ND North News

In 2024, the only H-2A petitions submitted by an employer classified under the Other Services (except Public Administration) industry based in the ND North News publication area was approved, according to data provided by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services via H-2A Employer Data Hub. They were filed by AL Jacobson, an employer based in the publication area.

This represents an approval rate of 100%, which is higher than the nationwide average.

In 2024, the average approval rate for H-2A petitions across the U.S. stood at 98.8%, slightly higher than 2023's 98.4%.

Employers are classified under industries based on their reported operations and may be involved in multiple industries.

The H-2A visa program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers for temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs when enough domestic workers are unavailable. Employers must demonstrate a short-term need and that hiring foreign workers will not negatively affect U.S. workers' wages or working conditions. These jobs must first be offered to U.S. workers, and both domestic and H-2A workers must receive at least the highest of the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) or other wage benchmarks.

Compared to 2023, ND North News publication area saw an increase in the number of seasonal agricultural visas during 2024.

The United States admits around 1 million legal immigrants annually, most of whom receive permanent residence (green cards) through family sponsorship or employment-based visas. In 2023, about 1.2 million immigrants were granted green cards, a return to pre-pandemic levels. Temporary visa programs, such as the H-1B for highly skilled workers and H-2A for seasonal agricultural workers, also play a critical role in filling workforce needs.

Public opinion on immigration varies, with 46% of Americans favoring maintaining current legal immigration levels, according to a 2024 Pew Research Center survey. Additionally, 42% believe that highly skilled workers, such as scientists, doctors, and programmers, should be prioritized for legal immigration, compared to 25% who prioritize workers filling labor shortages and 19% who emphasize family sponsorship. Despite this, family sponsorship remains the most common path to permanent residency, accounting for 63% of green cards issued in 2023.

Due to manual data entry and the use of paper forms by applicants or petitioners, occasional discrepancies in employer names, tax IDs, locations, or other details may be found in the H-2A Employer Data Hub provided by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is the data used in this article. Despite these potential issues, USCIS works to ensure accuracy.

Rank	Industry	Total Petitions	% of All Submissions	% Approved	% Denied
1	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	171	99.4%	100%	0%
2	Other Services (except Public Administration)	1	0.6%	100%	0%

Company Name	Industry	Total Petitions	% Approved	% Denied
United Agronomy, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	39	100%	0%
Absolute Honey, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	15	100%	0%
CHS, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	11	100%	0%
Botno Bee Company, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	8	100%	0%
Wade Billadeau Farms	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	8	100%	0%
Melin Grain and Livestock Farm, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	7	100%	0%
Gunter Honey, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	6	100%	0%
Volk Honey, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	6	100%	0%
Andrew Mau	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	5	100%	0%
Redding Farms, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	5	100%	0%
Bulldog Honey Farms, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	4	100%	0%
Darrell Rice	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	4	100%	0%
Stephanie Roark	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	4	100%	0%
David Larry Leavitt	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	3	100%	0%
Equipment Picker	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	3	100%	0%
Michael Brekhus	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	3	100%	0%
Levi Wald	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	3	100%	0%
Stacy ARTZ	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	3	100%	0%
Matthew Peterson	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	3	100%	0%
Border Agent and Energy	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	2	100%	0%
Lucas ARTZ	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	2	100%	0%
Ryan Latendresse	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	2	100%	0%
Peter ARTZ	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	2	100%	0%
Buynak Farms, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	2	100%	0%
Michael Striha	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	2	100%	0%
Feland Brothers Farms	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	2	100%	0%
Birdsall Grain and Seed, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Haaland Grain Farms	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Patrick Beau Deschamp	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Kelly Volochenko	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Nikolaisen, LLP	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Chandler Vollmer	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Fritel Farm	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Stacey Roberts Farms, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Stacey Roberts	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Jarred Billadeau	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Trevor Melin	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Brokenleg Ranch	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Mcconnell Farms	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Jeff Melin Farm	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Frontier Agent Service, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Eric Anderson	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Nathan J Blessum	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
AL Jacobson	Other Services (except Public Administration)	1	100%	0%

Information in this story was obtained from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The source data can be found here.