Migrants with expertise in tourism, hospitality and gastronomy (restaurants) are among those who will benefit most from the Biden administration’s announcement to reduce the annual quota of temporary H-2B visas for non-agricultural workers for fiscal year 2024 to double.

On Friday, November 3, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of Labor (DOL), indicated according to Noticias Telemundo that they will issue an additional 64,716 H-2B non-agricultural visas, which will be added to the 66,000 issued are already available, which are required by Congress.

The aforementioned news network, citing NBC affiliate CoastTV, reported that the additional H-2B visas announced by the United States government are expected to include “an allocation of 20,000 visas for workers from several countries, including Colombia , Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras.”

These are the companies in the United States that offer the most temporary jobs with H-2B visas

H-2B Visa

These visas “are issued to non-agricultural workers and are valid for a maximum stay of three years.”

They explain on Telemundo that “unlike H-2A visas, H-2B visas are subject to an annual limit set by Congress, which currently stands at 66,000 employees per year.”

How to Apply for an H-2B Visa

The H-2B program allows U.S. employers or employment agencies that meet certain specific legal requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to temporarily fill non-agricultural jobs.

A U.S. employer, or an agent as described in the regulations, must complete Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, on behalf of the prospective employee.

Temporary workers are essential for industries such as tourism, hospitality, gastronomy, landscaping and fishing, where very few Americans are employed.

How to Process an H-2B Visa

According to the USCIS, this is the process:

H-2B Program Process

First step: Petitioner is applying for DOL Temporary Employment Foreign Labor Certification (Foreign Labor Certification). Before applying for H-2B visa classification by USCIS, the petitioner must apply for and receive a temporary labor certification for H-2B workers from the United States Department of Labor (DOL), or the Guam DOL if the employment will be in Guam.

Second step: The petitioner files a Form I-129 with USCIS. After receiving a temporary labor certification for H-2B employment from the DOL or Guam DOL (if applicable), the petitioner must file Form I-129 with USCIS. With limited exceptions, the employer must file the temporary labor certification with Form I-129.

If the application for temporary labor certification has been processed in the DOL FLAG system, the applicant must submit a paper copy of the one-page electronic “final determination” of the H-2B temporary labor certification approval along with Form I-129. .

USCIS considers a paper copy of the final determination to be the original, approved temporary employment status certification. If a petitioner has already filed the original temporary employment status certification on a previous Form I-129, submit a copy of the temporary employment status certification and provide an explanation including, if available, the petition receipt number under which the original certificate was filed.

If you are looking for work in the United States, here is the step by step to find it with the temporary H-2 visa

Third step: Potential employees outside the United States must apply for a visa and/or admission.

After USCIS approves Form I-129, potential H-2B workers located outside the United States must:

Apply for an H-2B visa with the Department of State (DOS) at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad and then apply for admission to the United States with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at a U.S. port of entry or

Apply directly for entry into the United States under the H-2B classification from CBP at a U.S. port of entry.

For more information about USCIS, please visit here

(JO)