Someone who is patient with animals and wants to work as a livestock manager in the United States can find work that they enjoy. The tasks that come with these jobs are very important for protecting animals like cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, and more.
In 2025, it’s pretty common for American farms and ranches to be looking for experienced people to work with animals. Some companies are even willing to help these foreign workers get a visa so they can come to the US to work. The reader can find details about everything below.
Key Points:
- Country: USA
- Job Title: Livestock handler
- Visa Sponsorship: Yes
- Job type: Part-time/Full-time
Requirements for Visa Sponsorship Livestock Handler Jobs in USA:
In the United States, you usually need certain skills and qualifications to become a cattle handler:
- Experience with Animals: Employers also like to hire people who have worked with animals before.
- Physical Stamina: Taking care of cattle is hard physical work that you may have to do all the time. People who work as handlers need to be able to lift big things.
- Basic Animal Knowledge: People who work with livestock must know how to feed, water, and deal with different types of animals and their habits and needs.
- Communication Skills: It might take some time to get used to working closely with farmers, vets, and other people who work with animals.
- Employees from other countries: can be sponsored by their bosses through visa programs like the H-2A visa, which is used to hire people to work in agriculture.
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Duties for Visa Sponsorship Livestock Handler Jobs:
Handlers of livestock do different things depending on the type of farm and animal they are working with. On the other hand, general duties include:
- Animal Care: Animal handlers are responsible for making sure animals are fed and watered. This could include using feeding tools or feeding porn in some other way that is done mechanically.
- Animal Health Monitoring: The people who work with the animals need to keep a close eye on them to make sure they don’t get sick or hurt and report any problems to the farm owner or a doctor. Taking care of and moving animals: Animal handlers may move animals from one place to another, like from a shed to a grazing yard.
- Cleaning and Maintenance: Keeping the animals’ enclosures clean is very important to stop the sickness from spreading.
- Helping with Birth and Breeding: In some farming methods, they may personally help with things like breeding animals and may even help new mothers when they give birth.
Benefits of Visa Sponsorship Livestock Handler Jobs in USA:
- Legal Work in the U.S: If someone supports your visa, you can legally live and work as a livestock handler in the U.S.
- Access to the H-2A or TN visa programs: These types of U.S. visas are meant for foreign workers in agriculture and zoos.
- Competitive Hourly Wages: People who work with animals in the U.S. usually make more than the government minimum wage. There are variations by state, and overtime pay is given.
- Free or Cheap Housing: Many employers who sponsor you will give you free housing on-site or close, which will lower your cost of living.
- Transportation: Companies often pay for your trip to and from your home country at the beginning and end of the job.
- Access to Health Care: Sponsored workers may be able to get medical insurance through their workplace or pay less for health care services.
- Demand for Work: The U.S. livestock business is big and always needs trained handlers, so there is a steady supply of jobs.
- Hands-On Training: You don’t need a graduate degree because companies teach you how to handle animals safely and how to do your job.
- Opportunities for Overtime Pay: Most of the time, you can get time-and-a-half pay for working extra hours on weekends or holidays.
- Way to Get Permanent Residency: If you keep working and get sponsored, you may be able to get a Green Card through employment-based immigration paths.
- Chance to Bring Family (in some cases): Some visa programs let family members who depend on you come with you or join later.
- Multicultural Workplace: You’ll be working with people from different countries, which will help create a diverse and helpful team atmosphere.
- Benefits from Social Security: Depending on the length of your visa and contributions, you may be able to get future income and Social Security benefits.
- Experimenting with Modern Livestock Practices: Discover and use cutting-edge tools for animal health, breeding, and feeding.
- Gain U.S. Work Experience: Having U.S. experience makes you more employable around the world, which can help you get jobs in agriculture businesses around the world.
Handler Livestock Jobs:
There are different types of jobs for cattle handlers, and the tasks they do depend on the animals the company operates with. Here are some examples:
- Handler of Cattle: People in this job take care of beef or dairy cattle by feeding, moving, and milking them as needed.
- As a sheep handler, your job is to take care of groups of sheep by shearing them, feeding them, and making sure they stay healthy.
- Poultry Handler: People who work in poultry processing take care of chickens, turkeys, and other birds.re responsible for feeding them, examining them for disease, and putting them through the processing chain.
Salary Expectations:
Livestock handlers get paid differently in different areas because their pay rests on where they work, the animals they take care of, and their experience.
- Average Salary: In the United States, people who take care of animals make an average of $28,000 to $35,000 a year. Handlers with more experience are usually paid more, but it depends on how big of a field they work on or what kind of animals they are taking care of.
- Hourly Wage: The average hourly rate for someone just starting out in the field is between $12 and $16 per hour. This could go up over time, especially during busy times or times with a lot of people, like when it’s harvest time or when babies are born.
How to Apply for Visa Sponsorship Livestock Handler Jobs in USA?
To apply for livestock handler jobs with visa sponsorship in the USA, follow these steps:
- Looking for Work: Look for work as a livestock handler that will sponsor your visa on job listing sites like Indeed, AgCareers,and ZipRecruiter. More often than not, this is not true if you are looking for a specific type of job, like “H-2A visa livestock handler jobs.”
- Prepare Your Resume: Make sure that your resume is properly customized to show that you have experience with livestock and any training or certifications that you have in handling animals or running farm equipment.
- Apply Online: You can apply for the job on the company’s home page or on any of the job offering sites. Don’t forget to send in all the required paperwork, such as your resume, references, and proof that you are allowed to apply for the visa.
- Visa Application: Once you are hired, it is your employer’s job to help you with the H-2A visa application. To do this, you have to fill out some papers, go to an interview at a U.S. embassy, and show things like a valid passport.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Is accommodation provided for livestock handler jobs in the USA?
Yes, under the H-2A visa rules, employers are required to provide free housing to foreign workers if they cannot return to their permanent home daily.
Is there any career growth in livestock handling?
Yes. With experience, livestock handlers can be promoted to supervisor or farm manager or transition into veterinary assistance, equipment handling, or agricultural technician roles.
What does livestock do?
Livestock are domesticated animals that are raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diverse products for consumption, such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool.
