Hiring Mexican workers means one of two very different things, and the compliance path depends entirely on which one you mean. If the work happens in the United States, you are in US immigration territory: the H-2A program for temporary agricultural work and the H-2B program for temporary non-agricultural work, both run through Department of Labor certification with substantial employer obligations. If the worker stays in Mexico and works remotely, no US visa is involved at all; the question becomes how to employ someone in Mexico compliantly, which for a company with no Mexican entity usually means an employer of record.
Route one: H-2A for agricultural work in the US
The H-2A program lets a US employer bring in temporary foreign agricultural workers, and Mexican workers make up the large majority of participants. The obligations are concrete: the employer must first demonstrate that there are not sufficient US workers able, willing, qualified and available, and that hiring foreign workers will not adversely affect wages and conditions of similarly employed US workers. Certified employers must pay locality-based required wage rates, guarantee employment for at least 75% of the contract work period, and provide safe, clean housing at no cost plus transportation between that housing and the job site where the work keeps workers away from home overnight. None of this is optional; it is the price of the certification.
Route one continued: H-2B for non-agricultural seasonal work
H-2B covers temporary non-agricultural roles such as landscaping, hospitality and seafood processing. The Department of Labor's rules require the employer to offer at least the highest of the prevailing wage, federal minimum wage, state minimum wage or local minimum wage, to cover inbound and outbound transportation and visa-related costs, and to recruit US workers first, offering positions to former US employees. Charging workers job placement fees is prohibited, and retaliation against workers who assert their rights is barred. A three-quarters work guarantee exists in the regulations as well, though DOL notes its enforcement has been limited by appropriations riders. Employers who treat these as paperwork rather than budget lines routinely end up in wage-and-hour enforcement actions.
Route two: employing people who stay in Mexico
For remote roles the calculus flips: no visa, no US work authorization, and generally no US payroll withholding either, since the IRS treats wages a nonresident alien earns for services performed entirely outside the United States as foreign-source income not subject to US federal income tax withholding. The obligations sit on the Mexican side instead. Mexican labor law gives employees mandatory benefits including a year-end bonus, paid vacation with a premium, profit sharing and social security registration, and misclassifying an employee as a contractor to skip those is the classic failure mode. A company with no Mexican entity can either engage genuine independent contractors, with the classification risk that carries, or use an employer of record whose Mexican entity employs the person with full statutory benefits while the client directs the work.
Questions people ask about hiring mexican workers
Do I need a visa to hire someone who lives and works in Mexico?
No. US work authorization only applies to work performed in the United States. A remote worker in Mexico is employed under Mexican law, and the practical question is whether you engage them as a contractor, through an employer of record, or via your own Mexican entity.
What is the difference between H-2A and H-2B?
H-2A covers temporary agricultural work and includes housing and transportation obligations plus a guarantee of at least 75% of the contracted work period. H-2B covers temporary non-agricultural work with its own wage floor, transportation and fee rules. Both require showing that US workers were recruited first.
Can I just pay a worker in Mexico as a contractor?
Only if the relationship genuinely is independent contracting. Someone working set hours under your direction as their main income looks like an employee under Mexican law, and reclassification brings back statutory benefits and social security retroactively. An employer of record exists precisely to make that relationship compliant without an entity.
Who pays the visa and travel costs for H-2 workers?
The employer. Under the H-2B rules the employer covers inbound and outbound transportation and visa-related fees, and charging workers placement fees is prohibited; H-2A adds free housing and worksite transportation. Recruiters who charge workers are a compliance red flag, not a saving.