Legal Affairs Counsel’s Corner: Employers’ Guide to Recent Regulatory Changes in the H-2A Program

The Trump Administration's ongoing regulatory reforms across federal agencies pose a challenge for H-2A employers in staying informed about relevant changes. At Seso, we prioritize our clients' compliance with this evolving regulatory environment. To assist, our in-house legal team has developed this guide, which outlines key legislative and regulatory updates impacting the H-2A stakeholder community. This guide will be regularly updated and delivered directly to your inbox in the coming months.

All Eyes on Imminent Release of 2025 Unified Regulatory Agenda

As of this morning, the H-2A stakeholder community continues to eagerly await the forthcoming unveiling of the Trump Administration’s Spring 2025 Unified Regulatory Agenda, which is expected to take place within the next several weeks. Published on a semi-annual by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the Unified Agenda provides the public with important insight into the regulatory plans and activities of each federal agency. When released, the Spring 2025 Agenda is expected to include key details regarding the Trump Administration’s short and long term plans to effectuate reforms to the H-2A program, including at DOL, DHS, and the State Department. 

Upon release, the Spring 2025 Agenda will be published on OIRA’s website available here. We are actively monitoring the status of the Agenda and will send out a future update shortly after it becomes available. 

USCIS Rolls Out Partial Update to Filing Fees Per Big Beautiful Bill

On July 18, 2025, USCIS announced a Federal Register Notice (FRN) will be published tomorrow which outlines the implementation of both new and updated filing fees for certain types of benefit requests in accordance with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) that was signed into law on July 4, 2025. Importantly, the new/updated fees detailed in the FRN specifically pertain to humanitarian-based visas applications, including those related to asylum, parole, and temporary protected status (TPS). 

USCIS has advised that its announcement does NOT cover the new/updated fees associated with filings by H-2 employers, but rather will be addressed in a future FRN to be published on a date yet to be announced. Such fees include: 

• New Visa Integrity Fee - $250 (non-waivable or reducible)

  • Applicable to all non-immigrant petitions, including H-2A and H-2B visas. 

  • Subject to future increases by DHS and/or annual inflation beginning in 2026

  • May be subject to reimbursement if the individual fully complies with the terms of their visa and either (1) departs the US promptly after their period of authorized stay or (2) timely obtains an extension/adjustment of lawful permanent resident.

  • Responsibility for payment by either the H-2A employer or worker has yet to be determined but it is anticipated to be allocated to the worker. 

• Updated Form I-94 Fee - increased from $6 to $24 

• Updated Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) Fee - increased from $4 to $13

We will send out a future update shortly after USCIS announces the publication of an FRN regarding these new/update fees. 

DOL Issues Employer-Friendly Guidance Facing OSHA Enforcement Actions

On July 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced it has updated its internal enforcement policies and procedures allowing for the reduction of penalties assessed against employers facing Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforcement actions to minimize the impact against small business owners and encourage prompt remediation of workplace hazards. OSHA’s new policy, detailed in the Penalties and Debt Collection section of its Field Operations Manual, offers increased penalty reductions for small employers as summarized below. 

Key Revisions:

• Expanded Small Employer Reductions: The 70% penalty reduction, previously for businesses with 10 or fewer employees, now applies to businesses with up to 25 employees.

• Prompt Abatement Reduction: A new 15% penalty reduction is available for employers who immediately address or correct a hazard.

• Expanded History-Based Reductions: A 20% penalty reduction is now offered to employers with a clean inspection history. This includes those never inspected by federal OSHA or an OSHA State Plan, as well as those inspected within the last five years with no serious, willful, or failure-to-abate violations.

Applicability:

• These new policies apply to open investigations where penalties have not yet been issued.

• Penalties issued before July 14, 2025, will remain under the previous penalty structure.