The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) of the United States announced that they will issue a regulation that will make available to employers an additional 64,716 temporary H-2B visas for non-agricultural workers for fiscal year 2023 .
“To address the need for seasonal workers & reduce irregular migration, DHS, in consultation with @USDOL, announced that it will make available to employers 64,716 additional H2B nonagricultural worker visas for FY23 on top of what is normally available.” cites the tweet from the Department of Homeland Security.
The H-2B program allows employers to temporarily hire non-citizens to perform non-agricultural work or services in the United States.
In addition to the 20,000 visas reserved for citizens of Haiti and the countries of northern Central America, the remaining 44,716 supplemental visas will be available to returning workers who have received an H-2B visa, or been granted H status.-2B, during one of the last three fiscal years.
This means that these remaining supplemental visas for returning workers between the first and second half of the fiscal year will be allocated to cover the need for additional temporary workers over the course of the year, with a portion of the second half allocation set aside to meet the demand for workers during the peak summer season.
It is worth mentioning that the number of temporary visas is available for the countries in question during fiscal year 2023, which began on October 1.
In order to benefit Central American workers, employers must certify that the employment of H-2B workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed US workers.
With the agreement, some 20,000 visas would be assigned to El Salvador. American businesses in industries as varied as hospitality and tourism, landscaping, seafood processing, and more rely on seasonal workers to meet consumer demand. The supplemental visa allocation will address the need for seasonal workers in areas where very few US workers are available, helping to contribute to the US economy.