Concise History of Wage Regulations for the H-2A Agricultural Worker Visa

The H-2A visa program is unique among temporary work visa programs in that it allows U.S. employers to bring in an unlimited number of foreign workers, but specifies the terms and conditions of their employment. Among these terms and conditions are that workers on H-2A visas may only perform agricultural work, and their employers must provide them with housing, transportation, and pay them wage rates at or above those specified in U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) regulations. This report summarizes all the changes in these wage regulations since the H-2A program began in 1987. Since June 1, 1987, these DOL regulations have required that H-2A workers be paid the highest of four wage rates: the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR), the prevailing wage in a local agricultural labor market, the federal minimum wage, or the state statutory minimum wage. In 2010, a fifth wage rate, the agreed upon collectively bargained wage, was added to these four wage rates. For most H-2A workers, the AEWR has historically been the highest applicable wage rate. There are separate AEWRs for range and non-range H-2A positions. Range positions involve work without a regular workday or workweek, such as the production of sheep or other livestock on the range. The AEWR for range positions is determined based on a 2015 rule. For most non-range H-2A positions, AEWRs were based from 1987 to 2025 (except during part of 2009) on agricultural wage surveys from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) known as the Farm Labor Survey (FLS). USDA attempted to cancel this survey in 2011, 2020, and 2025. The 2011 FLS cancelation was reversed via funding from DOL, leaving the AEWR calculation methodology for non-range H-2A positions unchanged. The 2020 FLS cancelation was reversed by a court order, after DOL issued a new non-range AEWR methodology that did not rely on the FLS (this methodology was also reversed by a court order). The 2025 FLS cancelation has not been reversed. An interim final rule (IFR) for the non-range AEWR methodology was published in October 2025. This rule filled the regulatory vacuum created by (1) a judicial ruling in August 2025, vacating the 2023 non-range AEWR methodology; and (2) the USDA cancellation of the FLS, which the previous non-range AEWR methodology relied upon. The 2025 IFR changes the non-range AEWR methodology in four ways. First, it relies on wage statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS’) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, rather than the FLS. Second, it sets non-range AEWRs separately by occupation and skill level. Third, it downwardly adjusts the non-range AEWR by an “Adverse Compensation Adjustment” for the cost of employer-provided housing. Fourth, it sets the non-range AEWR for positions that span multiple occupations using the AEWR for the occupation at which workers are expected to spend the majority of their workdays. The first two of these changes have some precedent in H-2A wage regulations issued in 2009 and 2023. The third change does not have any precedent in H-2A wage regulations. Litigation over this IFR began shortly after it was released.