WORK VISA: H2B VISAThe H-2B visa is a type of non-immigrant visa that allows a foreign skilled or unskilled worker to be employed in jobs that are not agricultural and for which the U.S. Department of Labor has certified that there are no American workers availlable. The jobs must be described one of four ways: temporary, seasonal, necessary to meet the peak load of a business cicle or a job based on a one time ocurrence project. This visa is ideal for positons such as landscapers, construction workers, housekeepers, maintenance workers, food preparation workers, stone masons, etc. The duration of the H-2B visa is determined by how long the employer's need is, up to a maximum of ten months. How to apply? An employer must first file a petition for the worker (workers) with the State Workforce Agency (SWA) and conduct a recruitment campaign with the object of obtaining a labor certification, which is defined as a certification from the DOL that the wages and working conditions of the local work force will not be affected by the introduction of foreign temporary workers. This requires the sponsoring employer to prove that there are no unemployed, qualified, and immediately available U.S. workers in the geographical location of the intended position. Once the Deparment of Labor (DOL) issues the labor certification, the employer needs to file an aplication with the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Service (formerly part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service) in order to get a visa approval. The employee may then apply for an appropriate visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Number of H-2B Visas available The Immigration and Nationality Act sets as a limit a total of 66,000 individuals accorded H-2B unskilled temporary worker status for each fiscal year. Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005 This act, signed by President George W. Bush, increased the number of H-2B visas available for FY 2005 and FY2006. The act exempts from the statutory cap foreign employees who have worked in the U.S. under the H-2B visa program in any one of the past three years and who are returning in fiscal year 2006. These employees will be considered "returning workers." The legislation also divided the annual allotment of H-2B visas into two portions, with 33,000 being distributed in the first half of a fiscal year 2006 and the remaining distributed in the second half. Additionally, the legislation created fraud prevention and detection mechanisms, established penalties for egregious H-2B visa violations by employers, and developed a system to allow Congress to research how employers are using the H-2B program. This law was extended for one more year (i.e. 2007) on September 30th, 2007.
Alcala Immigration Law Firm can help you with this process. Contact us at: Consultations@VisasUSA.com; by phone at (801) 886-1111 for Utah or (800) 715-3851 outside Utah. |
