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J-1 Workers Promised America, Got Abuse at Nursery

Source: nytimes.com

TL;DR

A New York Times investigation reveals J-1 visa workers at Kurt Weiss Greenhouses faced exploitation instead of promised cultural exchange and training.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/nyregion/j1-visa-foreign-workers.html)[[2]](https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/usa-investigation-finds-workers-on-j-1-visas-allegedly-subjected-to-exploitation-in-new-york-incl-sexual-harassment-threats-unsafe-conditions-incl-cos-non-responses)
Workers endured 10-hour shifts, chemical exposure without gear, forklift injuries, sexual harassment, and deportation threats while loading trucks for Costco and Walmart.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/nyregion/j1-visa-foreign-workers.html)[[3]](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/nyregion/j-1-visa-investigation-takeaways.html)
The State Department's poorly regulated program enables businesses to treat vulnerable young foreigners as cheap labor, prompting calls for oversight.[[4]](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/09/21/nytfrontpage/scan.pdf)[[5]](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/nyregion/the-dark-side-of-a-cultural-exchange-program.html)

The story at a glance

Young people from countries like Kosovo, Serbia, Ukraine, and Brazil arrived in New York on J-1 visas expecting job training and cultural immersion at Kurt Weiss Greenhouses, a major Long Island nursery that supplies flowers to Costco, Walmart, and Home Depot. Instead, many reported grueling labor, unsafe conditions, verbal abuse, and threats. Reporter Amy Julia Harris's investigation, based on interviews with over 40 workers and thousands of court and regulatory documents, spotlights these abuses now amid growing scrutiny of the program's flaws.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/nyregion/j1-visa-foreign-workers.html)[[5]](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/nyregion/the-dark-side-of-a-cultural-exchange-program.html)

Key points

Kurt Weiss has hired up to 70 J-1 workers a year for growing, harvesting, and shipping plants, but workers faced 10-hour days on assembly lines or in fields, often past midnight.[[4]](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/09/21/nytfrontpage/scan.pdf)
A Brazilian student worked near chemical sprays without protective gear and suffered vomiting and skin rashes; the site had one fatal accident and over 35 injuries from 2014-2017.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/nyregion/j1-visa-foreign-workers.html)[[3]](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/nyregion/j-1-visa-investigation-takeaways.html)
Serbian worker Dino Cekic had his hand crushed by a forklift; Kosovar Behare Mlinaku endured screaming bosses and deportation threats for not working fast enough.[[4]](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/09/21/nytfrontpage/scan.pdf)[[3]](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/nyregion/j-1-visa-investigation-takeaways.html)
Ukrainian Iryna Humenyuk reported sexual harassment at an architecture firm, part of broader patterns including filthy housing and overtime denial.[[6]](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DO3l2yOEfM9)[[2]](https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/usa-investigation-finds-workers-on-j-1-visas-allegedly-subjected-to-exploitation-in-new-york-incl-sexual-harassment-threats-unsafe-conditions-incl-cos-non-responses)
Many workers paid thousands in fees or borrowed money upfront, only to find low net pay after housing deductions in a program meant for cultural exchange, not cheap labor.[[7]](https://grokipedia.com/page/Work_and_Travel_USA)
New York draws more J-1 workers than most areas; State Department sponsors often fail to vet jobs or act on complaints effectively.[[3]](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/nyregion/j-1-visa-investigation-takeaways.html)

Details and context

The J-1 program, started in the 1960s by the State Department, aims to build ties through work-based cultural exchange for young foreigners, but lacks strong labor oversight compared to H-2A or H-2B visas—no Department of Labor certification required. Employers like Kurt Weiss turned to it about 20 years ago for staffing challenges, hiring dozens annually for seasonal roles amid 300,000 yearly participants nationwide.[[5]](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/nyregion/the-dark-side-of-a-cultural-exchange-program.html)

Workers' visa ties to specific sponsors and jobs make complaints risky, as changes need approval; many fear deportation or program blacklisting. A former Kurt Weiss director said most had positive experiences, but the Times found patterns of ignored safety records and inadequate training.[[2]](https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/usa-investigation-finds-workers-on-j-1-visas-allegedly-subjected-to-exploitation-in-new-york-incl-sexual-harassment-threats-unsafe-conditions-incl-cos-non-responses)

Similar issues appear elsewhere: packing dog food in Iowa, cleaning pig pens in Nebraska, or exploitative internships. Sponsors, meant to monitor, sometimes profit from fees without enforcement.[[3]](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/nyregion/j-1-visa-investigation-takeaways.html)

Key quotes

“We were just cheap labor.” — Behare Mlinaku, Kosovar J-1 worker at Kurt Weiss Greenhouses.[[4]](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/09/21/nytfrontpage/scan.pdf)

“There was no treating you like a human.” — Behare Mlinaku.[[2]](https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/usa-investigation-finds-workers-on-j-1-visas-allegedly-subjected-to-exploitation-in-new-york-incl-sexual-harassment-threats-unsafe-conditions-incl-cos-non-responses)

Why it matters

Tens of thousands enter the U.S. yearly on J-1 visas expecting positive exchange, but weak rules expose them to injury, harassment, and coercion in a program now rife for low-wage exploitation. Workers lose savings on fees and face debt, while businesses gain docile labor; buyers like Costco and Walmart risk ties to unsafe suppliers. Watch for State Department responses or reforms, though past audits show slow change.[[8]](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/nyregion/j1-visa-sponsors-profits-abuse.html)