Action Visa Assistance, Inc.

Have questions about the H-2A Program? Emil us at [email protected] Cost of migrant visa program, more than Trump, concerns Arkansas farmers Experts express hope H-2A visa plan will remain in effect “Well over half” of Arkansas’ row-crop producers rely on a federal migration program to fill jobs on their farms, according to John McMinn, an Arkansas Farm Bureau commodity and economics specialist. The nearly 40-year-old H-2A visa program authorizes migrants to legally work in seasonal agricultural jobs in the United States. The number of certified H-2A workers in Arkansas nearly doubled from 3,366 in 2008 to 6,056 in 2023, according to an Arkansas Farm Bureau report. Nationally, the number of approved H-2A jobs and visas increased by more than 50% from fiscal year 2018 through fiscal year 2023, with the U.S. State Department issuing nearly 310,000 H-2A visas in fiscal year 2023, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report. https://lnkd.in/gXTMXS3J

For our Friends in New York State - Farm Worker Housing Loan Funds Available in New York To apply for a loan, contact your local Farm Credit East office POTSDAM, N.Y. — Farm Credit East is currently accepting applications for farm worker housing construction and improvement loans from the New York State Farm Worker Housing (FWH) Loan Program. A limited pool of loan funds is now available to fund new projects. These loans are available to New York agricultural producers, including fruit, vegetable, greenhouse and nursery, equine, and dairy operations. “The New York State Farm Worker Housing loan program has been a tremendous tool for farms seeking to build or improve housing for their farm laborers,” said Mike Haycook, Farm Credit East Regional Credit Leader and coordinator of the NYS FWH program. The FWH loan program is administered by Farm Credit East in partnership with New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). Funding is available for no-interest loans to help finance improvement of existing housing or the construction/purchase of new housing for farm workers. It is anticipated that Farm Credit East will be accepting applications for the FWH loan program on a first-come, first-serve basis through the end of February 2025. Agricultural producers may apply to borrow up to $200,000 per year for farm worker housing projects. The program is administered as a revolving loan fund, with loan repayments made by the borrowers applied to the balance of available funds. An upfront, one-time fee is applied to cover administrative costs. There are no other fees or interest applied for the term of the loan. The loan is repaid in equal, annual principal payments. The loan term may not exceed 10 years. Applicants must demonstrate the need to improve seasonal or year-round farm worker housing, which they own or operate, in order for the housing to comply with the applicable state building and health codes or to construct new seasonal or year-round farm worker housing. The funds cannot be used for housing for the farm owner’s family. To apply for a loan, contact your local Farm Credit East office (see FarmCreditEast.com for office locations). https://lnkd.in/gEpECXg4

AI-Driven Solutions with a Human Touch to Tackle the U.S. Trucker Shortage Analyst Insight: The staffing shortage in United States trucking shows no signs of abating, with the American Trucking Association estimating a shortage of about 80,000 drivers. Fresh and creative approaches aimed at reaching new drivers will spark an industry-wide shift in recruiting practices, bolstered by the growing adoption of established and emerging AI tools. The trucker shortage is complex. It combines an unusually high turnover rate (90%) and an aging workforce — the average age is 46, according to the American Trucking Association. Taken together, the effects of this shortage are rippling through the supply chain, manifesting as operational inefficiencies, and ultimately leading to dissatisfied customers. But within this complexity lie several creative opportunities for companies to rethink how they attract drivers. https://lnkd.in/g43k4Ha5?

Termination of the October 3, 2023 Designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status - Set to expire on April 2, 2025 https://lnkd.in/gdFbs9JT

The US farm workers coming from Guatemala - on a legal visa Donald Trump is expected to target undocumented immigrants, most of whom come from Central America, as soon as he takes power next week. What is lesser known is that migrants from some of the same countries have a legal route to work on American farms for a limited time. Farm labourer Sandra Noemi Bucu Saz is happy. She's recently returned to Guatemala in Central America from the US, where she was picking strawberries in California. "They paid us $19 (￡15.60) an hour," says Sandra. "We were asked to pick seven boxes per hour, and if we picked more, then we got paid a bit extra. "It's so different to what I get paid in Guatemala, which is around $10 per day, when there's work." Sandra is one of around 5,000 Guatemalans who go and work – legally - in the US every year, thanks to a US government visa scheme for temporary agriculture workers from overseas, called H-2A. This allows US farms that cannot find enough locals to do the work to bring in staff from overseas. The foreign workers can stay for up to 12 months, before they then have to go back to their home countries. For people like Sandra it's a chance to get on in life, and to help her family by sending back some of the money she earns. In Guatemala there are now around 30 recruitment companies that are registered with the Guatemalan government to help people find temporary work in the US via H-2A visas. https://lnkd.in/g9YBhjjV

Kristi Noem confirmed as DHS secretary The Senate confirmed Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on Saturday, voting to give President Donald Trump another Cabinet official who has pledged to help carry out his aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration. The bipartisan vote was 59-34. No Republicans opposed Noem’s nomination. https://lnkd.in/gP3cZsP5

An interesting read.... From POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, a guide to the preparations, personnel decisions and policy deliberations of Donald Trump’s transition. STEVE BANNON isn’t going to the White House. He might even be going back to jail. Still, President-elect DONALD TRUMP’s former chief strategist is one of a handful of longtime loyalists with big personalities who plan to champion the MAGA cause from outside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And even without official power, they will likely play a key role in shaping a second Trump administration, including by using their bully pulpits to rally the “America First” portions of the Trump coalition, promote Trump’s agenda and push back against factions in the Republican Party they consider impure. It’s a point Bannon underscored speaking at a POLITICO event Tuesday morning, where he opined on an array of subjects from a “100 percent moratorium on all immigration” to Trump’s coming “days of thunder” — a sequel to the early “shock and awe” days of Trump’s first term. https://lnkd.in/gE2SXvPs

Biden Administration Bans Medical Debt From Consumers’ Credit Reports The Biden administration announced a new rule on Jan. 7 that will remove an estimated $49 billion in medical debt from the credit reports of approximately 15 million Americans. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said the decision aims to enhance privacy protections and prevent debt collectors from exploiting the credit reporting system by pressuring borrowers into paying bills they may not actually owe. The rule will prohibit the inclusion of medical bills on credit reports used by lenders and ban lenders from using medical information in their lending decisions. “People who get sick shouldn’t have their financial future upended. The CFPB’s final rule will close a special carveout that has allowed debt collectors to abuse the credit reporting system to coerce people into paying medical bills they may not even owe,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in the announcement. https://lnkd.in/g8Yf-Rv5?

On Dec. 10, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security announced a final rule that permanently increases the automatic extension period for employment authorization and Employment Authorization Documents available to certain EAD renewal applicants from up to 180 days to up to 540 days. The final rule will continue to help prevent eligible renewal EAD applicants from experiencing a lapse in employment authorization and/or the validity of their EAD due to lengthy processing times. The final rule will become effective on Jan. 13, 2025, and will apply to certain timely filed renewal EAD applications pending or filed on or after May 4, 2022. https://lnkd.in/eSqXJQZQ

From GOVTRACK - A look at Trump Veterans Administration Nominee Doug Collins This is their third article on current and former members of Congress that have been nominated to cabinet positions in the next Trump Administration. Congress returns this Friday to gavel out the 118th and gavel in the 119th. The author says "It may not go smoothly." How did Trump’s Veterans Affairs Secretary nominee Doug Collins vote in Congress? Former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA9) is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to replace Denis McDonough as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The position requires confirmation by the Senate. Collins served in the House from 2013 to 2020, However, as a Military dot com article noted, Collins “did not play a prominent role on veterans issues during that time [in Congress] and never served on the House Veterans Affairs Committee.” Instead, he appears to have been nominated largely due to his military biography. Collins served as a Navy Reserve chaplain in the 1980s, left to earn divinity and law degrees, then rejoined the military as an Air Force chaplain after the September 11, 2001 attacks, including a 2008 deployment to Iraq. https://lnkd.in/gWg8PaA3