoices for certification fees on approved H-2A Applications for Temporary Certifications and will not seek retroactive payments for certifications issued during the period. Employers who received an H-2A certification fee invoice before the suspension's effective date must still pay by the stated due date.
The suspension notice was scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on July 31. The DOL will resume fee collections once the new electronic payment system is in place, with the end date of the suspension to be announced in a future Federal Register notice.
The H-2A nonimmigrant visa program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers temporarily for agricultural labor or services. Florida's citrus sector relies heavily on H-2A workers for harvest operations. According to DOL, transitioning from mailed checks and money orders to electronic fee collection will streamline processes for both the government and employers using the H-2A visa program.
Source: Citrus Industry
