In a first, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) will be issuing a temporary final rule that makes 64,716 additional H-2B visas available for fiscal year 2023.
What is the visa?
H-2B visas, meant for unskilled foreign workers for 2023 will ensure that US businesses can plan for their peak season labour needs.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said these supplemental H-2B visas are for American employers seeking additional workers at certain periods of the fiscal year before 15 September next year.
This supplemental allocation consists of roughly 44,700 visas available to returning workers who received an H-2B visa or were otherwise granted H-2B status during one of the last three fiscal years.
The remaining 20,000 are reserved for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti, regardless of whether they are returning workers.
Purpose of the visa
With H-2B visas, employers can temporarily hire foreign workers to perform nonagricultural labour or services in the US.
This would be for a limited period of time such as a one-time occurrence, seasonal need, a peak load need or intermittent need.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N Mayorkas said, “At a time of record job growth, these visas will also provide a safe and lawful pathway to the United States for noncitizens prepared to take jobs that are not filled by American workers.”
Little impact on Indians
The move by the USCIS is unlikely to have any significant effect on Indians since usually they do not opt for the H-2B visa.
The majority that migrate to the US are highly skilled professionals in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
For such immigrants H-1B visas are required.
Date-wise allocation
For the first half of fiscal 2023, there are 18,216 immediately available visas limited to returning workers regardless of country.
For the early second half i.e. 1 Apr to 14 May, there are 16,500 visas available and for the late second half i.e. 15 May to 30 Sept, 10,000 visas will be issued.
The reason this development is newsworthy is because this is the first time the US has issued a single rule making available H-2B supplemental visas for several allocations throughout the entire fiscal year, including an allocation for the late second half.
The temporary final rule features several provisions to protect both US and H-2B workers from exploitation and abuse.
