H-2A Temporary Agricultural Labor Certification Program

OMB Control No: 1205-0466	ICR Reference No: 202206-1205-002
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 201903-1205-002
Agency/Subagency: DOL/ETA	Agency Tracking No:
Title: H-2A Temporary Agricultural Labor Certification Program
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 08/02/2022

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	08/31/2022
Responses	458,114	273,537
Time Burden (Hours)	88,268	52,385
Cost Burden (Dollars)	3,692,705	2,521,940

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Abstract: The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires the Secretary of Labor to certify, among other things, that any foreign worker seeking to enter the United States (U.S.) to perform certain skilled or unskilled labor will not, by doing so, adversely affect wages and working conditions of U.S. workers similarly employed. The Secretary must also certify there are not sufficient U.S. workers able, willing, and qualified to perform such skilled or unskilled labor. Before any employer may petition for any temporary skilled or unskilled foreign workers, it must submit a request for certification to the Secretary containing the elements prescribed by the INA and regulations.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 8 USC 1184(c) Name of Law: Immigration and Nationality Act    US Code: 8 USC 1188 Name of Law: Immigration and Nationality Act    US Code: 8 USC 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) Name of Law: Immigration and Nationality Act

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	87 FR 13760	03/10/2022
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	87 FR 47230	08/02/2022
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title Form No. Form Name H-2A Temporary Agricultural Labor Certification Program Existing Forms ETA-790, ETA-9142A FD TLC, ETA-790A, ETA Form 790, ETA-790 A Addendum A wages, ETA-790A Addendum B worksites-housing, ETA-790A Addendum C additional info, ETA-9142A, ETA-9142A - Appendix A H-2A Application for Temporary Employment Certification ,   Appendix A ,   Agricultural Clearance ,   H-2A Agricultural Clearance Order ,   H-2A Agricultural Clearance Order Form ETA-790A Addendum A ,   H-2A Agricultural Clearance Order Form ETA-790A Addendum B ,   H-2A Agricultural Clearance Order Form ETA-790A Addendum C ,   Form ETA-9142A – Final Determination: H-2A Temporary Labor Certification Approval ,   CURRENT ETA 790 and Instructions OMB Approved H-2A Temporary Agricultural Labor Certification Program Updated Forms ETA 790, ETA 790A, ETA 790A Addendum A, ETA 790A Addendum B, ETA 790A Addendum C, ETA 9142A, ETA 9142A - Appendix A Agricultural Clearance Form ,   H-2A Agricultural Clearance Order ,   Additional Crop or Agricultural Activities and Wage Offer Information ,   Additional Place of Employment Information ,   Additional Material Terms and Conditions of the Job Offer ,   H-2A Application for Temporary Employment Certification ,   H-2A Application for Temporary Employment Certification

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	458,114	273,537	0	0	184,577	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	88,268	52,385	0	0	35,883	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	3,692,705	2,521,940	0	0	1,170,765	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: The Department only proposed non-substantive changes; specifically, it notified the public that it was proposing to update e-mail, mailing, and website address information, transferring the burden statements from the form to the instructions, and similar non-substantive changes. These non-substantive changes did not impact or result in any change to the estimated burdens or costs. The total number of responses, burden hours, and monetized costs associated with all collections under this ICR differ from previous estimates. The answer provided to A.12 provides more information regarding this burden increase. There has been an increase of total burden hours. The estimated number of annual responses, burden hours, and monetized cost of respondent time associated with this ICR have increased from previous estimates. Employer use of the H-2A program has significantly increased over the last three fiscal years. In FY 2021, the Department received approximately 16,546 employer applications requesting temporary labor certification, a 26.5 percent increase over the workload received during FY 2019. To more accurately estimate the annual burden hours under this ICR, the Department utilized a three-year average of the total number of respondents that file applications during the three precedent fiscal years (14,586, compared to the previous estimate of 8,783 respondents provided during the last renewal cycle). This increase in filings is outside the control of the Department. As a result, the Department estimates based on this increase on the number of respondents that the total annual burden hours will increase from the previously approved 273,537 annual burden hours to 458,114 annual burden hours. This shows an increment of 184,577 estimated burden hours per year for the next validity period. The total annual cost estimates have also increased. The cost increases for this Supporting Statement are based on a higher HR manager rate than the previous estimate. This is due to an increase in the BLS cost adjustment factor used to calculate benefits and other compensation for HR managers. The HR manager rate used for the 2019 information collection renewal was $84.91, the 60-day FRN the rate was $83.59, and for this Supporting Statement the rate is $85.04. For the HR manager calculations, the benefits factor decreased since the 2019 information collection renewal from a factor of 1.43, to the 60-day FRN a factor of 1.292, and currently to a factor of 1.295.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $10,206,598

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

Agency Contact: Emily St. Onge 202 693-2605 [email protected]

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
		(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;
		(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;
		(c) It reduces burden on small entities;
		(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;
		(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;
		(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;
		(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:
			(i) Why the information is being collected;
			(ii) Use of information;
			(iii) Burden estimate;
			(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
			(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
			(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
		(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.
		(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and
		(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Certification Date: 08/02/2022

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