(Trends Wide Español) — To work legally in the United States, you do not need to be a professional or have vast experience in any specific field. Simply want to work and take advantage of the thousands of temporary worker visas the country offers for agricultural and non-agricultural work, known as H-2A and H-2B visas.
And while you do need a sponsor (a company) to hire you — you won’t be able to apply individually — here’s some good news:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on January 27 the availability of an additional 20,000 H-2B visas for temporary non-agricultural workers for the first half of fiscal year 2022. These additional visas can be requested by employers. Americans from January 28.
“DHS is taking steps to address the needs of our economy by making an additional 20,000 H-2B visas available to workers,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a press release.
However, 13,500 of these visas are available to workers returning to work temporarily in the US under an H-2B visa or to those who were granted H-2B status during one of the last three fiscal years. the remaining 6,500 visas are reserved for citizens of Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Unlike H-2A visas, H-2B visas are typically subject to a congressionally determined annual cap, currently 66,000 workers per year.
However, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Labor (DOL) have raised the ceiling a couple of times in order to “Ensuring that America’s businesses are equipped with the resources they need to successfully recover and contribute to the economic health of local communities,” the DHS said.
What are H-2 visas?
Fresh Harvest farm workers working on an H-2A visa harvest romaine lettuce in a machine with heavy plastic dividers separating workers from each other on April 27, 2020 in Greenfield, California. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)
Every year, the United States grants thousands of H-2 visas to experienced and inexperienced workers (non-professionals and without an academic degree) to work temporarily in the country. This category is divided into two types of visas: the H-2A for agricultural workers and the H-2B for non-agricultural workers.
In 2020, the US granted a total of 65,716 H-2B visas, filled mostly by gardeners, forestry workers and meat cutters.
The countries whose citizens received a greater number of H-2B visas were Mexico with 74.7%, followed by Jamaica with 8.9% and Guatemala with 2.7%, according to a report by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. United States (USCIS).
Participating countries
In November, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) released an updated list of countries eligible for this type of visa, “whose nationals are eligible to participate in the programs.” That is, if you are from any of the following countries on the list, you can apply for these visas to work in fiscal year 2022.
“The H-2A and H-2B visa programs allow US employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill agricultural and non-agricultural employment positions, respectively,” USCIS said in a news release.
Citizens of these Latin American countries (there are also other countries in the world) are eligible to apply for H-2A and H-2B visas.
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Ecuador
- The Savior
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- Paraguay (citizens of this country are eligible to participate in the H-2A program, but not in the H-2B program)
- Peru
- Dominican Republic
- Uruguay
To see other countries in the world, you can see the list here.
How to apply for an H-2B visa?
The petitioner or employer must show that there are not enough US workers who are “able, willing, available, and qualified to perform the temporary work.”
Employing workers under the H-2B visa must not adversely affect US workers employed in similar tasks, and the work of the candidate workers must be of a temporary nature. USCIS considers temporary if a job:
- One-Time Occurrence: A petitioner argues that the need is a one-time occurrence and demonstrates that they have not previously hired workers to perform the service and will not need them in the future, or that it is a permanent employment situation but a temporary event or of short duration created the need for a temporary worker.
- It is seasonal: the service or job for which you are seeking workers is related to an event or pattern of events of a recurring nature.
Broadly speaking, the application process for the H2-B program is as follows:
- The petitioner files an application for a DOL Temporary Employment Certification for Foreign Labor.
- The petitioner must file a Form I-129 with USCIS.
- Candidate workers outside the US must apply for the H-2B visa at a US embassy or consulate abroad and then apply for admission at a port of entry. To the appointment they must bring a valid passport, a valid petition number (found in the job offer) and proof of payment of the visa application of US$ 190.
How long can I work in the US on an H2-B visa?
The maximum period of stay is 3 years. After 3 years, H-2B visa beneficiaries must leave the US for a period of 3 uninterrupted months before requesting readmission under the same type of visa.
The H-2B visa is granted for a period of one year, although it can be requested for two extensions of up to one year each. The extension request must be submitted before its expiration date and the workers will be able to remain in the US during the extension process.
Workers who receive the extension do not have to process a new visa, as long as they do not leave the US, and if they return to their country of origin, they must apply for a new visa before re-entering the North American country.
— With information from Alejandra Ramos of Trends Wide en Español.
