Friday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Department of State, has added Austria, Italy, Panama, and Thailand to the list of countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B Visa programs for the coming year. The notice listing the 63 eligible countries, whose Haiti was published January 17, 2014 in the Federal Register.

Recall that H-2A and H-2B Visa programs allow U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural and nonagricultural jobs, respectively. Generally, USCIS only approves H-2A and H-2B petitions for nationals of countries the secretary of Homeland Security has designated as eligible to participate in the programs. USCIS may approve H-2A and H-2B petitions for nationals of countries not on the list if it is determined to be in the interest of the United States.

Effective January 18, 2014, nationals of the following 63 countries are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B Visa programs :

Argentina, Fiji, Mexico, Slovakia, Australia, Grenada, Moldova, Slovenia, Austria, Guatemala, Montenegro, Solomon Islands, Barbados, Haiti, Nauru, South Africa, Belize, Honduras, Netherlands Netherlands, South Korea, Brazil, Hungary, Nicaragua, Spain, Bulgaria, Iceland, New Zealand, Switzerland, Canada, Ireland, Norway, Thailand, Chile, Israel, Panama, Tonga, Costa Rica, Italy, Papua New Guinea, Turkey, Croatia, Jamaica, Peru, Tuvalu, Dominican Republic, Japan, the Philippines, Ukraine, Ecuador, Kiribati, Poland, United Kingdom, El Salvador, Latvia, Romania, Uruguay, Estonia, Lithuania, Samoa, Vanuatu, Ethiopia, Macedonia, Serbia.

This notice does not affect the status of beneficiaries who currently are in the United States in H-2A or H-2B status unless they apply to change or extend their status. Each country’s designation is valid for one year from January 18, 2014.

HL/ HaitiLibre