SC Nebraska News

In 2024, all six H-2A petitions submitted by an employer classified under the Construction industry based in the SC Nebraska News publication area were approved, according to data provided by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services via H-2A Employer Data Hub. They were filed by Jackson Concrete, L L C, an employer based in the publication area.

This represents an approval rate of 100%, which is higher than the nationwide average.

In 2024, the average approval rate for H-2A petitions across the U.S. stood at 98.8%, slightly higher than 2023's 98.4%.

Employers are classified under industries based on their reported operations and may be involved in multiple industries.

The H-2A visa program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers for temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs when enough domestic workers are unavailable. Employers must demonstrate a short-term need and that hiring foreign workers will not negatively affect U.S. workers' wages or working conditions. These jobs must first be offered to U.S. workers, and both domestic and H-2A workers must receive at least the highest of the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) or other wage benchmarks.

Compared to 2023, SC Nebraska News publication area saw a 50% increase in the number of seasonal agricultural visas during 2024.

The United States admits around 1 million legal immigrants annually, most of whom receive permanent residence (green cards) through family sponsorship or employment-based visas. In 2023, about 1.2 million immigrants were granted green cards, a return to pre-pandemic levels. Temporary visa programs, such as the H-1B for highly skilled workers and H-2A for seasonal agricultural workers, also play a critical role in filling workforce needs.

Public opinion on immigration varies, with 46% of Americans favoring maintaining current legal immigration levels, according to a 2024 Pew Research Center survey. Additionally, 42% believe that highly skilled workers, such as scientists, doctors, and programmers, should be prioritized for legal immigration, compared to 25% who prioritize workers filling labor shortages and 19% who emphasize family sponsorship. Despite this, family sponsorship remains the most common path to permanent residency, accounting for 63% of green cards issued in 2023.

Due to manual data entry and the use of paper forms by applicants or petitioners, occasional discrepancies in employer names, tax IDs, locations, or other details may be found in the H-2A Employer Data Hub provided by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is the data used in this article. Despite these potential issues, USCIS works to ensure accuracy.

Rank	Industry	Total Petitions	% of All Submissions	% Approved	% Denied
1	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	417	98.6%	98.8%	1.2%
2	Construction	6	1.4%	100%	0%

Company Name	Industry	Total Petitions	% Approved	% Denied
Briggs Harvesting, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	49	100%	0%
Roeder Land and Cattle Company	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	37	100%	0%
Briggs Brothers Farms	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	27	100%	0%
Civil Services Farms, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	22	100%	0%
Gary Robison	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	20	100%	0%
Troy Kuck Silage Harvesting, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	20	100%	0%
Olson Farms, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	18	100%	0%
Jessen Unlimited	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	18	88.9%	11.1%
KTO, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	18	100%	0%
M and L Land and Cattle, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	16	81.3%	18.8%
Aec and Sons Trucking, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	15	100%	0%
Imperial Beef, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	15	100%	0%
Sastsc Agent, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	11	100%	0%
BLITS	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	10	100%	0%
DCN Farms JV	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	9	100%	0%
Downey Irrigation, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	8	100%	0%
Tanner Lemon	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	8	100%	0%
JKA Cattle, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	8	100%	0%
Maaske, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	7	100%	0%
Lauer Farms	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	6	100%	0%
Jackson Concrete, L L C	Construction	6	100%	0%
Messersmith Trucking, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	5	100%	0%
West Blue Pork, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	4	100%	0%
County Line Feeders	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	4	100%	0%
J D Farms, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	4	100%	0%
CHS, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	4	100%	0%
Blase Company, L L C	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	4	100%	0%
DMB Company, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	3	100%	0%
Kuenning Family Farms	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	3	100%	0%
K Cattle, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	3	100%	0%
Grant Schutz, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	3	100%	0%
G Johnson Farms, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	3	100%	0%
Todd Garrelts	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	3	100%	0%
Westerlin Harrington Flying Service	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	3	100%	0%
J Kristin, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	3	100%	0%
Bee Biz, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	3	100%	0%
Kroeker Farms, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	2	100%	0%
Kerry Maline Farm	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	2	100%	0%
K Farm	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	2	100%	0%
Bensons Farms	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	2	100%	0%
Flaming Farms, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	2	100%	0%
Bubak Land and Cattle, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	2	100%	0%
BGS Farms, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	2	100%	0%
BTL Land, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Dan Kristensen Farms	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Hunt CD Bar, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
TSR, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Down to Earth Spreading, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Grabenlife, LLC	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Becker Farms, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Driscoll Farm, Inc.	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%
Ross Kurkowski	Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	1	100%	0%

Information in this story was obtained from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The source data can be found here.