H-2B Non-Immigrant Workers

What do businesses do when faced with the need for temporary help even if temporary extends to several years? Hire of course. Sometimes it is more advantagous to hire foreign nationals. The law provides a variety of non-immigrant visa classifications to cope with the demands for employees from beyond the boundaries of the United States. One such category is known as H-2B. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website features a press release titled Questions and Answers: USCIS Finalizes Streamlining Procedures for H-2B Temporary Non-agricultural Worker Program. Interested employers must pursue a petition process before H-2B status is accorded to an individual. The process can involve separate government agencies which include the Department of Labor and the State Department in addition to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The name of the immigration form, used to file for H-2Bs, is Form I-129, also known as the Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. The employer/petitioner must show a temporary need by documenting that the need "is a one-time occurrence, a seasonal need, a peak-load need, or an intermittent need." Prior to filing the Form I-129 an employer must obtain an approved temporary labor certification issued by the Department of Labor having jurisdiction in the relevant location.

The final rule also includes this requirement:

Require petitioners to provide notification to USCIS within 2 work days in the following instances: (a) where an H-2B worker fails to report to work within five work days of the employment start date on the H-2B petition; (b) where the non-agricultural labor or services for which H-2B workers were hired is completed more than 30 days earlier than the end date stated on the H-2B petition; or (c) where the H-2B worker absconds from the worksite or is terminated prior to the completion of the non-agricultural labor or services for which he or she was hired;