What “seasonal job” means
“Seasonal” means the need for labor happens in predictable, limited periods, such as a crop's harvest. It is not a permanent job: the contract has start and end dates defined in the job order.
In the American government's vocabulary, the term appears in two temporary work visas: the H-2A, for agricultural work, and the H-2B, for non-agricultural work (hospitality, landscaping, seafood processing, among others).
Where the official jobs are
The Department of Labor (DOL) publishes job orders for temporary programs on the SeasonalJobs.dol.gov portal. Each order has a case number, employer, location, pay, dates and application instructions.
H2A Works organizes H-2A job orders in Portuguese, by state, occupation and start month, to make comparison easier. Always check the case number on the official portal before applying.
- Employer and worksite (farm, county and state).
- Pay per hour or per unit produced, and whether there is an hours guarantee.
- Expected start and end dates of the contract.
- Housing, transport and tools provided by the employer.
- Official application contact (email, phone or form).
How Brazilians apply
The usual path: find an active job, send an English résumé to the contact given, wait for the employer's decision and, if there is an offer, follow the visa process at the embassy or consulate. Hiring is the employer's decision and the visa is the decision of US authorities.
Employers and their agents may not charge workers recruitment or certification fees. Anyone who sells a job or promises guaranteed hiring is a sign of a scam.
See active seasonal jobs
H-2A jobs by state, occupation and start month, straight from the Department of Labor's public job orders.