Unites States employers and foreign national employees have greatly benefited from the H-2A and H-2B visas programs.  Under these programs, employers can hire foreign employees on a temporary, seasonal, or intermittent basis, and foreign nationals can enter the United States to work for decent wages.  Specifically, H-2A visas are for for temporary agriculural workers, and H-2B visas are for temporary non-agricultural workers.

USCIS typically only approves petitions for nationals from designated countries, but a Federal Register notice issued on January 18, 2011 has announced the addition of 53 countries to this list, grealy expanding those who are now eligible to enter and work in the United States.  These newly designated countries include:

Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Kiribati, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Nauru, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Samoa, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, and Vanuatu.  Of these countries, the following were designated for the first time this year:  Barbados, Estonia, Fiji, Hungary, Kiribati, Latvia, Macedonia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

If you are a foreign national from a designated coutry, or an employer wishing to hire foreign nationals on a temporary basis, please contact us and we would be happy to provide you with additional information to facilitate you in this process.