The government of United States announced this Thursday another 35,000 additional visas for temporary non-agricultural workers in the face of labor shortages, of which 11,500 are for citizens of Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported the assignment of other 35,000 visas H-2Bthat is, for temporary non-agricultural jobs, for the period between April 1 and September 30.
These visas “will help support American businesses and expand legal pathways for workers seeking to come to the United States”Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated in the statement, in which he specifies that the measure responds “to the current demand in the labor market”.
Private companies in the United States recorded the creation of 455,000 jobs in March, especially in the service sector, but the labor market remains very limited by the shortage of workers, according to the monthly survey of the ADP business services firm published on Wednesday. .
The government grants 23,500 visas to workers who have already received such a visa or otherwise obtained H-2B status during one of the last three fiscal years.
The remaining 11,500, exempt from the return requirement, are reserved for nationals of Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Employers hiring these workers must certify in their petitions that there are not enough able, willing, qualified, and available US workers to fill the temporary position for which they are seeking a foreign national.
In addition, they must demonstrate that the employment of H-2B workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly-employed Americans.
In January 2022, the United States already announced an additional 20,000 H-2B visas for temporary non-agricultural workers for the first half of fiscal year 2022.