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USCIS Guidance on H-2A Petitions for Dairying

Validated finding · five-country-2010-20260922-v118-evidence-presentation-fix

CountryUnited States
Operative dateJune 17, 2026
CategoryAdjudication
Policy toolGuidance
Affected groupDairy employers and prospective H-2A agricultural dairy workers

Policy effect

USCIS issued a policy memorandum clarifying that dairy operations are eligible to use the H-2A program when they can demonstrate a qualifying temporary or seasonal labor need on a case-by-case basis.

Conditions and exceptions

Does not create an automatic exemption or special procedure; adjudicators evaluate temporary or seasonal need on a case-by-case basis. Back-to-back consecutive petitions for identical duties without extraordinary circumstances or meaningful breaks may be denied as an ongoing permanent need.

Official source excerpt

Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.

This PM instead ensures that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adjudicates all H-2A dairying petitions on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the totality of the facts presented, and in the same manner as all other H-2A petitions. USCIS issues this PM to address temporary admission of aliens into the United States as H-2A dairying workers to fill temporary or seasonal positions for which domestic labor is unavailable because dairying and labor on a dairy farm are job occupations within the agricultural field which may be seasonal or temporary. Effective Date This PM applies to all USCIS employees. This new guidance will take effect June 17, 2026.
uscis.govUSCIS Policy Memorandum PM-602-0200, June 17, 2026, Page 1Open official source
Retrieved from https://uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-alerts/PM-602-0200-H2APetitionsForDairying-20260617.pdf

Review method

Official-source daily scan followed by independent Gemini 3.8 Flash exact-claim and materiality verification.

Automated source validation is not independent human legal review. The finding should not be treated as legal advice. Record fcp-c31692f29dfc7d5df524. Something wrong? Flag this record.

Other United States changes operative in 2026