The employee must meet the following H-2B visa requirements:
- You must have a valid job offer from a U.S. employer to do seasonal or temporary work.
- You must have the correct background and abilities for the job.
- You must intend to return home before the expiration date on the visa.
How can I apply for a H2B visa?
Your H2B visa application must include the following documents:
- DOS Form DS-160, Nonimmigrant Visa Application
- A copy of your passport which is valid for at least six months beyond the period of stay in the U.S. ...
- A color photograph showing full face without head covering against a light background. ...
- Proof that you meet the minimum job requirements stated in the labor certification application
Can I be allowed to extend my H2B visa?
Yes, you may apply for Extension of Stay on H-2B visa. The employer may apply for re-certification for an additional two years with one year extensions, but on each new application, the employer must justify the reason for the H2B extension request. You may also extend your stay in the U.S. by obtaining an H-2B job with a new employer.
Can I hire workers under the H2B visa?
Yes. The H-2B visa program allows you to supplement your existing labor force with temporary foreign workers. Businesses experiencing peak load, seasonal or intermittent increases may make use of this program. Please clarify the difference between seasonal and peak-load. Why do companies hire expatriates? Why do companies hire expatriates?
How long is the processing for the H2B visa?
How long does it take to process a H2B visa? Currently, the H-2B Application process can take more than 6 months to complete and the process is broken up into several steps. Each step is dependent upon the successful completion of the prior step.
How much does it cost to get a H-2B visa?
How Much Does an H-2B Visa Cost? As of January 2021, the USCIS processing fee for an H-2B petition is $460. If you need to apply for a US visa at an embassy or consulate abroad, the visa fee is $190. Certain other fees might apply, depending on your nationality.
How do I become an H-2B sponsor?
To qualify for an H-2B visa, your employer must meet the following requirements: The employer must have a need which is seasonal, one-time, intermittent, or peak load. The job time-frame must be for less than one year. There must be no qualified and willing U.S. workers available for the job.
How long does it take to get an H-2B visa?
60 to 100 days#H2B Visa processing time period Visa processing usually occurs within 60 to 100 days. It is advisable that the employer files this application at least 60 days but not more than 120 days before the temporary worker is needed.
How does the H-2B program work?
The H-2B nonimmigrant program permits employers to temporarily hire nonimmigrants to perform nonagricultural labor or services in the United States. The employment must be of a temporary nature for a limited period of time such as a one-time occurrence, seasonal need, peakload need or intermittent need.
Who hires H-2B workers?
An H-2B visa is a type of work visa that allows employers to hire temporary workers who are foreigners to fill temporary nonagricultural job positions such as Landscaping, grounds maintenance, construction, restaurant/hospitality, maintenance, golf, manufacturing, processing, and other specialty services firms.
How long can H-2B workers stay?
The H-2B classification allows for a maximum stay of three years. A person who has held H-2B nonimmigrant status for a total of three years must leave the United States for three months before applying for readmission as an H-2B nonimmigrant.
Why would a H-2B visa be denied?
Failure to prove their nonimmigrant intent will result in a refusal of a visa under Section 214(b). The most frequent basis for such a refusal concerns the requirement that the prospective visitor or student possess a residence abroad he/she has no intention of abandoning.
How do I apply for the H-2B program?
The H2B Process Involves:filing forms and completing processes, including the prevailing wage process, for obtaining an approved DOL Temporary Labor Certification;filing forms and completing processes for obtaining an approved USCIS Petition for Nonimmigrant H-2B workers;More items...
How many H2B visas issued 2022?
ALERT: USCIS has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 23,500 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas made available for returning workers only under the recently announced H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule.
When should I apply for H-2B visa?
How and When to ApplyRegister - 150-120 calendar days before the date of need will be required. ( ... Obtain a Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD) - at least 60 calendar days before it is needed. ... File a job order and H-2B application - 90 to 75 days prior to the date of need.
What taxes do H-2B workers pay?
H-2B employers must pay their share of Social Security and Medicare, along with Federal Unemployment taxes, state unemployment taxes, and Workers' compensation insurance on all H-2B workers. H-2B workers pay the same taxes as American employees but cannot collect the benefits.
Key News
The Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 2016, Division H, Title I of Public Law 114-113 ("2016 DOL Appropriations Act"), provides that the Department of Labor ("Department") may not use any funds to enforce the definition of corresponding employment found in 20 CFR 655.5 or the three-fourths guarantee rule definition found in 20 CFR 655.20, or any reference thereto.
Civil Money Penalty Inflation Adjustments
Starting in 2016, agencies across the federal government must adjust their penalties for inflation each year. Below is a table that reflects the adjustments that have occurred for penalties under this statute. For more information on the penalty adjustments, go here.
How Long Can You Stay on an H-2B Visa?
The initial H-2B visa is good for up to one year. If the employer can show that it needs you for a longer time, and you can show that you still plan to return to your home country when required, the visa can be extended upon request in one year increments. Such extensions can be hard to get, however -- they're not automatic at all.
What documents are needed to accompany a spouse?
If your spouse and children will be accompanying you, documents showing the family relationship, such as birth and marriage certificates.
Can seasonal non-agricultural workers apply for H-2B visa?
Seasonal non-agricultural workers, both skilled and unskilled, may apply for an H-2B visa to the United States. You must have a job offer first, for a position for which there is a shortage of U.S. workers willing or able to take the job. You must be able to show that you intend to return home at the end of the permitted stay.
Can an attorney help you with an H-2B?
The attorney can help you assess which visa category is most appropriate for your employment purposes and , if you apply for an H-2B, help you not only prepare the paperwork but try to get it submitted early enough that visas for that year won't have run out when you apply.
How long do you have to notify USCIS of H-2A?
Petitioners must notify USCIS of an H-2A worker’s payment or agreement to pay prohibited fees to a recruiter, facilitator, or similar employment service within 2 workdays of gaining knowledge of such payment or agreement.
Can a H-2B family member work in the US?
Any H-2B worker's spouse and unmarried children under 21 years of age may seek admission in H-4 nonimmigrant classification. Family members are not eligible for employment in the United States while in H-4 status. Employment-Related Notifications to USCIS.
Can a H-2B spouse be a H-4?
Any H-2B worker's spouse and unmarried children under 21 years of age may seek admission in H-4 nonimmigrant classification. Family members are not eligible for employment in the United States while in H-4 status.
Is there an exemption for H-2B in Guam?
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (FY 2018 NDAA) created an exemption for certain H-2B peti tioners on Guam and in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) from the requirement to show that the need for a worker is temporary. This exemption has been extended and amended by subsequent NDAAs. Volume 2, Part I, Chapter 11 of the USCIS Policy Manual provides additional information and guidance on qualifying for the exemption.
Employment-Based Immigration
The H-2B program, also known as a guest worker visa program, permits employers to hire foreign workers to come to the United States and perform temporary nonagricultural services on a one-time, seasonal, peak load, or intermittent basis.
What Does the H-2B Visa Mean in Practice?
The H-2B visa category is quite broad in terms of the type of temporary nonagricultural occupations that can qualify for H-2B status. About half of all H-2B visa temporary workers are employed as landscapers, groundskeepers, and forestry workers.
Duration of Stay
An H-2B visa holder can be granted a term of stay up to nine months (up to a year for “one-time occurrences”). Under the right circumstances, the period of stay of a temporary worker can be extended up to three years, although this is an unusual case. Each H-2B visa extension typically lasts for one year.
Eligibility Requirements for H-2B Classification
To qualify for an H-2B visa, your employer must meet certain requirements, and you must also meet certain requirements.
Approval Process
For most H-2B visa applicants, the approval process is a three-step process – one step for the labor certification application, one step for approval by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of the US Department of Homeland Security, and one step for a US embassy or consulate abroad to issue an H-2B temporary visa.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
As of January 2021, the USCIS processing fee for an H-2B petition is $460. If you need to apply for a US visa at an embassy or consulate abroad, the visa fee is $190. Certain other fees might apply, depending on your nationality.
The Visa Cap
H-2B visa status is subject to an annual quota of 66,000 approvals – 33,000 H-2B visas for employment from October 1 to March 31, and 33,000 H- 2B visas for employment from April 1 to September 30. The H-2B visa is popular—in fact, the visa cap is usually filled every fiscal year.
How to get an H2B visa?
To get an H2B visa, the individual must show that he/she has a specific job offer from a US employer to perform temporary, non-agricultural work inside the US and that he/she plans to return to his/her home country once the visa expires.
What is an H2B employer?
The H2B employer must be a US employer with a lawful presence in the US, having an IRS tax ID number, and a legitimate job opportunity in the US. The employer is considered the “Petitioner” in the H2B application process, which means that it is the employer who sponsors the employee for H2B status. The employer is required to pay all appropriate ...
What happens if an H2B employee fails to report for work?
Employers are prohibited from passing the cost of recruiter fees charged by a petitioner, agent, facilitator, recruiter, or similar employment service, to prospective H2B workers as a condition of an offer of H2B employment. Per the rule, employers must pay for transportation and visa expenses of H2B employees and shifting these costs to the employees would effectively bring them below the minimum wage in their first week of employment.
The H-2B application process
The H2B visa procedure includes asking the U.S. Department of Labor to Certify that there are no United States workers who are able, willing, and qualified to perform the work that the employer wishes to fill.
H-2B Employer Supporting Documentation
An employer must submit supporting documentation when filing its Application for Temporary Labor Certification. These documents include:
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I have spoken with many of you regarding different strategies for ‘beating the H2B cap’ next season. This email is to summarize two of these options. This strategy works to ‘beat the cap’ because the H2B workers are brought in during the Winter, when not as many businesses apply for H2B visas. As long as…
What is the H-2B program?
The H-2B provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provide for the admission of nonimmigrants to the U.S. to perform temporary non-agricultural labor or services. 8 U.S.C. 1101 (a) (15) (H) (ii) (b). This fact sheet provides general information concerning employer requirements under the H-2B program for H-2B applications submitted on ...
How many weeks does an employer have to pay H-2B?
If during any 12- or 6-week period, the employer does not offer H-2B or corresponding workers sufficient hours to meet the three-fourths guarantee, the employer must pay such workers the amount they would have earned had they actually worked for the guaranteed number of workdays.
How many hours must an employer guarantee?
The employer must guarantee to offer the workers employment for a total number of work hours equal to at least 75% of the workdays in each 12-week period (or each 6-week period if the job order is less than 120 days). This is the "three-fourths guarantee.".
Do H-2B workers have to have a copy of their job order?
The employer must provide to workers, without charge or deposit, all tools, supplies, and equipment required to perform the duties assigned. All H-2B and corresponding workers must be provided with a copy of the job order. H-2B workers located abroad must receive the job order no later than when they apply for a visa.
Do employers have to post H-2B?
The employer must post a DOL-provided poster in English detailing H-2B and corresponding workers' rights and protections in a conspicuous location at each worksite. The employer must post additional posters if a significant portion of workers are not fluent in English and if DOL provides the poster translated into their language.
