H-2B visas to be issued to foreign temporary non-farm workers
H-2B visas cover hotel workers and home health care workers.
SAN MATEO, California — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will issue 33,000 H-2B visas for fiscal year 2016, effective January 18, and the Philippines is on the list of 83 countries eligible to participate in the U.S. government’s seasonal workers program.
The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs.
There is a statutory numerical limit, or “cap,” on the total number of foreign nationals who may be issued an H-2B visa or otherwise granted H-2B status during a fiscal year (FY), the DHS said.
Currently, Congress has set the H-2B cap at 66,000 per fiscal year, with 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the first half of the fiscal year (October 1 – March 31) and 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the second half of the fiscal year (April 1 – September 30).
Any unused numbers from the first half of the fiscal year will be available for employers seeking to hire H-2B workers during the second half of the fiscal year. However, unused H-2B numbers from one fiscal year do not carry over into the next
As of December 14, 2015, DHS has recorded some 14,235 total beneficiaries that were either approved or pending before the agency.
Employer concern
The burden of qualification lies on petitioning employers to establish that there are not enough U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified and available to do the temporary work; that it will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers; and it’s need for labor is temporary.
“It’s not cheap to hire foreign workers for temp or contract work, “ according to an owner of a home care staffing agency, who refused be identified, “the whole gamut of processing the H-2B petition alone, and filing for the needed documentation for immigration and labor is an arduous process. “
The employer complained of a labor shortage and the scarcity of good-quality caregivers. “I was thinking of hiring more people from the Philippines, but I am having second thoughts due to this long process,” the home care owner said.
Requirements for filing the necessary documents for petition and labor are only the tip of the iceberg. “I believe that employers have to provide board and lodging for these workers so, I’m carefully weighing my options,” the businessman added.
Critics
Meanwhile, critics say the newly expanded visa program–approved by Congress last month as part of a massive spending bill–will exploit foreign workers, take jobs from Americans and hold down wages, Erin Kelly wrote on Tuesday for USA Today.
Kelly quoted Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for immigration Studies: “What business owners are trying to get here is captive workers–people who are desperate and won’t complain no matter how they are treated…they’re importing a servile class…there’s no excuse tor this. “
On the other hand, the H-2B Workforce Coalition, an alliance of more than 40 industry groups that lobbied for the legislation, maintained that the program does not allow employers to exploit foreign labor.
The seasonal worker provision is reportedly supported by a coalition of industry groups that include hotels, restaurants, ski and beach resorts, construction companies and seafood processors.
Supporters of the bigger H-2B visa program say it will help U.S. businesses hire enough people to do the temporary work that is vital for companies to meet consumer demand during peak seasons, whether it’s summer at a beach resort or spring at a gardening company. The seasonal work can last as long as 10 months at a time.
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