The U.S. government announced Tuesday that it continues to accept applications for nonimmigrant worker visas (H-2B), in addition to the 11,500 it has already allocated to citizens of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti, regardless of whether they are returning workers.
The H-2B visa is a temporary visa that allows you to stay in the United States for up to one year. It is specifically designed for temporary foreign workers in the country and is not intended for long-term employment needs.
Under the newly announced temporary final rule on the statutory maximum number of H-2B visas, which increases the maximum number to 35,000 H-2B nonimmigrant visas through the end of fiscal year 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received enough petitions to reach the limit of 23,500 additional visas that were made available only for returning workers.
USCIS indicated that citizens of those four countries have until September 15 to file petitions, or until the visa cap is reached (whichever comes first). Likewise, it invited petitioners whose workers were not selected for the allocation of 23,500 returning worker visas to resubmit their petition.
This new call for applications is due to the fact that no properly submitted requests were received by the publication date of the temporary final rule.
The beneficiaries include: H-2B workers currently in the United States who wish to extend their stay and, if applicable, change the terms of their employment or change employers. Also included are fish roe processors, fish roe processing technicians, or fish roe processing supervisors; and workers employed or providing services in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam from November 29, 2009, through December 31, 2029.
Finally, these supplemental visas are available only to U.S. companies that suffer or will suffer imminent irreparable harm if they are unable to employ all of the H-2B workers requested in their petition, as stated by the employer in a new certification form.
Before authorizing additional visa amounts, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, considers the needs of businesses and other factors, including the impact on American workers and the integrity of the H-2B program.
News report based on information from: USCIS and EFE.