About Our Association

SRFA understands that agricultural growers require the very best when it comes to a reliable workforce. We also understand the difficulty in acquiring seasonal employees that have a legal right to work in our country. The Snake River Farmers Idaho-based organization has allowed numerous employers the ability to bring capable foreign workers onto farms to perform agricultural work for the entire growing season. The large majority of these same workers return to work for the same employer year after year. Since it was established in 1985, the Association has become recognized as the expert on issues of legal immigration and agricultural labor in the Northwest. The Association continues to be referred to as an industry leader for employers who wish to apply for temporary alien agricultural labor certification for the purpose of employing H-2A workers on a temporary or seasonal basis. The Association actively partners with other state/national organizations to keep abreast of the regulatory requirements of the program and extend that information to its members in an effort to ensure compliance.

H2-A Requirements

The H-2A regulations contain special requirements for employers who use the program, such as their obligation to provide all of the following:

• Free housing for H-2A and U.S. workers who are unable to return to their residences the same day. This housing must meet a full set of DOL standards and must be inspected and approved by the State Workforce Agency prior to certification.
• Free cooking facilities to the workers so that they may prepare their own meals OR provide three meals per day and be reimbursed by the workers for the cost up to the federally specified daily limits.
• Worker's Compensation Insurance coverage.
• Reimbursement of travel costs and subsistence to workers recruited  from out of the local area. Return transportation and subsistence costs are also required after the contract has been fulfilled (or earlier, if applicable). 
• A guarantee to offer 3/4 of the hours in the overall contract period.
• A guarantee to pay wages that are higher of either (1) the AWER, (2) the prevailing wage rate or, (3) the federal minimum wage.
• All tools and equipment that the worker needs to perform the duties assigned.
• Transportation to stores for food/shopping at least every two weeks.
• Employment to any qualified U.S. worker who applies for the job through 50% of the contract period.

 

Our Services

As a member served by the Snake River Farmers organization you can look forward to receiving personalized assistance with your Foreign Labor Certification process. To accomplish this best, SRFA will assign a “case manager” to be your personal contact during the entire application process - start to finish. With your assistance each case manager will be responsible for carrying out the primary duties below: 

• Inform Association members of their regulatory obligations and deadlines.

• Review and incorporate the specific labor needs of each filing member when  submitting the labor  certification documentation.

• Develop and submit appropriate application documents to State and National  Departments of Labor within the required time frames.

• Respond to any additional requests for information that may be deemed necessary respect to the application.

• Coordinate U.S. worker recruitment activities.

• Submit the required documentation seeking approval from USCIS (Immigration).

• Coordinate with facilitators for consular presentation and worker entry into the U.S.

• Prepare written work contracts for participating members to distribute to their workers.

 

  The services provided by the Snake River Farmers Association is funded by an initial membership fee, annual dues and filing fees that are based on the number of workers needed by each employer.  Other special requests may entail additional fees.   For more specific fee information, please contact our office directly.