Non-agricultural U.S. businesses in desperate need of temporary workers will be able to hire up to 15,000 more workers under the H-2B program. The businesses will need to attest, under penalty of perjury, their business will suffer irreparable harm if they are not allowed to hire foreign temporary workers.
“Congress gave me the discretionary authority to provide temporary relief to American businesses in danger of suffering irreparable harm due to a lack of available temporary workers,” said DHS Secretary John Kelly. “As a demonstration of the Administration’s commitment to supporting American businesses, DHS is providing this one-time increase to the congressionally set annual cap.”
The H-2B program was designed to serve U.S. businesses that cannot find a sufficient number of qualified U.S. workers to perform temporary non-agriculture work. The cap for H-2B visas was set at 66,000 for the 2017 fiscal year.
Starting this week, eligible petitioners for H-2B visas can file Form I-129, Petition for nonimmigrant visa and must submit a supplemental attestation on Form ETA 9142-B-CAA with their petition.
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