Farmers and growers around the country remain frustrated by the federal visa program for seasonal agricultural workers. Many say that they want to hire workers legally, but that the government is making it harder and harder to do so. Some say that the process takes too long, and that the details required are too complicated. Senators from six states have asked the government to reconsider how the program is run, and find a solution that will make it easier to use. The visa program also requires that farmers hire and train American workers first, but farmers say that that has been a big problem, especially when they have foreign workers who they have worked with for years.
See "Seasonal farm-worker visa program frustrates growers", Sean Cockerham, Kansas City Star, May 9, 2012