The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds "We are still accepting applications for H-2B nonimmigrant workers with a start date on or before March 31, 2024, for the 20,000 additional visas granted to nationals of El Salvador, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica (specific allocation country), and those which are exempt from the cap imposed by Congress .

On November 17, 2023, the temporary final rule for FY 2024 was published. USCIS immediately began accepting H-2B applications for the first half of fiscal year 2024, authorizing a total of 20,716 returning workers and 20,000 individuals from El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, Guatemala, Ecuador and Costa Rica, to be exempt from the obligation of return of workers,

"Applicants whose start date is on or before March 31, 2024, and whose workers have not been accepted for the 20,716 Returning Worker Allowanceare encouraged to file their application under the Country-specific allocation while visas remain available."

USCIS also announced that as of January 12, 2024, the service had received petitions requesting a total of 4,500 workers under these 20,000 visas reserved for people from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala,Haiti, Ecuador, Colombia and Costa Rica.

In November of last year, USCIS announced that an additional 64,716 temporary non-agricultural worker visas had become eligible for fiscal year 2024, in addition to the 66,000 visas eligible each year.

At the time, USCIS announced that the main beneficiaries of additional visas would be temporary workers working in fields such as hospitality, tourism and landscaping, among others.

The H-2B temporary visa program allows U.S. employers to hire noncitizens on a temporary basis to perform non-agricultural work or services in the United States.

While the H-2A visa targets temporary and seasonal agricultural workers, the H-2B program is dedicated to temporary non-agricultural workers.

HL/ HaitiLibre