Opinion ID: 75991
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Visa Costs

Text: 36 The Farmworkers' FLSA claim also demands reimbursement for their visa costs, visa application fees, and immigration fees for the entry documents, again up to the amount needed to comply with the minimum wage laws. The visa costs here were necessitated by the Growers' employment of the Farmworkers under the H-2A program. Unlike food, boarding, or commuter expenses, these fees are not costs that would arise as an ordinary living expense. When an employer decides to utilize the H-2A program these costs are certain to arise, and it is therefore incumbent upon the employer to pay them. Although immediate reimbursement is not necessary, payment may be required within the first week if the employees' wages, once the costs are subtracted, are below minimum wage. If so, the employer must provide reimbursement up to the point where the minimum wage is met. H-2A workers are nonimmigrant alien workers who obviously require visas; in fact, the Growers applied to the DOL for the admission of H-2A workers and then sought to locate workers willing to accept the H-2A visas. See Agreed Statement of Facts ¶ 4-5. Furthermore, the visas restricted the workers to the work described on the clearance order; at the conclusion of the work period specified in the clearance order or upon termination of the worker's employment (which ever occurred first), the H-2A visas required the workers to return to Mexico. Id. at ¶ 16. 23 By participating in the H-2A program, the Growers created the need for these visa costs, which are not the type of expense they are permitted to pass on to the Farmworkers as other facilities.