Do you need a Farm Labor Contractor's license?

Kyle is flying solo this week! He talks about the Farm Labor Contractors license process and if you might need one. Then we find out if he knows whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump said the quote. You don't want to miss this one!

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Produced & Edited By: Drew Tattam

Transcript

Hey everyone, and welcome back to the Immigration Guy Podcast. Happy freaking Wednesday. Today we are going to talk about the Farm Labor Contractor license application process. Uh, when it's applicable, those sorts of things. Hey y'all, this is the immigration guy with Kyle Farmer.

So, I think that first of all, we need to talk about, well, what is that? So, for people that are participating in the H-2A program, there's two types of employers. There's what's called a Fixed Site Operator, which is basically when one's performing agricultural related activities on their own farming operation.

The other is what's called a Farm Labor Contractor. This is basically an independent contractor that's engaged in agricultural activities and for that reason, participating in the H-2A program. The application process for these types of entities is pretty significantly different. For Farm Labor Contractors in particular, it is way more burdensome than it is for Fixed Site Operators.

For example, Farm Labor Contractors. Have to have a Farm Labor Contractor's license, which we'll get into that here in a minute. Uh, they also have to have an agreement with the actual farmer themselves or with the Fixed Site Operator themselves that detail a bunch of specific information. Oftentimes they have to have as surety bond.

Uh, actually they always have to have a surety bond. Uh, and the, the surety bond thing can be kind of a. And so there, there's, there's just a lot more that goes into it if you are a Farm Labor Contractor. But let's talk a bit a bit about the Farm Labor Contractor's license. So, there's also, just so everyone's aware, there are specific states that require state specific Farm Labor Contractor's license as well.

The one that we're gonna be talking about today is, uh, the Federal Farm Labor Contractor's license. So, one thing that people need to be aware of, because a lot of times we get. In February, someone says, hey, I want to bring in 50 workers to come and pick strawberries. And the first question I ask 'em is, All right.

Well, are they gonna be working on your farm or on someone else's farm? Well, they're gonna be working on someone else's farm, but they're gonna pay us to do it. Okay. Well, if that's the case, and the first thing you need to do is you need to get a Farm Labor Contractor's license. So, the Farm Labor Contractor's license application process right now is taking about 17 weeks.

This hasn't been how it's been historically, a long time., they were processing these applications in both Atlanta and San Francisco, and they kind of separated the country on that basis, but for whatever reason, they shut down the Atlanta office and then they moved it all over to San Francisco. Uh, the San Francisco office has limited resource.

Uh, I think last time I checked they only had like seven employees there. They might have more than that now, I'm not sure. But, uh, the, the reality is, is the popularity of the H-2A program has also increased, resulting in more people getting Farm Labor Contractors licenses, and it, and at the beginning of 2022, they changed over there.

System. And whenever they changed over their system, they had to go through and put in all the old data from all the old Farm Labor Contractors and they only had their seven or so staff to do it. So, it created a backlog. And now these people have been consistently busy, uh, since then. And that backlog has kind of just continued and it's gotten worse actually.

So right now, we're worried. 17 weeks. So, the way that the Farm Labor Contractor's license works is you have to get your initial Farm Labor Contractor's license prior to filing the H-2A application for temp temporary employment certification. Uh, whenever you do that though, you just know that it's gonna take 17 weeks and then it's 60, at least 60 days.

Uh, there's certain circumstances where you can get that waived, but it's generally 60 to 75 days prior to the date of need that you would wanna file your temporary employment certification. So, add that 60 to 75 days on top of the 17 weeks and you can kind of see how long that duration actually takes to file for a Farm Labor Contractor.

So anyways, let's get on, uh, to the actual application process. So, the Farm Labor Contractor's license is specific to the. Uh, whenever you're filing this application, generally you'll file with it something that demonstrates that you have vehicles. So, say that you've, that, and these vehicles have to go through an inspection.

The inspection has to be conducted on the Department of Labor's inspection form, the actual. Vehicle inspection has to be conducted on the Department of Labor's form, and that form number is WH-514. So, if you Google WH-514, you can see the actual vehicle inspection form that has to accompany the Farm Labor Contractor's license application.

And so yet to fill out the application, the application has to be perfect. It has to come with vehicle inspections, it has to come with a certificate of insurance. It has to come. That identifies the amount of liability coverage, or uh, vehicle. Insurance cards is another way to establish the insurance requirement.

Generally, you'll supplement it with housing that is approved by the state workforce agency through the application filing process so that you have transportation and housing authorized. You have to submit it with a fingerprint card. For the actual person that's applying for it, because you can't get a Farm Labor Contractor's license if you've been convicted of certain crimes, and so they run your fingerprints through the FBI database.

Your fingerprint card actually has to be good. You know, sometimes we've had fingerprints come back and, or the whole application come back 17 weeks later, whole application comes back because there's a smudge. On one of the fingerprints, and so they can't run it through the FBI fingerprint scanner. And so, the application has to be perfect.

And then you also have to apply for what are called FLCs, which are basically Farm Labor Contractor license employees, and these are authorized drivers to drive the vehicles that are on the actual Farm Labor Contractor's license. Now this, this can get kind of complicated because whenever you're looking at your Farm Labor Contractor's license in conjunction with your FLCEs, your farm, your, the, the authorized drivers, you have to make sure that you have a driver for every vehicle.

So, you would want a separate FLCE for every vehicle, and you would want to make sure that your seating capacity, excluding the driver, if your driver is not one of your H-2A workers can accommodate all of your H-2A workers. So, let's say for example, I have three 15 passenger vans, total seating capacity.

Is 45, 15 times three. I have three FLCs. All my FLCs are US-based drivers that actually knocks my vehicle seating capacity down by three. One for each of the driver's seats because of the 15 includes the driver's seat. So, you're down to 42 Cs. So that means when I'm applying for H-2A people, I can't apply for 45 people because if I apply for 45 people, and I only have 42 seats.

I don't have the necessary seating capacity to accommodate all my H-2A workers. So, as you can see, that's kind of a sticky point too. Now let's talk about the actual FLCE application process, cuz that is different than the F L C application process. So, the FLCE application process, similarly, you have to send in a fingerprint card.

You have to send in a copy of the uh, app applicant's driver's license, the front and back. It has to be cleared. You have to send in a medical inspection form that is completed on WH-515, which is a Department of Labor form. So, if you're looking for that form, just Google WH-515. Make sure that the link that you click on at the top of it has a current date of expiration.

So, the one right now ha, expires in on September 30th, 2024. Make sure that that's current. You have to fill out a. Application and then that's basically how you get your FLC. So, you need to make sure to have enough FLCs for every vehicle, enough seating capacity. For everyone that you file on your actual application.

Uh, those are the most important things. Now there are other things to know about the FLC. There are certain things to track on your FLC. So, your FLC is good for one year, and then it has to be renewed in increments of two years, and you want to file your renewal application. I think right now they're actually allowing you to about 120 days out.

Last it might have been. Something like that, it's, they're allowing you to file your renewal applications way in advance, and you want to, because if you timely file your renewal applications, the Department of Labor can't deny your certification on the basis of an expired Farm Labor Contractor's license because you properly filed for the renewal.

So that's great. You need to pay attention to that. So, pay attention to the actual expiration of the FLC of the FLC. and oftentimes on the FLCEs for example, there will be a stamp and the stamp say, DA expires, and then says a date, and that stands for driving authorization expires, and then has a date.

The reason you want to pay attention to this particular stamp is because that means that you need to supplement your application to update it so that your actual. FLCE doesn't expire, uh, or, or doesn't lapse, I should say. The actual authorization doesn't lapse because they always issue the renewal period first year, second year, then every other year.

But the actual authorization can expire within that time period. And this happens all the time. Like let's say for example, I applied for an FLCE and that, but my driver's license expires in April of. Well, I would have to mail in a copy of my updated driver's license to continue my authorization on my FLCE.

That's how you make sure that your driving authorization doesn't expire. And this happens also every year with all of the vehicles. Vehicles have to be updated every single year. They have to be updated, uh, with a certificate of insurance and the vehicle inspection every single year. You gotta get 'em all inspected.

Gotta updates it to maintain. Transportation authorization. And the same thing applies to the housing for the housing authorization. So, these things take a lot of maintenance. You also need to make sure that your drivers, whenever they're driving your H-2A workers, actually have a copy of the FLCE with them in the car.

Now, you can do this a few ways. You can send them a copy of it by email. You can give 'em the physical card. I'd recommend that you retain the copy. For your filings, give them the physical card so that they, uh, can have the physical card with them in case they're inspected by the Department of Labor.

Those are some of the important highlights there of FLCs and FLCEs. It's a burdensome process. That's why we do this for our clients, or we handle this for our clients. We have a department that's specifically for maintaining FLCs and FLCEs because they are such a pain for clients. In tracking all those different nuances of when does it expire, how early can I or renew, when does my driving authorization expire?

When does my transportation authorization expire? When do I need to update those? Where are the current forms? All those things are such a pain in the. And so, we just, we, we do it for our clients, but it is an important thing to pay attention to. It can hold up your applications longer than anything else because there's no way to expedite the process.

And so, it's, it's a tough thing, but just pay attention to it. And of course, if you needed help with it, just, just let us know. We're, we're happy to help anyone with FLCs and FLCEs. Now that we're done with that, we are going to allow Drew here to speak. Because she has a game for us and I have no idea what the game is, but I am very excited about it because she said I would be, you gotta mash that unmute button.

There you go. 

It like asked me to click it twice. Okay. So, we are going to play a game that's called Who said it? Joe Biden or Donald Trump. Yes. 

It's gonna be okay if it starts off.

Well, well, I don't have the voices so, so you don't have that to give it.

But some of these are really interesting. I also can tell you if you want at the end, um, when each of them was said yes, by which person? Because that also is interesting to me. So, first quote is, you cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunking Donut unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking. 

Uh, Joe Biden definitely said.

Yeah, he did. I, I remember that one. . . 

That was, uh, 2006. Okay. Quote. When these people walk into the room, they don't say, oh, hello, how's the weather? It's so beautiful outside. How are the Yankees doing? They're doing wonderful. That's great. They say we want the deal. That, that's Donald Trump. That has to be Donald Trump.

They're, they're begging me for the deal. 

They're gonna pay for the wall. Uh, that would be campaigning in Iowa in 2015.

Yeah. 

So, so far, you're doing pretty good. They want the deal. They'll take the deal. My hands are huge. What I'm trying to do is go around from town to town and I'm drawing as big of crowds bigger than anybody Trump. Have you seen anybody draw bigger crowds than me here in this state? Trump, that's definitely Trump.

The only thing he's worn infatuated with in the size of his hands is the size of his crowds, but you're actually wrong. No way. This says Joe Biden. While campaigning in Iowa in 

August, Joe Biden was bragging about the size of his crowd. Oh my gosh. 

Okay. I guess we'll have to compare IQ tests and I can tell you who is going to win.

That sounds like something that Trump would. 

That is, yeah. Uh, Forbes Magazine in 2017. 

What about the, the Joe Biden, one of, let's see who can do more pushups there. Bugo. 

That's on here. 

Keep going, keep going. This is. 

Nobody has more respect for women than I do. Nobody. Nobody has more respect., that sounds like Trump.

Yep. Uh, debate against Clinton in 2016. I like that. All of these are like, you can't dispute, he said a Forbes interview. No, it's crazy to say in Forbes. 

No, I know. I love it. No, it that's, that's so funny. Yeah. You, you. Yeah. Okay. That I. There's a lot of ways you can go with that particular Trump quote, but I'm gonna try to figure where a 13-year-old could listen to the podcast.

Okay. This one you could take in a lot of different ways. This is one of my personal favorites. The press always asks me, don't I wish I were debating him. No, I wish we were in high school. I could take him behind the gym. That's what I wish. 

Uh, Joe Biden. That's Joe Biden. Joe Biden's always wanted to fight people that man could not fight anyone. 

No, no, no. Joe Biden can't even sit on his bicycle. 

Uh, next one, I punched my music teacher because I didn't think he knew anything about music, and I almost got expelled. I'm not proud of that, but it's clear evidence that even early on I had a tendency to stand up and make my opinions known in a very forceful way.

Yeah, that sounds like Trump. Yeah. Yeah, that definitely sounds like Trump because they, they both have like their little. Their little tendencies whenever they're definitely lying. Like that's definitely a lie. Would I, I stood up and I punched her in the mouth, but I respect women. 

Do you wanna guess what grade?

He said he punched his teacher. Uh, second grade? 

Yeah. Yeah, that's what he said. Nailed it. 

Um, okay. I cannot believe that a Frenchman visiting Kiev went back home and didn't say he discovered the most beautiful women in the world. That's my observation. It's certain you have so many beautiful women. Oh, yeah, man, I think that's a tough one because they would both say that.

Oh, okay. Let's see. Say it again. I cannot believe that a Frenchman visiting Kyiv went back home and didn't say he discovered the most beautiful women in the world. That's 

Biden BA based off a time of year, just the fact that it was a Frenchman, that that had to be macaroni or whatever his last name is.

He said, but I'm just surprised Biden didn't say they got the best smell of women I've ever smelled in my life. 

You could be a linguist. So far, I'm killing it. 

I know you've only gotten one wrong. Okay. I think I probably have a much higher, well, much higher IQ than you do. I suspect. I'd be delighted to sit down and compare my IQ to yours if you'd like.

Uh, Biden. He got him with the Frank. Listen here, a Bucko, I'd be quiet to sit down and compare IQ with you and eat oatmeal. 

Do you think he, what do you think he eats? 

Porridge. He eats porridge all the time and prunes, and he sleeps 19 hours a. 

I'd be interested to see. I looked up one time like what the queen ate in a day.

I was just interested, you know, like when you're the queen, what are you eating throughout the day? Yeah. 

Yeah, she had kind of a crazy, like she got like mini cucumber sandwiches and tea and like a fresh fish delivered at 2:00 PM every day or something. And who knows. 

what the article. Real. I bet she was eating at McDonald's cheeseburgers.

What would it be? A hundred. 

Oh, so what is a cucumber sandwich that, have you had a cucumber sandwich? 

No, because I'm not disgust. Yeah, that's gross. . . 

Um, okay. I'm not sorry for anything that I have ever done. I have never been disrespectful intentionally to a man or a woman. Ah, Donald Trump. That one's Joe Biden.

Wow. 

Biden made the comment after a speech in Washington in April, in his first remarks, after several women came forward to say that he had touched them inappropriately or made them uncomfortable. 

I figured that's when it was when you said it was Joe Biden because he, yeah. I should have got that one.

That's embarrassing. All right. Sing it. 

Um, I stopped in Singapore to meet with a guy named Lee Qu Yu. butchered that who most foreign policy experts around the world say is the wisest men in the Orient.

Joe Biden.

That's so good. 

Said it in Iowa in 2014, just hours earlier, he had apologized for using the term shylocks to describe unscrupulous lenders in a previous 

speech. I've never even heard that word. 

before. Yeah, me either. I apparently, you're not. 

supposed to say it, so I guess not, but, but yeah., he was on a streak.

Uh, from Phoenix to Flagstaff, from Mesa to Yuma, to the Red Rocks of Sedona. This great state was settled by some of the toughest men and toughest and most beautiful women to ever walk the face of the earth. 

That sounds like Donald Trump. If you're going, yeah, if you're, if you're incorporating songs into your speeches, because it's all, it's all you got.

That's Donald Trump right there. 

Yeah. Um, two more. Hit with it. We will come up with the cures to many, many problems, to many, many diseases including cancer. Yeah. He, the issue, is he? 

says words, yes. Many, many Trump. Many, many cures. We would've if it wasn't for that damn. 

fauji. Oh, you also talked about eradicating. 

aids in the same speech.

You gotta get rid of it. 

Um, and then also we're finishing with another cancer quote. I promise you; you're going to see the single most important thing that changes America. We're gonna cure. 

cancer. Ah, it sounds like Joe Biden. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, so I haven't seen that yet. Uh, I, I do like how politicians always drop something like that, like, we're gonna cure cancer.

It's like you're probably. Like you're, you're probably not. We'll be lucky if you don't do a whole bunch of really stupid crap for four years. 

Yeah. It's something people like to hear though, apparently. 

Oh, they love it. Like, oh, that politic, did you say he is gonna cure cancer? I'm gonna vote for that politician.

But then they all say it, and so it negates the point. Then everyone's like, oh, any politician can cure cancer. Yet none of them have done it. 

I mean, I guess as like a smarter person, it's crazy to think, but like do people actually believe that? Like is that something people hear and they're like, I love. 

that.

I don't know, I don't know. When I heard Donald Trump say it, I thought no chance. When I thought, heard Joe Biden say it, I thought, still no chance. That's about my thought process there. 

Okay, we are efficient. Anything else you wanna talk about? 

No, but what was my overall score. 

there? Overall score. Let me see how many there were, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15.

So, you got two wrong out of 15. 

Hit me with it. Previous elementary school teacher or whatever grade you were. 

eighth grade. Okay., whatever. Uh, that would be an 86.6 repeating. 

percent. That is the best grade I've ever gotten in all of school. 

Wow.

Okay. You wanna end 

us? Yeah. Sign us off. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for, uh, listening to the Immigration Guy Podcast, Bucko. We'll talk to you next.

A Joe Biden signs off. Thank y'all for listening to the Immigration Guy Podcast. We really appreciate it. You can find us on our website. Go to www.farmerlawpc.com. You can find me on LinkedIn and Twitter. Just search at Kyle Farmer, F L P C. You can find our law firm on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube. All you have to do is search for a Farmer Law pc.

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Thank you.