Skip to Content Accessibility Information

Foreign Labor Certification - Division of Workforce Development & Adult Learning

Foreign Labor Certification for Agricultural and non-Agricultural Employers

The Maryland Department of Labor’s Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning offers policy guidance to agricultural and non-agricultural employers seeking temporary or seasonal foreign labor, assisting them in navigating the certification process.

The purpose of these certification programs is to ensure that hiring seasonal or temporary foreign workers does not negatively affect the job opportunities, wages, or working conditions of U.S. workers.

If you anticipate a shortage of U.S. workers for agricultural or temporary/seasonal work, you may be eligible for the H-2A or H-2B Temporary Labor Certification Program. This program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers temporarily when domestic workers are unavailable: H-2A for agricultural work and H-2B for unskilled, non-agricultural work.

H-2A - Program Information for Employers:

The H-2A program allows agricultural employers to hire foreign workers for temporary or seasonal labor when there is a lack of domestic workers.  For more information in both English and Spanish that is relevant to both employers and workers please visit our Agricultural Employers and Workers website.

Pre-requirements include registering the business with Maryland Business Express - MBE and being in “good standing” with the state of Maryland.

  • The Foreign Labor Certification (FLC) unit will review your ETA 790A form and will create a job order in Maryland’s labor exchange system MWE Online.  We will issue a Notice of Deficiency (NOD) if any errors need to be corrected.
  • At this point, the FLC unit will request to conduct a housing inspection where the foreign workers will be housed. The housing inspection must be completed 30 days before the date of the expected need of workers.
  • The following regulations are used based on the age of your housing unit:

H-2B - Program Information for Employers:

Note that the H-2B Temporary Non-Agricultural Workers Program is a quota system and not everyone that gets certified will be able to receive visas.

  • Register with the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) (link is external) system. 
  • As the employer, you must then receive a Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD) at least 60 calendar days before it is needed for your FLAG job order, using ETA-9141 form
  • File a job order in FLAG within 75 to 90 days prior to date of need
  • For instructions on how to apply for an H-2B visa through FLAG, please follow the instructions listed. See also https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/programs/h-2b
  • Maryland uses a self-service system that requires the employer/agent to create an account on the Labor Exchange System, Maryland Workforce Exchange (MWE). Once the employer has created a valid account and has registered with FLAG and MWE, the employer is then required to create a job order in MWE. For instructions on how to create a job order please send an email to Norton Pereira or to Ross Weiner.   Upon creating a job order in MWE, please make sure to keep the job order “ON-HOLD” status. The FLC unit will review and activate the job order once the Department of Labor (DOL) issues a Notice of Acceptance. 
  • Upon filling your ETA 790 with DOL, you may be contacted by the FLC staff to fix any issues with the job order created in Maryland Workforce Exchange MWE.

Important Information and Resources for Workers

  • Information about Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it illegal to discriminate against someone or harass someone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or sex, and makes employers accountable for providing a work environment that is free from harassment and other kinds of discrimination developed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission available at https://www.eeoc.gov
  • Information about the anti-discrimination provision under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) 8 U.S.C. § 1324b, which prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices during the employment eligibility verification process (generally, Form I-9 and E-Verify); and retaliation or intimidation developed by the Department of Justice’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section available at https://www.justice.gov/crt/immigrant-and-employee-rights-section
  • Information about how to contact the National Human Trafficking Center Hotline when anyone believes or suspects someone may be the victim of human trafficking, which occurs when a trafficker uses force, fraud or coercion to control another person for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts or soliciting labor or services against his/her will, available at https://humantraffickinghotline.org

If you have questions, concerns, or need technical assistance please contact the Rural Services Coordinator, Norton Pereira at [email protected] or at 443- 845-8276. For assistance with H2A or H2B you may also contact the following FLC staff members Ross Weiner or Elena Chicu.