Posted by Attorney Peter J. Prusinski
USCIS Adds Countries to H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs
USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Department of State, has added the Czech Republic, Denmark, Madagascar, Portugal, and Sweden 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 68 eligible countries published on Dec. 16, 2014 in the Federal Register.
The 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. 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 Jan. 18, 2015, nationals of the following 68 countries are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B Visa programs:
| Argentina | Fiji | Moldova | Slovenia |
| Australia | Grenada | Montenegro | Solomon Islands |
| Austria | Guatemala | Nauru | South Africa |
| Barbados | Haiti | The Netherlands | South Korea |
| Belize | Honduras | Nicaragua | Spain |
| Brazil | Hungary | New Zealand | Sweden |
| Bulgaria | Iceland | Norway | Switzerland |
| Canada | Ireland | Panama | Thailand |
| Chile | Israel | Papua New Guinea | Tonga |
| Costa Rica | Italy | Peru | Turkey |
| Croatia | Jamaica | The Philippines | Tuvalu |
| Czech Republic | Japan | Poland | Ukraine |
| Denmark | Kiribati | Portugal | United Kingdom |
| Dominican Republic | Latvia | Romania | Uruguay |
| Ecuador | Lithuania | Samoa | Vanuatu |
| El Salvador | Macedonia | Serbia | |
| Estonia | Madagascar | Slovakia | |
| Ethiopia | Mexico |
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 Jan. 18, 2015.
For more information on USCIS and its programs please visit www.uscis.gov.