Ostrom Farms, a mushroom farm in Yakima County, Washington, must pay $3.4 million to the Washington Attorney General after a lawsuit revealed Ostrom had discriminated against its female employees and misused the H-2A visa program. Attorney General Bob Ferguson promises to use the money to pay farmworkers affected by Ostrom’s conduct.

Ostrom Farms, una granja de hongos del condado de Yakima, Washington, pagará 3.4 millones de dólares al fiscal general de Washington después de un litigio que mostró que Ostrom había discriminado a sus empleadas y había abusado del programa de visas H-2A. El fiscal general Bob Ferguson ha prometido usar el dinero para pagar a las personas trabajadores agrícolas afectadas por las acciones de Ostrom. 

On March 28, the Department of State published in the Federal Register a new rule that increases the processing fees of nonimmigrant visas (NIV). The change is effective as of May 30, 2023. 

For what type of nonimmigrant visas will fees increase?

Non-petition based visas used for tourism or business are part of the nonimmigrant visa (NIV), and the processing fees will increase from $160 to $185 USD.

Processing fees will increase for the following visas: 

If you work with an H-2B visa in the United States, it is important for you to know the following: 

The H-2B visa program offers some protections to workers. One of these protections is known as the  34 (three-fourths) guarantee, and it addresses the following: 

The employer must guarantee employment for at least 75% (or three-fourths) of the total work hours that were agreed to in the contract.

This May 1st marks International Workers’ Day, and at Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, we want to share and celebrate with all migrant workers the accomplishments that they have achieved during years of fighting for better working conditions for all migrant workers in the United States.

Tenemos una oportunidad emocionante en puerta para asegurarnos que oficiales de gobierno pongan los derechos de las personas migrantes en la agenda de prioridades del Tratado entre México, Estados Unidos y Canadá (T-MEC). 

Después de una lucha trinacional, las personas trabajadoras lograron una gran victoria: que se incluyera un capítulo laboral con protecciones de personas migrantes dentro del T-MEC, poniendo derechos al mismo nivel que otros temas relacionados al comercio.

On March 13, 2023, US Ambassador to the Mexico, Ken Salazar, Mexico Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS), Luisa María Alcalde and Principal Deputy Administrator for the Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Jessica Looman, attended a launch ceremony for the U.S.-Mexico Return of Migrant Wages Pilot Program. This pilot program is a clear example of how coordinated advocacy between Mexico and the United States to enforce U.S. labor laws, respect human and labor rights, and provide a pathway to access justice.