§ 2502. Certification requirements
(a) REQUIREMENTS.—Before the Attorney General approves a petition
filed under section 2314 of this title by a prospective employer of an alien
to be employed as a temporary agricultural worker, the employer must apply
to the Secretary of Labor for a certification that—
(1) there are not sufficient United States workers who are able, will-
ing, and qualified, and who will be available at the time and place need-
ed, to perform the labor or services described in the petition; and
(2) employment of the alien to provide the labor or services will not
affect adversely the wages and working conditions of United States
workers similarly employed.
(b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall maintain regulations based on
the findings the Secretary was required to make under section
218(c)(3)(B)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (ch. 477, 66 Stat.
163) after considering the findings of the report mandated by section
403(a)(4)(D) of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (Public
Law 99–603, 100 Stat. 3441) as well as other relevant materials, including
evidence of benefits to United States workers and costs to employers, ad-
dressing the advisability of continuing a policy which requires an employer,
as a condition for certification under this section, to continue to accept
qualified, eligible United States workers for employment after the date tem-
porary agricultural workers depart for work with the employer.
§ 2503. Applications for certification
(a) DEADLINE FOR FILING.—The Secretary of Labor may not require
that an application for a certification under section 2502 of this title be
filed more than 60 days before the first date the employer requires the labor
or services of a temporary agricultural worker.
(b) NOTICE OF DEFICIENCIES.—If an application does not meet the con-
ditions for issuing a certification (except the conditions specified by section
2502(a)(1) of this title), the Secretary shall—
(1) notify the employer in writing not later than 7 days after the
application is filed, giving the reasons the application does not meet the
conditions; and
(2) allow the employer to submit promptly an amended application.
(c) FEE.—The Secretary may prescribe by regulation a fee to cover the
reasonable costs of processing an application for certification.
§ 2504. Conditions for issuing certifications
Not later than 20 days before the labor or services of a temporary agri-
cultural worker are first required, the Secretary of Labor shall issue a cer-
tification under section 2502 of this title if the following conditions are met:
(1) The conditions specified by section 2502(a) of this title are met.
(2) The employer has complied with the requirements for certifi-
cation, including requirements the Secretary prescribes for recruiting
United States workers.
(3) The Secretary concludes that the employer has made positive re-
cruitment efforts within a multi-State region of traditional or expected
labor supply in which the Secretary finds there are a significant num-
ber of qualified United States workers who, if recruited, would be will-
ing to work at the time and place needed. Positive recruitment under
this paragraph is in addition to, and shall be conducted within the
same time period as, the circulation of the employer’s job offer through
the interstate employment service system. The requirement to engage
in positive recruitment ends on the date the temporary agricultural
workers depart for the employer’s place of employment.
(4) The employer does not have, or has not been provided with refer-
rals of, qualified United States workers who have indicated their avail-
ability to perform the labor or services on the terms of a job offer
meeting the Secretary’s requirements. In considering whether a specific
qualification in a job offer is appropriate, the Secretary shall apply the
normal and accepted qualifications required by employers not employ-
ing temporary agricultural workers in the same or comparable occupa-
tions and crops.
(5) The employer has provided the Secretary with satisfactory assur-
ances that if the employment for which the certification is sought is
not covered by a State workers’ compensation law, the employer will
provide, at no cost to the worker, insurance covering injury and disease
arising out of and during the worker’s employment that will provide
benefits at least equal to those provided under the State workers’ com-
pensation law for comparable employment.
(6) There is no strike or lockout during a labor dispute that, under
regulations prescribed by the Secretary, precludes the certification.
(7) The employer employed temporary agricultural workers during
the prior 2 years, and the Secretary, after notice and an opportunity
for a hearing, has not found that the employer during that period sub-
stantially violated a material condition of the certification related to the
employment of nonimmigrant or United States workers. The Secretary
may decide not to approve a certification for not more than 3 years
for an employer who commits a violation described in this paragraph.
§ 2505. Associations of agricultural producers
(a) PERMITTED FILINGS.—An association of agricultural producers using
agricultural services may file—