Temporary Work Visas H2
H2 visas are intended for unskilled or skilled laborers (not professional or degreed employees) to work in the U.S. on a temporary or seasonal basis. They are petition-based visas, meaning that a U.S. employer must submit a request for the workers by obtaining a Labor Certification from the U.S. Department of Labor and receiving approval of an I-129 petition from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. H2 visas were initiated in 1943 with the importation of workers to fill a labor shortage in the sugar cane industry. The first workers in the program came from the Bahamas to be cane cutters. The program changed significantly in the 1980s with the division of H2 visas into two categories, which are still in place today:
- H2-A - agricultural workers (planting and harvesting crops)
- H2-B - non-agricultural workers (e.g., landscaping, construction, forestry-planting or cutting, hotel cleaning staff)
For more information on H2 visa categories, see:
- Immigration and Nationality Act Sections 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) and (H)(ii)(b) for the legislation which defines the H2 categories
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Temporary Workers and Employment Categories and Required Documentation for a more detailed overview of the H2 visa categories
- Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act for legislation on workplace conditions that affect H2 workers.
The Cap
H2-B visas are subject to an annual limit set by Congress; this "cap" is currently set at 66,000 workers/year. H2-A visas are not limited.
For more information on and the current status of the cap, see U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) webpage: Current Cap Count for Non-Immigrant Worker Visas
"Returning" Workers (H2-R)
In May 2005 Congress passed the Save Our Small and Seasonal Business Act of 2005 (H.R. 1268) which resulted in important changes to the H2-B visa category.
The legislation divided the cap into two six-month periods (October - March and April - September) of 33,000 visas each. The legislation also introduced the "returning" worker category for H2-B applicants; this visa category is also known as the H2-R visa. Applicants receiving "returning" (H2-R) visas did not count against the cap for H2-B visas. "Returning" workers are those who had been issued, at least, one H2-B visa in one or more of the three prior U.S. Government fiscal years. For visas issued in FY2006-2007, the eligibility period for a "returning" (H2-R) worker is: October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2006.
The returning worker provisions of the Save Out Small and Seasonal Businesses Act were allowed to lapse in 2007 when Congress failed to renew its provisions. At present, there are no H2-R visas available.
Requesting Workers Under the H2 Program
1. Labor Certification - (Department of Labor (DOL) certifies that the work meets the definition for H2-A or H2-B and that all necessary steps have been completed to determine that no U.S. citizens are available for/willing to do the work.
2. I-129 Petition Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS/CIS) determines the number of workers authorized and the duration for which the petition is valid.
The Embassy/Consulates cannot provide case status information for I-129 petitions submitted to DHS. DHS provides an online case status tracker at: https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/index.jsp
3. Visa – the Department of State verifies that the workers requested on an I-129 petition are eligible for H2 visas under U.S. immigration law.
To apply for individual or group appointments for H2B and H2R visa applicants, the employer or authorized agent must send an inquiry email to the H2B team at H2BMEX@csc.com. A team member will respond within two working days with information on how to obtain an appointment.