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By Questen Inghram, Yakima Herald-Republic

Across the Yakima Valley and the Pacific Northwest this summer, thousands of foreign guest workers will be working in orchards and fields in a visa program designed to stabilize the agricultural workforce.

The visa program saw multiple policy changes last year to ease the financial burden on farmers and streamline the application process. The changes do not seem to be leading to a surge in the amount of workers coming to the state, according to conversations with labor industry leaders and state officials.

"Anecdotally, I don't see a ton of growth; I think it will be flat," said Enrique Gastelum, CEO of the Worker and Farmer Labor Association, a nonprofit that assists growers with their applications and whose members represent nearly half of the state's requests for H-2A workers. "It's still an expensive program to use."

Policy changes

Last year, 34,560 H-2A guest workers were certified by the U.S. Department of Labor to come to work in seasonal roles on farms across the state. It's a number that has steadily grown since the program was reformed in 2008, when 3,257 workers were certified to work in the state. 

This year so far, there have been 287 applications in the state to bring in 37,904 workers, said Petra Meraz, foreign labor certification supervisor for the Employment Security Department, a state agency. That's not a final number: new applications can still roll in through June and not all workers applied for will necessarily arrive. 

The program is designed to benefit domestic labor first, in part by making it costlier to hire a foreign worker over a domestic one. Jobs must be posted 75 days before the start date, and domestic workers must be recruited first. Still, thousands of foreign workers are needed to fill the open positions every year.

In early October, the U.S. Department of Labor implemented new regulations that changed the Adverse Effect Wage Rate, which was put in place to protect domestic jobs by ensuring guest worker wages did not adversely affect domestic wages. 

At the beginning of 2025, Washington state’s AEWR was $19.82. In 2026, the AEWR is $17.13 for farmworkers in entry-level positions and $19 for farmworkers in skilled positions. King County, Bellingham and other areas have minimum wages higher than the state. 

It's the first time the state minimum wage will be the highest applicable wage, said Bertha Clayton, director of Agricultural and Seasonal Workforce Services at ESD.

The change also allowed employers providing housing to guest workers to take housing costs out of their hourly wage for the first time. In Washington, that translates to an additional $2.49 per hour adjusted from wages. 

“The federal government is very adamant that this not be referred to as a housing deduction; it is a housing adverse adjustment, which means this applies only to the foreign workers and it's tied to visa status,” Clayton said. Domestic workers who cannot reasonably commute to a job site can stay at the housing without the adjustment from their wages. 

Gastelum called these reforms "huge" for employers. 

“That’s going to provide some instant relief for some folks that have been using the program, cash-wise," Gastelum said. 

Streamlined filing

Changes also streamlined the filing process for employers. Applications used to have only one start date, but now arrivals can be staggered. Multiple job duties can also be nested in the same application.

There have been about 115 fewer applications than last year for almost the same amount of workers, according to Meraz. 

“That is some flexibility for the grower that has been instituted by the federal government,” Meraz said. "That’s why we’re seeing less applications, but the real indicative number is the number of workers requested.”

From the start of the labor year on Oct. 1 to June, the state has seen 287 applications received for 37,904 workers. That's compared to 472 applications for 38,732 workers last year, although 34,560 ended up getting certified by the Department of Labor. 

That's tracking with what WAFLA is seeing.

“Essentially, if the guys are doing the same thing throughout the year, and the only difference is start dates, when they come, then that can be one application," said Ryan Ogburn, WAFLA's visa services director. 

WAFLA anticipated seeing up to one-third less applications this year, because of the streamlining policy. They have seen only about 10% less, however, said Ogburn. It's too early to say exactly why, as the last applications for harvest season trickle in through June. 

Many factors influencing labor

Following the policy changes, Gastelum said more growers in the state have started using the H-2A program this year, hiring a few hundred workers from the program. 

They had a several reasons for doing so, Gastelum said. Some thought the wage was more reasonable. Others mentioned an increase in immigration enforcement, particularly the potential for I-9 audits of farms. 

The increased immigration enforcement from the Trump Administration has had ripple effects in the industry. Gastelum said that last summer, there were a few hundred less domestic migrant workers coming to Washington from California, Texas and Arizona, which may have been consequence of enforcement.

All of these reasons may have pushed some growers toward the program. But most small growers cannot afford to use it. 

"The other obstacle is whether people can afford or get access to housing. If you can’t house the workers, then it’s a nonstarter for you," Gastelum said. 

Growers have been in a crunch the last few years, with costs cutting into profits. Labor, particularly harvest labor, is typically the largest expense for farmers. 

"There's just not a lot of cash in the industry right now," Gastelum said. 

Weather can also have an effect on the amount of labor needed. Some spring freezes, particularly around the Wenatchee and Okanagan areas, have possibly potentially reduced the sizes of the state's cherry and apple harvests.

“We’re going to have really big beautiful cherries, but we’re not going to have the volume like we had," he said. The same could be true for apples, and some growers could be pulling back the number of workers they usually hire for.

Labor shortage a point of debate

Not everyone welcomes the guest workers. The United Farm Workers of America have been outspoken in their opposition to the growth of the program, stating that it takes away jobs from U.S.-based workers. The organization is skeptical that there is a shortage of domestic labor. 

In November 2025, the UFW, the UFW Foundation and 18 workers across the country filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of California against the Trump Administration over the new policies, arguing that they are illegal and hurt American workers.  

The suit asked for an injunction to stop the wage decrease while the case continues. A judge denied the injunction in May. 

While disappointed the rules changes can continue, the UFW believes its suit will ultimately prevail, said Antonio De Loera-Brust, UFW spokesperson. 

One of the co-plaintiffs is Crisanto Serrano, a farmworker from Sunnyside. 

"There are lots of us in Sunnyside who want to work, but who can't find work because there are so many H-2A workers," Serrano said in a statement through UFW. "I have nothing personally against them — it's just not fair that our wages are cut or that our jobs are taken, as those of us who have been here for decades, pay taxes, and everything, even people like me who are American citizens." 

But ag leaders contend that jobs are still available. 

Gastelum said that at the time of the interview in late May, his members were still in positive recruitment, meaning they were still hiring domestically — and the program requires growers to hire them first. 

"I’m not hearing from employers, 'Roll back my H-2A numbers, I have too many domestic workers,'" Gastelum said. “To say we have 30-some thousand U.S. workers walking around looking for a farmwork job just is not the case.”

Future

Gastelum also said that he is encouraged that there seems to be more elected officials from both sides of the aisle listening to how they can support growers. He's hoping for more ag labor reforms, particularly eyeing legislation that U.S. Rep. GT Thompson, R-Pennsylvania, and U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, have been drafting. 

"Many in ag nationally have been asking for a longer visa,” Gastelum said. The reform bill would also offer pathways for citizenship. 

Any growth of the program will require more housing units to be built, and there are already some new developments nearby, in Sunnyside and the Tri-Cities.

A hotel is being converted in Sunnyside into program housing, according to The Spokesman Review. 

Gastelum said that he would like to see 500 to 1,000 new units in the next four years.