The H-2B visa category is used by U.S. employers to temporarily employ skilled or unskilled foreign nationals in nonagricultural positions for which the employer has a temporary need and for which qualified U.S. workers are unavailable. The company must plan to employ the foreign nationals for a temporary period and the employer’s need for the skills of the foreign nationals must also be temporary. In addition, the employer must seek a “labor certification” from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) certifying that:
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of State, has identified 53 countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B programs for the coming year. |
The Department has published in the Federal Register a Final Rule on the Wage Methodology for Temporary Non-agricultural Employment in the H-2B Program. The Final Rule revises the methodology by which the Department calculates the prevailing wages to be paid to H-2B workers and U.S. workers recruited in connection with a temporary labor certification. The Final Rule is effective for wages paid for all work performed on or after January 1, 2012.