Why the H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs Matter More Than Ever in 2026

Program Insight  •  August 2026

America’s seasonal employers are running out of workers — not out of options.

Ask a grower in the Central Valley, a hotel GM on the Outer Banks, a golf course superintendent in Michigan, or a seafood processor on the Eastern Shore what keeps them up at night. You will hear a version of the same answer: the work is there, the season is coming, and the people are not.

That is not a story about effort. It is a story about math. And in 2026, the math moved.

Below is a plain-English look at what these programs actually are, what the newest federal data and rules say, and what employers should be doing right now to protect next season. No spin. Just the record — and what it means for your business.

What Are the H-2A and H-2B Programs?

Both are federal, employer-driven, temporary work visa programs. Both require the employer to prove the need is temporary and to test the U.S. labor market first. Neither is a shortcut around American workers — the entire structure is built to protect them.

Every employer using either program appears in public U.S. Department of Labor disclosure data. That transparency is a feature, not a bug.

The Data: Demand Is Not Softening. It Is Accelerating.

H-2A is now a structural pillar of American agriculture, not a stopgap.

Certified H-2A positions reached 398,258 in fiscal year 2025, up from 378,513 the year before, according to DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification statistics. The American Farm Bureau Federation reported that in fiscal year 2026, H-2A usage climbed another 17 percent by volume — and that a vanishingly small share of those job opportunities drew a domestic applicant at all.

Growers are not choosing guest workers over American workers. They are filling jobs no one applied for.

H-2B demand routinely runs several times the number of visas available.

During the January 2026 filing period, DOL published assignment groups covering 10,062 applications requesting more than 162,000 positions — a sharp jump from the prior year’s 8,759 applications for roughly 150,000 positions. The semiannual allocation available to meet that demand was 33,000 visas.

Source: DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification assignment group data, January 2026.

In H-2B, being late is the same as being denied. In H-2A, being unprepared is the same as being late.

What Changed in 2026 — and Why It Hits Your Balance Sheet

1. H-2A wages now rest on an entirely new foundation.

For decades, Adverse Effect Wage Rates were set from USDA’s Farm Labor Survey. DOL’s interim final rule published October 2, 2025 (90 FR 47914) replaced it with the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey as the sole source of wage data for non-range agricultural occupations.

Updated rates were published at 91 FR 48946, effective August 3, 2026, with a two-week delay to August 17 for states covered by the Kansas v. DOL order. This is the first full-year calculation under the new methodology, and it splits each state into two skill-level rates rather than one.

Your 2026 wage obligation is no longer a number you can look up out of habit. It depends on state, occupation code, and skill level. Some states saw double-digit increases; others saw decreases at the experienced tier. DOL’s notice prints no state table and directs employers to the searchable data at flag.dol.gov.

If your job description is coded to the wrong SOC or the wrong skill level, you are either overpaying or out of compliance. There is no comfortable third option.

2. Congress is weighing the first statutory H-2A reform in 40 years.

On June 30, 2026, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson introduced H.R. 9535, the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act of 2026. Among its provisions, the bill would remove the “seasonal” restriction and refocus eligibility on the temporary nature of the job contract — opening the program to year-round sectors such as dairy that have historically been shut out. It carries 41 cosponsors and the backing of more than 400 agricultural organizations.

SAWA is a bill, not a law. It may change substantially or fail entirely. But the direction of travel is clear: the universe of employers who can lawfully use these programs is more likely to expand than contract.

The Timeline Is the Strategy

The most expensive mistake in either program is starting the conversation too late.

Where másLabor Fits

másLabor was established in 2003 by Libby Whitley, who spent two decades in Washington, D.C. advocating for agricultural and seasonal employers. In 2022, the company merged with AgWorks H2, LLC, a Georgia-based provider among the nation’s largest. Together, másLabor obtains labor certifications for more than 70,000 foreign workers per year — more than the next three service providers combined.

We scope your need, determine whether H-2A, H-2B, or another program actually fits, build the filing correctly the first time, interface with every state and federal agency involved, and stay with you through your ongoing compliance obligations.

From enrollment to arrival.

We do not sell workers. We build the legal pathway that gets your business staffed, on time, in full compliance with federal law.

This article is provided for general informational purposes and reflects federal program requirements as of August 2026. Program rules, wage rates, and cap allocations change. It is not legal advice. Employers should confirm current requirements with másLabor or qualified counsel before filing.