Newsletters

From the Editor's Desk

We are back again with lots of latest news and interesting updates from the world of seasonal labor employment. Well, lets us start our expedition with one of the most important news of the month. Yes, we are talking about DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano’s decision of adding 11 new countries in the list of "H-2B Eligible Countries".

The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Janet Napolitano after having discussions with Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State. The new list includes Ireland, Lithuania, Croatia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Serbia and Uruguay.

As per the list for this year, the countries that fall under the designated nations for applying to H-2A, H-2B visa programs are mentioned alphabetically as below- Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Canada, Croatia, Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Ireland, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jamaica, Lithuania, Moldova, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Peru, Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, South Korea, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Uruguay.

Well, it will be difficult for the employers to obtain H-2B visas for their employees from countries non-designated as the "H-2B Eligible Countries".

Thus, if you are an employer who has questions regarding Labor Certification or need assistance with the H-2B filing, contact ExpressH2B. ExpressH2B attorneys would be happy to assist you.

Well, recently, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its H-2B cap statistics for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. USCIS is still accepting filings for H-2B employment for the first half of the fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2010, but case receipts are approaching the quota for this period. USCIS also continues to accept filings for H-2B employment in the second half of the fiscal year, which runs from April 1 to September 30, 2010.

With each passing week, H-2B visas are moving closer to exhaustion. So, if you wish to file an H-2B visa to meet your temporary employment needs, you got to hurry up and plan things ahead of time.

We wish you all the very best!

To ensure you receive your Express H2B Newsletter, please add to your address book or safe list.

Get geared up for an exciting year ahead!

News Bulletin

USCIS Updates H-2B Cap Statistics for FY 2010

USCIS has updated the H-2B cap count for FY2010. As of January 29, 2010, USCIS has received 41,947 H-2B petitions against the target of 47,000 out of which 38,071 petitions are approved and 3,876 are pending. USCIS has received 13,034 H-2B petitions for the second half of the fiscal year, also against a target of 47,000 of which 7,868 petitions are approved and 5,166 are pending.

Read More News

Featured Article

Defining the Word Temporary for the H2B Visa Workers

The employers find it extremely burdensome and confusing to prove the temporariness of an occupation when it comes to hire foreign workers on H2B visa to meet their temporary work requirement. The temporary employment for H2B workers should not be confused with part-time employment which does not qualify for temporary labor certification. This article helps you understand the meaning of the word ‘temporary’ under the H2B visa program.

Read Full Article | Read More Articles

Questions and Answers

Question: How should an employer advertise if the area of intended employment does not have a newspaper that runs 7 days a week?

Ans: Department of Labor guidance states that an employer must advertise the job opportunity in a newspaper of general circulation or in a readily available professional, trade or ethnic publication, whichever the State Workforce Agency (SWA) determines is the most appropriate for the occupation and most likely to bring responses from U.S. workers. If the job opportunity is located in a rural area that does not have a newspaper with a daily edition that runs 7 days a week, the employer will be instructed to use a daily edition with the widest circulation in the nearest urban area or such other publication, as the SWA may direct.

More Q&A

H2B Myths and Reality

Myth: If there are unemployed Americans then there is no need for non-immigrant workers.

Reality: H-2B positions are short-term positions. These jobs seldom lead to full-time, gainful employment. A presently unemployed person accepting one of these positions will more than likely be unemployed again within 3-6 months because the job has ended. The point of a job search is to find an opportunity where an individual will remain employed. In addition, a professional, who has been recently laid off, more than likely does not want to work for three months at the beach hot dog stand. Unemployed individuals are searching for circumstances that are similar to their previous work environments. Finally, many H-2B positions are in areas where unemployed individuals are not. For example, resort communities seldom have high unemployment rates because these are very transient communities. At most beach and ski resorts the actual population in these towns is very low, leaving not enough individuals to cover the peak workload. Furthermore, there are many other H-2B jobs that are located in remote areas of the country (i.e. the forests of Maine, the coast of Alaska). The bottom line is this: H-2B employers want to hire as many Americans as possible.