Texas Border Business
By Texas Border Business
EDINBURG, Texas — The office of U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz helped an Edinburg agriculture business resolve delayed H-2A visas after the company sought congressional casework assistance, according to De La Cruz’s office and the business owners.
Juan de Dios Cantu and Rosa Guerra, owners of Prime Agriculture Services, said they process H-2A visas for agricultural workers who come legally to the United States for temporary farm work.
The business ran into a problem when visa applications for members of its workforce stalled at a U.S. consulate, according to De La Cruz’s office. Her casework team reviewed the matter and submitted an inquiry concerning the pending applications.
Cantu said the company contacted De La Cruz’s office after encountering the consular problem.
“We were very lucky to be helped by the office of Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz,” Cantu said. “Everything got resolved the very next day.”
Guerra described the timeline as beginning on a Thursday, when the business encountered the problem and contacted the congresswoman’s staff.
“We reached out to the offices of Monica De La Cruz, and by Friday everything was cleared up,” Guerra said. “They had a solution in hand.”
Guerra said the consulate released the workers’ visas the following Monday.
The H-2A program allows eligible U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals into the United States temporarily to perform agricultural work of a temporary or seasonal nature. Employers generally must demonstrate that sufficient qualified U.S. workers are not available and that hiring H-2A workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The process generally involves obtaining temporary labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor, filing a petition with USCIS and, for workers outside the United States, completing the nonimmigrant visa process.
Cantu described the program as important to agricultural employers that rely on temporary workers.
“The H-2A visa basically is an opportunity for people from other countries to come and work in agriculture,” Cantu said. “It’s a very useful visa.”
De La Cruz has previously focused on H-2A issues affecting South Texas agriculture. In August, she and Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling met with agricultural leaders in Hidalgo County to discuss labor shortages and the visa program.
Her office has also supported proposals to change aspects of the H-2A system, including application processing and agricultural workforce rules.
Cantu said a staff member identified as Lulu assisted Prime Agriculture Services with its case and that the matter was resolved quickly.
“I would a hundred percent recommend contacting the office when facing a similar problem, Cantu said.
Watch the full video testimonial here or below:
Read the transcript below:
- My name is Juan “Dos” Cantu and Rosera. We live in the city of Edinburg.
- We own Prime Agriculture Services, and what we do is process H-2A visas for our workers to come into the country legally and work in agriculture.
- We ran into some problems at the consulate, and we were very lucky to be helped by the offices of Monica De La Cruz. Everything got resolved the very next day.
- The H-2A visa basically is an opportunity for people from other countries to come and work in agriculture It’s a very useful visa so we can help out agriculture and the farmers that have had it tough these past few years.
- We confronted the problem on a Thursday, reached out to the offices of Monica De La Cruz, and by Friday everything was cleared up—they had a solution in hand.
- By that next Monday, our crew members were already released from the consulate.
- I very much recommend contacting Monica De La Cruz if you run into a problem similar to the one that we did.
- We were lucky enough to be able to talk to Lulu, and she got everything resolved very, very quickly. I would 100% recommend.
Video Source: TX-15: Casework Win – Securing H-2A Visas
