Amid Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a stern warning to those foreign nationals who may have arrived in the US on a work visa and broken immigration rules and regulations.
In its warning, the USCIS even provided a real-world example of a person who was meant to be working in Florida on an H-2A visa but failed to inform his employer.
“Aliens who enter the US on an employment visa but fail to report to their designated employer or leave the job without returning to their home country are in violation of immigration laws and will face legal consequences,” read a post from the official USCIS page on X, which outlined the US’ stringent warning for those with employment visas.
Authorities located an H-2A visa holder in Fresno, California, after the person failed to report back to their employer in Florida.
Also Read: US visa bulletin: Employment-based visas at risk of unavailability, Indian applicants can still file for F2A green cards
‘You can be removed from the US’, says USCIS
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is currently handling the case.
Given ICE’s history of handling such cases, the person might even face deportation in the future.
Additionally, the post’s graphic card stated, “You are responsible for following the terms of your visa. If you violate them, you can be removed from the US.”
What is an H-2A visa? All about US hiring of temporary agricultural workers
The purpose of the H-2A visa is to offer protection to temporary agricultural workers.
According to the official USCIS website, this program essentially permits American companies or agents “who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals” to the US and hire them for temporary agricultural labor.
Companies that hire these people are required to submit Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, on behalf of the potential employee.
The petitioner submitting the application must guarantee that the position they are offering is temporary or seasonal in order to be eligible for the H-2A classification.
In addition, companies need to provide evidence that there aren’t enough US workers who are “able, willing, qualified, and available to do the temporary work.”
The petitioner must demonstrate that hiring H-2A workers won’t have a negative impact on the salary and employment conditions of similarly employed US workers, as per the USCIS.
