AVOID FRAUD

HOW TO AVOID RECRUITMENT FRAUD

While browsing the H2Recruiter.com page, you should be aware of the potential for recruiting fraud. Although the portal was designed with the purpose of avoiding fraud, there may be impostor users who appear to offer legitimate work or there may be users who take advantage of legitimate work with the intention of committing fraud.

For these reasons, it is important to educate yourself on recruiting fraud before starting your first session on the portal:

Index

WHAT IS RECRUITMENT FRAUD?

The collection of illegal recruitment fees. US federal law prohibits H-2A and H-2B workers from paying for recruiting services.

RED FLAGS:

Recruiters can be creative in the way they persuade workers. They can participate in various ways, including a job that does not exist, charging for made-up services or services that have nothing to do with the process of obtaining a work visa, or guaranteeing their "space" on an employer's list of workers.

Here are some of the "red flags" that can signal recruitment fraud:

  • If the recruiter asks for money as a requirement to get a job or to access the H-2A and H-2B job list.

  • If the recruiter refuses to give you information about employment, such as the employer's name, workplace, salary, or other working conditions.

  • If the salary offered is too high. Practically agricultural and non-agricultural jobs in the United States pay the minimum wage, which typically ranges from $ 11 to $ 15 an hour.

  • If the visa fee is made by the recruiter more than 190 dollars (3,800 pesos approximately). The cost of the visa is paid directly to the United States government through bank deposits at Banamex or Scotiabank. Upon arrival in the United States, the employer has to reimburse the visa worker. Usually the employer pays for the visa without the need to reimburse the worker.

  • There is no written contract or the contract does not match what you were promised.

  • The contract is in English or a language you don't understand.

  • The recruiter promises a "free visa."

  • The recruiter requests original documents and keeps them (passport, IFE, birth certificate, etc.). No recruiter has the right to retain your documents as part of their job or contract.

  • The recruiter has a hard time explaining the recruiting process or makes it look like too difficult a process.

  • The recruiter constantly changes the date of the appointment at the Consulate or the date of departure to the United States.

  • The recruiter does not provide details about the job (company name, city and state of job site, job list, salary information, length of contract).

HOW TO AVOID RECRUITMENT FRAUD

In order to avoid Recruitment Fraud it is important to educate yourself before starting your first session on the portal.

NEVER ...

  • You pay money to the recruiter or submit personal documents until you have verified the job offer.
  • Always check with official sources or organizations specialized in the care of migrant workers.

REMEMBER ...

  • No fee paid to anyone will have the issuance of a visa.
  • No charge specified a specific appointment date or time for you.

HOW CAN I VERIFY THAT THE EMPLOYER IS LEGITIMATE?

There are several ways to verify that the employer is legitimate:

1. Check their website

Not all media have a web page, but a great majority do. Through their website, you can see what kind of work they do (many times they can change photos) and you can see their contact information, including their phone number, email and where their office is located.

2. Check their social networks:

If they have not been included in your H2Recruiter profile, many problems affected on your page from web links to your social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. There you can see photos, publications, comments and ratings that the public gives the employer.

3. Take advantage of Contratados.org:

Contratados.org is a tool designed for the H-2A and H-2B worker community to verify the existence of a company or a recruiter. The platform that provides the way to search for the name of an employer or recruiter to see if it exists and see the comments that other people have made about their experience with that employer or recruiter.

4. Go to SeasonalJobs.dol.gov:

This site is managed by the United States Department of Labor and posting all H-2A and H-2B jobs that they have certified. Although the site is only in English you can type the name of the company in the search field to see if it gives results.

5. Check with the American Embassy of your country:

The American embassy or American consulate in your country can always help identify a job offer or help report recruitment fraud. See below in the section "HOW TO REPORT RECRUITMENT FRAUD" the contact methods of the embassy or consulate of your country.

HOW CAN I VERIFY THAT THE WORK IS LEGITIMATE?

Jobs posted by H2Recruiter.com must contain a link to SeasonalJobs.dol.gov, the site managed by the United States Department of Labor, verifying the status of the job offered: “Active” or “Not Active”. Click the link to view job details. Unfortunately, the site is only in English at the moment, but at least you can check the contents required for an H-2 job:

  • Name of employer
  • Place of work (city and state)
  • Type of visa and job responsibilities
  • Salary and working hours
  • Contract period
  • Working conditions: payment for housing, transportation, food, etc.
instruction img instruction img instruction img

If the link is not posted in the job posted by the employer or if the employer just contacted you without posting a job, you can always go to this site to verify that the job is active Seasonaljobs.dol.gov/Archive :

instruction img

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Contratados.org

Reviews on H-2A and H-2B Assessments, Contractors and Recruiters



Know your Rights and Resources on the following:

  • Recruitment
  • Wages
  • Dangerous working conditions
  • Discrimination and sexual harassment
  • Retaliation
  • Human trafficking
  • Victims of other crimes
The Center for Migrant Rights

Support Mexican migrant workers an advocate and protect their rights as they move between their communities of origin in Mexico and their workplaces in the United States.

Publications: Fake Works for Sale

"Steps to Protect Against Fraud and Other Recruitment Abuses" - see pages 39-40

H2 RECRUITER SAFETY MEASURES ...

TBD

  • © H-2 Recruiter
  • |
  • All Rights Reserved