Photo: Courtesy: The American Farm Bureau Federation official website - https://www.fb.org/
(Des Moines, IA) -- Iowa farmers say rising fees for temporary foreign workers are hurting their bottom line.
The H-2-A visa program is critical due to a domestic labor shortage, and the law requires farmers to pay the application fees for each worker they hire.
According to an analysis by the American Farm Bureau Federation, a new federal "visa integrity fee" brings the total application cost to over $1,300 per worker, an increase of nearly $600 in just two years. The Iowa Farmers Union says farmers can't raise prices to cover the higher fees, so some are considering shrinking their operations.