North Carolina, Raleigh- For day laborers considering traveling to the United States on a visa, it is crucial to know if an H-2A job offer is a scam or if it is an honest proposal.
It happens that, during the recruitment process, it is common for scammers to take advantage of the enthusiasm of workers to take money from them.
Be attentive to some alarm signals It is essential to know if an H-2A job offer is a scam. But there are also two free resources to consult a specialist for a particular job advertisement.
🔎 Do you want to find job offers to work in the United States with an H-2A visa but without intermediaries? We tell you How to contact an H-2A employer directly without going through a recruiter , find legitimate temporary work opportunities on your own.
United States Consulate in Monterrey to find out if an H-2A job offer is a scam
If you received a work proposal with a visa and you have doubts about whether it is real or not, you can consult the United States consulate directly.
The Monterrey consulate, one of the places where the largest number of visas are processed, has a Fraud Prevention Unit.
To verify the legitimacy of a job offer, you can anonymously call 800-108-4724. You can also contact by email at VisasMTR@state.gov
Consult the Migrant Rights Center
Another option to find out if an H-2A job offer is a scam is to contact the Migrant Rights Center (CDM). It is a non-profit organization that offers assistance to workers in Mexico and the United States.
To contact the CDM call 01 800 590 1773 from Mexico or 1 855 234 9699 from United States.
Like the consulate in Monterrey, CDM service is completely free and in Spanish.
In both cases, to corroborate a job offer it is crucial that the interested party be able to provide some data. Among them, the full name and telephone number of the recruiter, the name of the company, the salary offered, the type of visa and the type of work.
Although it is not essential to have all the data, the truth is that specialists will be able to give you a better answer if they have as much information as possible. Additionally, if the recruiter refuses to provide you with that information, they may be a scammer.
Alarm signs
Likewise, it is also possible to know if an H-2A job offer is a scam through certain warning signs:
- If a recruiter asks you for money in advance: the recruiters' task should be paid by the contracting companies and never by the workers. Charging fees to workers is totally illegal. However, there are cases where recruiters illegally charge fees for jobs that actually exist. But the charge for finding a job offer is a clear indication of irregularity.
- If a recruiter guarantees that you will get a visa: The only body that can make the final decision on granting a visa is the consulate. If a person guarantees the success of the process, it is an important indication to know if an H-2A job offer is a scam.
- If a recruiter promises you too high a salary: H-2A wages They are set by the Department of Labor. By 2025 they range between $14.83 and $20 per hour.
- If a recruiter offers a job for more than one year: the H-2A visa is characterized as temporary. That means contracts cannot last more than one year. Any offer that promises something different may be a fraud.
- If a recruiter offers an H-2A visa but says the job is not in agriculture: the H-2A visa is only for agricultural work. Offers of this kind for tasks in other areas such as tourism or entertainment are false.
- If a recruiter offers you permanent residency: “Green Card” or “Green Card” It is a document for permanent residents of the United States. They can only be granted by the government and are not linked to H-2A visas. Keeping an eye out for a permanent residency offer is another important clue to whether an H-2A job offer is a scam.
- If a recruiter requests to transfer the visa processing costs to their personal account: the only amount that the worker may have to pay during the process to obtain the H-2A visa is $190 for its processing. This money is deposited only in the official accounts of the consulate. In Mexico, the accounts are Citibanamex, 023-3047007, or Scotiabank 4244, in the name of CSRA México.
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Good evening, I am Francisco Borge from Nicaragua, I know that I am not where I should be, but I like to inform myself, I am processing an H 2B visa but they are telling me that the tax payments for the form cost $400. I don't know if it is true, yes. The visa process is real, and I would like help so as not to fall into a scam. Please can you help me.
Good afternoon Francisco, we appreciate your comment. Perhaps you are referring to the I-29 filing fee is $460. You can enter this link to the USCIS website in Spanish, you will find “Petition for “Nonimmigrant Worker”, please go to the section below where you will find the “filing fee” section, there you will find the related information.
Hoping that the information is useful, we wish you success in completing your Visa process.
Hello, my name is Hector and I would like to work in the US to give my family a better life... but I have been through a very difficult process because I was applying for work in the neighboring country but unfortunately because of some freeloaders I have not been able to do it... I think that something should be done so that these freeloading people do not continue to do what they do.
I received a work contract from a company in California called Green Valley. I would like to know if it is false or true.
I want to know if the job offer from H2 Mexico Recruitment and the payment of $13.50 per week that they offer is real or a scam.