7 Things H-2B Workers Are Entitled to That Most Never Claim
H-2B workers are owed more than a paycheck. Seven federal protections covering pay, hours, travel, fees, tools, retaliation, and switching employers, with how to confirm each one
Federal rules give every H-2B worker more than a paycheck. Guaranteed pay, hours, travel costs, tools, and the right to report problems or switch employers are all yours by law, along with how to confirm each one and where to report a violation.
An H-2B job comes with federal protections that cover your pay, your hours, your travel costs, your tools, and your right to speak up or switch employers. Many workers never claim them, because no one spells them out. Each entitlement below includes how to check it and where to report a violation.
1. The full wage on your job order, plus overtime
On an H-2B visa, your employer has to pay you at least the wage listed on your job order for every hour you work, with no quiet deductions that drop you below it. That figure is the "prevailing wage," a rate the U.S. Department of Labor sets for your job and your area. If you work more than 40 hours in a week, you are owed time-and-a-half on top.
Employers can pay by the piece or add bonuses. But if your pay in any week comes out below the promised hourly wage, they have to make up the difference that same week.
2. Three-fourths of your promised workdays, or pay for the gap
Your employer has to offer you work for at least three out of every four workdays in each period of your job order, measured over 12 weeks (or 6 weeks for shorter jobs). This is the three-fourths guarantee. If they offer less, they still owe you pay for the hours you would have worked.
The Department of Labor is currently barred from using funds to enforce this particular guarantee, but it remains your employer's legal obligation under the job order, and workers have recovered the shortfall as a contract claim.
3. Travel, meals, and lodging to and from the worksite, covered
Your employer has to cover your inbound travel to the worksite, along with meals and lodging on the way, including the trip to the consulate for your visa. If they did not pay it up front, they owe you reimbursement by the time you are halfway through your contract.
If you finish the job or are let go early, they owe your trip home too, unless you move straight to another H-2B job that covers it.
There is an earlier deadline in one case. If paying for your own inbound travel would drop your first week's pay below the federal minimum wage, your employer has to reimburse that amount in the first week.
4. Visa, petition, and recruitment fees, paid by the employer
The petition fee, recruitment fees, agent fees, and attorney fees are the employer's to pay, not yours. Your visa and border-crossing fees are covered too, reimbursed by your first payday if you paid them up front. The one cost that remains yours is your passport.
This rule carries real consequences. If an employer or its recruiter charges you a fee they are supposed to cover, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services must deny or revoke the petition, with only narrow exceptions (as of July 2026). A recruiter who slips a "processing fee" or "placement fee" into your paperwork puts the entire petition at risk.
5. Tools, uniforms, and safety gear at no cost, no deposit
Whatever your job requires, the employer has to provide it at no cost to you: mowers and trimmers for landscaping, waders and knives for seafood work, uniforms for hospitality, hard hats and boots for construction. They cannot charge you and cannot take a deposit, not even one they promise to refund at the end of the season.
6. The right to report violations without retaliation
You are legally protected when you report a violation, ask about your rights, or take part in an investigation. Your employer cannot fire you, threaten you, blacklist you, or push you out for it. The protection reaches applicants and former workers too, not just current employees.
Complaints to the Department of Labor are confidential, and you do not need a lawyer. An employer found to have broken the rules can be ordered to pay penalties and back pay, and can be barred from hiring H-2B workers for one to five years.
7. 60 days to find a new employer, and the right to start once they file
If your H-2B job ends, you have up to 60 days to line up a new qualifying job or prepare to leave, without falling out of status. This came in under a federal rule that took effect in January 2025. You also get up to 10 days before your job starts and up to 30 days after it ends.
You do not have to wait for the government to approve the new job. As soon as a new H-2B employer files the paperwork to extend your stay, you can begin working. If your current employer is cutting your hours or charging you for tools, this is your window to move.
Search thousands of verified H-2B jobs on Migrate Mate.
Who to call
For pay, hours, travel, tools, and retaliation, the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division takes confidential complaints at 1-866-4USWAGE, and you don't need a lawyer to file. Fee violations that put a petition at risk are handled by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
You can find these protections gathered in one place on the Department of Labor's H-2B worker page.
Find H-2B jobs with employers who follow the rules
These protections only matter if your employer honors them. Migrate Mate lists H-2B roles using government disclosure data, so you can check an employer's certification history before you sign and reach the employer directly.
Search H-2B jobs by certified employer history
Find your next roleFrequently asked questions
Are H-2B workers protected by the same labor laws as U.S. workers?
Yes. On top of the H-2B-specific protections, you are covered by the same federal wage, overtime, and workplace-safety laws as U.S. workers, and your job terms cannot be less favorable than those offered to a U.S. worker doing the same job. Some protections, such as the right to a safe workplace, apply no matter your immigration status.
Does an H-2B worker qualify for unemployment or paid sick leave?
Usually not for unemployment. Once your H-2B job ends you are generally no longer authorized or available to work, which is what unemployment benefits require. Paid sick leave is not guaranteed at the federal level and depends on the state or city where you work.
What happens if my new employer's petition is denied after I switch jobs?
If the petition your new employer filed is denied, your permission to work under portability ends and you have to stop working for them. You may still have the 60-day grace period to line up another qualifying job or prepare to leave, but you cannot keep working on the denied petition.
How do I find an H-2B employer with a clean record?
Start with the employer's government disclosure record, which shows their H-2B certification history and whether they have been barred from the program. Migrate Mate lists H-2B roles alongside that government disclosure data and gives you direct contact with the employer, so you can confirm a clean record before you sign. You can also cross-check the Department of Labor's list of employers barred from the program.
About the Author
Founder & CEO @ Migrate Mate
I moved from Australia to the United States in 2023. I have had 3 jobs, and 3 different visas. I started Migrate Mate to help people like me find their dream job in the USA & help them get visa sponsorship.
