Find an H-2A, H-2B or CW-1 filing

Temporary work visas. H-2A covers seasonal or temporary farm work; H-2B covers non-farm work with a one-time, seasonal, peakload or intermittent need, usually up to nine months (20 CFR 655.6). Before USCIS can approve either petition, the Department of Labor must certify that no qualified U.S. workers are available and that hiring won't lower local wages (20 CFR 655.100). CW-1 is temporary work in the Northern Mariana Islands, certified by DOL on form ETA-9142C. Numbers start with H-300 (H-2A, form ETA-9142A), JO-A-300 (the H-2A job order, ETA-790A), H-400 (H-2B, ETA-9142B), C-500 (CW-1), or P-400 and P-500 (the wage request for an H-2B or CW-1 job).

The rules set the clock around the employer's date of need. An H-2A application is filed at least 45 days before it (20 CFR 655.130), DOL accepts it or sends a notice of deficiency within 7 calendar days, and a complete application is decided no later than 30 days before the date of need (655.141, 655.143, 655.160). An H-2B application is filed 75 to 90 days before the date of need, and DOL answers within 7 business days (655.15, 655.31, 655.33).

A notice of deficiency (NOD) means DOL found something to fix; the employer has 5 business days (H-2A) or 10 (H-2B) to send a corrected application. Accepted, pending recruitment means DOL accepted it and the employer is now recruiting U.S. workers before the decision. The status dictionary lists every one, with the rule behind it.

DOL's case lookup never returns them. Once a case is decided they come from DOL's quarterly H-2A, H-2B and CW-1 disclosure files, and for an H-2A or H-2B job DOL has accepted but not yet decided, from its SeasonalJobs feed. A case newer than both shows the status, employer, job title and filing date DOL's own system reports.