INA §218 authorizes the lawful admission into the United States of temporary, nonimmigrant (H-2A) workers to perform agricultural services of a temporary or seasonal nature usually lasting no longer than one year. Before the employer seeks approval from USCIS in its I-129 Petition for H-2A worker, it first must obtain the essential “TLC” (Temporary Labor Certification) from DOL. The practitioner must be knowledgeable of the multitude of governing regulations in order to completely, yet efficiently, prepare the H-2A application and effectively guide the agricultural employer through the myriad of H-2A steps, all in a compressed period of time. Our seasoned panelists will advise on “best-practices” in this highly-regulated and multi-faceted area of immigration law.

Featured Topics

• What Are the Program Requirements and Obligations of H-2A Employers or Agents?
• TLC Best Practice: Wages, Job Orders, Form 9142A, and Timing Your Case
• How to Prove to DOL That There Are Not Sufficient American Workers "Able, Willing, Qualified, and Available"
• Temporary Changes to H-2A Requirements Due to the COVID-19 National Emergency
• Updates on the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019

Faculty

Loan T. Huynh (DL), Minneapolis, MN

Loan T. Huynh is a Shareholder at Fredrikson & Byron. Loan leads Fredrikson & Bryon’s Immigration Team’s I-9 and corporate immigration compliance practice and H-2 temporary worker practice. Loan has served as an expert witness on H-2 matters and has written extensively on immigration issues. She is on the board of the Advocates for Human Rights and has served on AILA’s DOL Liaison Committee since 2015.

Ashley Foret Dees, DOL Liaison Committee Vice Chair, Lake Charles, LA

Ashley Foret Dees is the owner and managing attorney at Ashley Foret Dees, LLC, where she practices immigration law in southwest Louisiana. She represents employers and individuals through the complex immigration process. Her practice includes many agricultural and seafood processing employers. She represents those businesses through the immigration processes including H-2A, H-2B, H-1B and PERM. She regularly speaks at the American Immigration Lawyers Association's (AILA) annual conferences and the AILA MidSouth Chapter conferences regarding H-2B and H-2A visas. Mrs. Dees serves as the Louisiana State Bar’s Annual Immigration Law Seminar chair and speaker and has served on the AILA National Pro Bono Committee. She currently serves as H-2 Chair on the AILA National Department of Labor Liaison Committee which she joined in 2016. She is also founder and Chair of the Louisiana State Bar Immigration Law Section.

Free Downloadable Seminar Recording Included with Live Registration Included with registration, participants in the live seminar will receive a free downloadable recording of the seminar. It will be available in participant's Agora Digital Library approximately 4-7 business days from the seminar date.