On June 17, 2026, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued significant immigration-related guidance that is important for dairy producers and agribusinesses that rely on seasonal or short-term labor. USCIS’s Policy Memorandum PM-602-0200 clarifies that dairying is an agricultural activity that may qualify for H-2A treatment when the employer can show a valid temporary or seasonal need, even though dairy work itself often occurs year-round.

This development does not create a new visa category or convert H-2A into a general year-round workforce solution for dairies. Instead, it gives dairy employers a clearer roadmap for petitioning under existing law, while preserving the core H-2A requirement that the employer’s need must be temporary or seasonal and evaluated case by case.

What Changed
For decades, dairy employers have faced a practical mismatch between the H-2A program and the year-round nature of milking and herd care. Recent federal guidance addresses that problem by confirming that the legal question is not whether dairy work exists throughout the year, but whether the employer can demonstrate a temporary or seasonal need for the requested workers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) publicly welcomed the new guidance and stated that dairy operations may use the H-2A program when they can demonstrate a qualifying temporary or seasonal labor need under existing law. USCIS also signaled that petitions will remain subject to the same statutory and regulatory standards that apply to other H-2A employers.

Why This Matters for Dairy Employers
The guidance may expand access to lawful agricultural labor for dairy businesses that can tie their staffing needs to identifiable cycles, peak periods, or shifting duties. USCIS indicated that adjudicators should focus on the employer’s need, and a summary of the memo by Agriculture of America (AOA) notes examples such as the approximately 10-month bovine lactation cycle, meaningful differences in duties between seasons, and other temporary circumstances that may support approval.

For feed suppliers, custom operators, labor contractors, and food processors with dairy-adjacent operations, the guidance may create new demand for workforce planning, contract review, housing compliance, and immigration-related documentation. Businesses that support dairy employers should expect increased attention to petition structure, recruitment records, wage obligations, and transportation practices tied to H-2A compliance.

Broader H-2A Compliance Backdrop
This guidance arrives against a regulatory backdrop that has become more complicated over the last two years. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final H-2 modernization rule on December 18, 2024, effective January 17, 2025, describing the rule as one that strengthens integrity, provides greater flexibilities for H-2 workers, and increases program efficiency, while not revising the Department of Labor’s (DOL) labor certification regulations in 20 CFR part 655 or 29 CFR part 501 and 503. Separately, the DOL finalized its 2024 farmworker protection rule on April 26, 2024, adding provisions addressing worker self-advocacy, anti-retaliation, recruitment transparency, wage timing, transportation safety, document retention, and debarment-related enforcement. In June 2025, however, the DOL announced it would suspend enforcement of that 2024 rule while litigation and further regulatory action continued, while also stating that preexisting H-2A requirements remained enforceable.

Practical Steps Now
Employers considering H-2A use in dairy operations should act carefully before assuming the new guidance resolves all year-round labor issues. The strongest cases are likely to be those that can document a discrete temporary or seasonal need, align job duties and timing with operational cycles, and avoid petition structures that suggest an indefinite labor demand.

Key action items include:

• Review whether the labor need can be tied to calving, lactation, breeding, harvest-linked feed operations, expansion projects, or other time-limited business needs.
• Reassess job descriptions, contract periods, and supporting records to confirm they reflect a temporary or seasonal need rather than permanent staffing shortages.
• Coordinate immigration strategy with wage, housing, transportation, and recruiter-disclosure compliance because federal H-2A enforcement still extends beyond visa eligibility alone.
• Evaluate related entities and management structures carefully, because federal regulators continue to scrutinize whether separate businesses are effectively operating as one employer for H-2A purposes.

Dairy employers and agribusinesses should expect case-by-case adjudication, not automatic approvals. Careful planning at the front end will be essential to using this guidance effectively while limiting petition risk, audit exposure, and downstream employment disputes.

Barley Snyder will continue to monitor federal guidance, agency implementation, and any enforcement or litigation developments affecting H-2A eligibility for dairy operations.

For assistance evaluating H-2A strategy, documenting temporary or seasonal labor needs, structuring petitions, or addressing compliance obligations related to wages, housing, transportation and recruitment practices, please contact attorneys Andrew J. Mahon, Hyo Jin (Jinnie) Lee, Silas M. Ruiz-Steele or any member of Barley Snyder’s Immigration Practice Group.