The United States of America government allows the temporary hiring of foreign workers without studies or special skills through the H2A and H2B visas.

 

The H2A visa enables you to temporarily work in agriculture. Unlike what happens with other types of temporary work visa for the H2A there is no maximum limit of visas that can be approved per year.

In fact, it is one of the visa categories that is experiencing the greatest increase in demand. Thus, according to official statistics for fiscal year 2018, a total of 242.762 visas H2A were approved, which represents an increase of 21 percent compared to the previous year.

 

In contrast, the H2B visa, allows you to work in non-agricultural jobs, such as hotels, restaurants, construction, forests, meat/poultry industry, nurseries, seafood, forestry, and traveling fairs.

Unlike the H2A visa, in the H2B visa there is a maximum limit of 66.000 visas that the government of the United States can approve per fiscal year. Half that is, 33.000, can be approved in the first half of the fiscal year and the rest in the second. When the number of petitions exceeds the number of visas available, a lottery is held to determine which worker has won the visa.

There is also no annual limit for workers in the fish roe industry or for whom the job offered is located in the territories of Guam or Marianas.

 

It should be noted that for both H2A and H2B visas it is an essential requirement to be a citizen of one of the countries that can participate in these visas. Most of the spanish speaking countries are included, but not all.

 

Key points: hiring agencies H-2A and H2-B visas

The H2A and H2B visas allow migrant workers to work temporarily in the U.S. in agricultural and non-agricultural jobs.

• Sponsorship from a US company is always necessary.

• The visa process is started by the US company requesting a Labor Certificate for the worker and then requesting the worker from the USCIS.

• Once the requirements have been approved, the foreign worker can apply for the work visa to the US consulate.

The agencies facilitate the connection between the foreign worker interested in temporarily migrating to the United States and the company that can sponsor the visa.

For both the H2A for agriculture and the H2B visa, for non-agricultural work, it is essential to have the sponsor of a United States company that initiates the process.

 

The first step for the company is to request a Labor Certificate with the Department of Labor. Once approved, the company must go to the Citizenship and Inmigration Service (USCIS) and apply for the visa for the potential foreign worker.

The form to fill out is the I-129 and the corresponding fee must be paid, which is currently set at $460.

 

Finally, if the OK from USCIS is obtained, the worker waiting outside the US will be notified, and it is at that moment that the worker can apply for the visa at the nearest US consulate.

In other words, no foreign worker can apply for the H2A or H2B visa at a consulate if a US company has not previously obtained the labor certificate and approval of the I-129 form for a specific foreign worker.

 

For US companies wishing to hire agricultural workers abroad, the US government has enabled the farmers.gov page to help understand the process in terms of fees, requirements, forms and deadlines.

 

For the potential foreign worker, the main obstacle to obtain on of this visas lies in finding and american company willing to sponsor, which can happen through several ways, for both the H2A and H2B visa, for example:

 

A US employer asks one of his current workers to hire more workers from his hometown or city. This is a very frequent practice in casinos in the states of Nevada, mainly in Reno.

Generally, this is the type of recruitment where migrant workers are happiest and abuse is least reported.

 

On the other hand, it may happen that an employer in the US hires a recruitment agency in their country, who then subcontracts another agency in Guatemala or in another country or directly hires migrants in those countries.

 

Finally, it is also possible that an US employer hires an agency in Guatemala or another country who at the same time hires directly or through recruiters throughout the national territory.