December 3rd, 2023 at 01:02 am
US H-2B 64,716 Work Visas in 2024 – H-2B Visa | US Work Visa 2024
Congress intended for the H-2B Visa category to support US firms by allowing the hiring of foreign workers to fill positions for which American workers were unavailable. The H-2B Visa program was designed to address the need for temporary labor in non-agricultural occupations among US corporations.
66,000 visas were authorized by Congress for this program each fiscal year, of which 33,000 were available for workers who began employment in the first half of the fiscal year and the remaining 33,000 for the second.
A proposed rule that would authorize an additional 64,716 H-2B visas—20,000 of which would be granted to citizens of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras—was recently revealed by US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Returned H-2B workers or those who received an H-2B visa during the last three years will receive the remaining balance.
Before being eligible for another H-2B visa, an individual who has held an H-2B visa for a total of three years must leave the country and stay outside of it for at least three months.
Period of Stay
The H-2B program is a potentially useful choice if you are a business owner who needs to decide how to complement your workforce and you are unable to recruit US employees. The program is an intimidating and complicated process because of the precise timeline and procedural requirements;
H-2B Visa Grants
The procedure of October and April are the two times a year that H-2B visas are granted. Employers must first acquire a Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD) from the Department of Labor (DOL) as part of the procedure. No earlier than ninety days before the employer’s start date of necessity, employers may submit a labor certification application to the DOL.
Following the filing of the labor certification, employers are categorized according to the filing date of the certification. Employers who file their labor certifications first are grouped; the DOL handles group A cases first, then group B and group C.
Employers must first obtain their labor certification from the DOL before they may apply to USCIS. They can secure their spot in line for the restricted number of visas by filing with USCIS and eventually obtaining a receipt notification from USCIS. As the visas are used up by the time applicants may submit, those in groups B or C are likely to have their USCIS submissions denied.
Congress created the H-2B program to assist US firms in supplementing their workforce, but there are many obstacles standing in the way of the program’s success.
Workforce Challenges
With a 3.9% unemployment rate, the majority of businesses are now experiencing a labor shortage. Many already have active hiring programs in place, but they are unable to locate enough US workers. Companies who get into the H-2B market do so out of a dire necessity for labor.
Reduced productivity, the possibility of a subsequent recession, and difficulties in hiring and retaining employees are some of the unfavorable consequences of low unemployment. Businesses’ costs rise as a result of a tight labor market, and this will raise inflationary pressures. These possible repercussions could eventually cause company failures and job losses for US workers.
Like the H-2A Visa program, which does not have an annual cap on the number of eligible visas, it appears to me that the H-2B program should also not have one to accommodate changing labor demands. The H-2B cap would assist US companies in meeting their labor requirements.
It’s time for the government to stop erecting arbitrary and artificial barriers to prevent companies from hiring desperately needed workers for open positions and instead start providing genuine assistance. Quotas and lotteries don’t improve our economy or security as a country. It is merely un-American to interfere with our economy in this needless manner.
H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs
Employers in the US can hire foreign nationals for temporary positions in agriculture and non-agricultural fields, respectively, through the H-2A and H-2B Visa programs. Only nationals of nations that the Secretary of Homeland Security has identified as eligible to participate in the programs may have their H-2A and H-2B petitions approved by USCIS.
On a case-by-case basis, USCIS may grant H-2A and H-2B petitions, including those that were pending as of the Federal Register notice publication date, for citizens of nations that are not on the lists, provided that doing so is deemed to be in the best interests of the United States.
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