H-2A vs H-2B Visa: Wages, Filing Fees, and Stay Limits

The H-2A and H-2B visa programs both let U.S. employers hire foreign workers for temporary jobs, but they split along one clean line: H-2A is for agricultural work, and H-2B is for everything else. That split drives almost every other difference between them, from the annual cap to whether the employer has to provide housing. Choosing between the H-2A vs. H-2B visa comes down to what the work is, how many workers the employer needs, and how much the employer is prepared to spend on wages, lodging, and transportation.

What Each Visa Covers

H-2A is limited to agricultural labor of a seasonal or temporary nature: planting, harvesting, and related farm work. H-2B covers non-agricultural industries, including hospitality, landscaping, forestry, and construction.

The most consequential structural difference is the cap. H-2A has none. If an agricultural employer’s paperwork checks out and no domestic workers want the job, the visa gets approved regardless of how many other farms filed that season. H-2B is capped at 66,000 visas per fiscal year, split evenly between the first half (October through March) and the second half (April through September).¹ That cap regularly fills within days of each filing window opening.²

Who Qualifies to Hire

Under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii), an employer using either program has to prove a temporary need that fits one of four categories:

One-time occurrence. The employer hasn’t needed workers for this task before and won’t need them again.
Seasonal need. Work tied to a predictable time of year, like a harvest or a tourist season.
Peak-load need. The employer has permanent staff but temporarily needs extras for a short-term spike, and those additions won’t become part of regular operations.³
Intermittent need. The employer occasionally needs temporary workers for short periods but not on a predictable schedule.

Individual workers, in either program, must maintain a residence in their home country and intend to return when the authorized work period ends. Both programs also require employers to recruit domestically first, document the recruitment, and give lawful, job-related reasons for rejecting any U.S. applicants.

Eligible Countries

The Department of Homeland Security publishes an annual list of countries whose nationals can participate. The current designation, covering November 2024 through November 2025, includes roughly 90 countries.⁴ Major labor-sending countries include Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Jamaica, South Africa, and the Philippines. A few countries are eligible for only one program: Mongolia and the Philippines qualify for H-2B but not H-2A, while Paraguay qualifies for H-2A but not H-2B. USCIS can approve petitions for workers from unlisted countries case by case, but that exception is rarely used.

The H-2B Cap and Lottery

For non-agricultural employers, the 66,000 cap is the single biggest practical obstacle. Demand routinely dwarfs supply. For fiscal year 2026, DHS authorized 64,716 supplemental H-2B visas on top of the statutory 66,000, bringing the total to roughly 130,716.² Even with the near-doubling, both halves of the fiscal year filled almost immediately.

When USCIS receives more cap-subject petitions than slots, it runs a lottery. The agency sets a final receipt date, meaning the date it determines it has received enough petitions to fill that half-year’s 33,000 workers. For the first half of FY 2026, that date was September 12, 2025. For the second half, it was March 10, 2026. Petitions not selected are returned with their filing fees. Unused numbers from the first half roll into the second half, but nothing carries over to the next fiscal year.

Some H-2B workers are exempt from the cap entirely, including anyone already counted against the cap in the same fiscal year (someone changing employers, for example). Congress has intermittently authorized returning-worker exemptions, but those have been temporary.

Wages and What Employers Owe Workers

Both visas impose wage floors intended to prevent foreign hiring from depressing local pay. The mechanics differ.

H-2A: The Adverse Effect Wage Rate

H-2A employers must pay at least the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR), which varies by state and updates annually based on USDA farm labor survey data. For 2026, non-range AEWRs run from $14.83 per hour in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana to $20.08 per hour in Hawaii, with California near the top at $19.97 per hour.⁵ For range occupations like sheepherding, the rate is $2,132.41 per month, effective February 3, 2026. Where a prevailing wage, collective bargaining rate, or state minimum wage is higher than the AEWR, the employer pays whichever is highest.⁶

H-2B: The Prevailing Wage

H-2B employers have to get a prevailing wage determination from the Department of Labor’s National Prevailing Wage Center before filing.⁷ It reflects what other employers in the area pay for the same occupation at the same skill level. Paying below it violates program rules and can trigger debarment.

Housing, Meals, and Travel (H-2A Only)

This is where the H-2A cost stack gets heavier than the H-2B stack. H-2A employers must provide housing at no cost that meets applicable safety standards. They must also either serve three daily meals at a DOL-specified cost or furnish free cooking and kitchen facilities. Daily transportation between housing and the worksite is required at no charge.⁶

For travel between the U.S. and the worker’s home country, the H-2A employer must reimburse reasonable inbound transportation and subsistence costs once the worker completes 50 percent of the contract period, then pay for return transportation at the end. H-2B employers have no housing, meal, or daily transportation duty.

Corresponding Employment

Domestic workers doing the same tasks alongside H-2A visa holders must receive the same wage and working conditions. The Department of Labor calls this “corresponding employment,” and it applies to any U.S. worker doing agricultural work included in the approved job order.⁶ An H-2A employer cannot pay their existing domestic crew less than the H-2A rate.

The Three-Fourths Guarantee

Both programs require employers to guarantee a minimum amount of work. For job orders lasting 120 days or more, the employer must offer work for at least three-fourths of the workdays in each 12-week period. For shorter job orders, the period is six weeks.⁸ Fall short, and the employer owes the worker the wages they would have earned for the guaranteed hours. Offering work on enough days but fewer hours per day than the job order specified does not satisfy the guarantee.

Filing Fees

USCIS fees for Form I-129 changed substantially in April 2024 and now depend on the visa type, whether beneficiaries are named or unnamed, and employer size:

H-2A, named beneficiaries: $1,090 ($545 for small employers and nonprofits)
H-2A, unnamed beneficiaries: $530 ($460 for small employers and nonprofits)
H-2B, named beneficiaries: $1,080 ($540 for small employers and nonprofits)
H-2B, unnamed beneficiaries: $580 ($460 for small employers and nonprofits)

These amounts are per petition, not per worker.⁹ H-2B petitions carry an additional $150 fraud prevention and detection fee, a longstanding statutory charge; H-2A petitions do not.

H-2B petitions are eligible for premium processing (Form I-907), which guarantees USCIS action within 15 business days for a $2,965 fee as of March 1, 2026. H-2A petitions are not eligible.

How Long Workers Can Stay

The maximum period of stay in H-2B status is three years. Time spent in other H or L classifications counts toward that limit. After three years, the worker must leave the United States for an uninterrupted 60 days before being eligible for a new three-year period.³ A 60-day absence at any point during the three-year period resets the clock.

H-2A status is initially granted for the period on the labor certification, typically up to one year, with extensions available in increments of up to one year and a similar three-year maximum. Both programs expect workers to return home when the authorized period ends.

Rules Employers Cannot Break

Both programs come with real enforcement. Employers, their agents, and any recruiters acting on their behalf are prohibited from charging workers fees connected to the visa petition or recruitment process. A 2024 final rule broadened the prohibition to cover any direct or indirect fee, penalty, or compensation related to the H-2 employment.¹⁰

For violations, debarment from either program runs from one to five years from the date of a final agency decision.¹¹ Debarment means the employer cannot file new temporary labor certification applications during that period, which can effectively shut down seasonal operations that depend on foreign labor. Civil monetary penalties apply on top of debarment when an employer substantially fails to meet petition conditions or willfully misrepresents material facts. Employers must retain recruitment reports, job orders, payroll records, and insurance documents for at least three years after certification.

Choosing Between the Two

The choice is rarely a real choice. If the work is agricultural, H-2A is the program; if it isn’t, H-2B is. What the comparison actually tells an employer is what to plan for. H-2A carries no cap and no lottery risk, but the housing, meals, transportation, and AEWR obligations push the true per-worker cost well above the wage line. H-2B has a lighter obligation stack but forces employers to compete for a limited pool of visas that fills in days, which means filing early and having a fallback if the lottery goes against them.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1184 – Admission of Nonimmigrants
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Cap Count for H-2B Nonimmigrants
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-2B Temporary Non-Agricultural Workers
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. DHS Announces Countries Eligible for H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs
5
Foreign Labor Application Gateway. H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Rates
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 26 – Section H-2A of the Immigration and Nationality Act
7
Foreign Labor Application Gateway. H-2B Temporary Labor Certification for Non-Agriculture Workers
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 78E – Job Hours and the Three-Fourths Guarantee Under the H-2B Program
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Frequently Asked Questions on the USCIS Fee Rule
10
Federal Register. Modernizing H-2 Program Requirements, Oversight, and Worker Protections
11
eCFR. 20 CFR 655.73 – Debarment