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The H2B Visa is a temporary visa for the U.S. offered only for non-agricultural work for which skilled workers in the U.S. are not easily available. This contrasts with the H2A visa which offers temporary permission to work in the U.S. on agricultural jobs.
Every year, the U.S. government issues a total of 66,000 H2B visas. Of these, one-half of the visas are issued between October 1 and March 31. The remaining 33,000 visas are issued to qualifying applicants between April 1 and September 30.
Every year, the number of applicants from around the world who actually apply for the H2B visas is far higher than the available visas. For this reason, it is best to consult a reputable immigration attorney to improve your odds of success with the visa application before you apply for this visa.
Who is Eligible for H2B Visa Jobs?
As noted above, the H2B visas allow you to temporarily work on non-agricultural jobs in the U.S. Such jobs may include roles like athletes, attendants for elderly or ill patients requiring home care, sports instructors, performing artists, trainers, and more.
Jobs that are eligible for H2B visas are typically categorized into four areas.
– Seasonal jobs: As the name suggests, such jobs are open on a seasonal basis. You may receive a visa to apply for a seasonal, non-agricultural job and work for a particular season. However, the duration of such a job must not fall in a period when permanent U.S. workers are on vacation. A seasonal job may or may not recur annually.
– One-time jobs: Such jobs involve one-time work for a specific period, with little to no chance of recurring.
– Intermittent need jobs: Some non-agricultural jobs lack sufficient full-time workers to take care of all the responsibilities. This might require the employer to engage part-time, temporary workers. You can be eligible for an H2B visa if you receive a temporary job offer from such an employer.
– Peak-load need jobs: Such jobs typically become available only during a particularly busy period. The employer might need to engage part-time or full-time temporary workers to handle the situation.
You may secure a temporary job offer in virtually any non-agricultural sector in the U.S. and be eligible for an H2B visa, so long as your job falls into one of the four categories listed above. An experienced immigration law firm can advise you on whether or not your job qualifies for this visa category.
How to Apply for an H2B Visa?
Here is a broad view of how the visa application process for H2B visas works:
What Are the H2B Visa Requirements?
Here are the requirements that must be fulfilled before you can obtain an H2B visa for the US:
– You must have a temporary job offer from an employer based in the U.S. This employer is known as your sponsor for the H2B visa.
– Your sponsor must have labor certification, which essentially gives them permission to hire foreign workers.
– Your employer must provide sufficient proof that there aren’t sufficient available workers in the U.S. who qualify for the job for which you are being hired.
– The Secretary of the State has a designated list of countries that are eligible for the H2B visa program. You must be a permanent resident of one of these countries.
– You must be able to show that you have sufficient ties in your country of residence and have every intention of going back once your visa expires.
– You must possess the basic qualifications required for the job for which you are being hired.
If you meet these requirements, you can initiate the visa application process. As noted above, most of the activities involved with the H2B visa application are performed by your sponsor in the U.S. You are required to schedule and attend the visa interview once your visa petition is approved.
The application process might seem daunting, which is why it is best to consult a reputable immigration attorney before you begin the process.
Documents Required for H2B Visa
If you are outside the US at the time your Form I-129 is approved, you will need to furnish the following supporting documents at your visa interview:
– A valid passport
– Confirmation of your Form DS-160 application
– Confirmation of the approval of your Form I-129 from your employer
– Photos
– Proof showing that you have a family in your country of residence, own property, or are otherwise strongly tied to your country of residence. This proof is to demonstrate that you intend to return to your country.
The H2B visa allows you to bring your immediate dependents along with you to the United States. If any dependents are applying with you for the visa, you must furnish the following additional documents:
– Valid passport
– Marriage certificate, if your spouse is applying
– Birth certificate for children who are unmarried and under the age of 21, if they are applying
For many applicants, the birth certificate, marriage certificate, and other supporting documents will need to be translated into English first before they can be submitted.
Any dependents who want to come with you must apply for the H-4 visa. If granted the visa, they can travel with you to the U.S. or join you once you have arrived in the U.S. With an H-4 visa, your dependents aren’t allowed to undertake paid work in the U.S. for the full duration of their stay.
Visa Fees and Processing Time
If you are applying for the H2B non-immigrant, non-agricultural, temporary worker visa, the following fees are involved:
– Fee for filing the Form I-129: $460 (small employers)
– Fee for filing the Form DS-160: $185
The fee for filing the Form I-129 is typically paid by the sponsor, which is the employer who is hiring you for the temporary job. As an applicant, you will likely bear the Form DS-160 filing fee although some employers also take care of this.
Your employer can file a visa petition up to 120 days before the actual date when your job is expected to start. However, the employer can’t apply any more than 60 days before this date.
The visa processing itself can take quite some time. The maximum number of H2B visas issued per year is capped at 66,000.
Your employer can speed up visa processing by using the Premium Processing Service. It costs $2805 and completes the visa processing within 15 days. Your employer must file Form I-907, in addition to the other forms submitted with the visa petition, to expedite the process via premium processing.
How Long Can H2B Workers Stay in the US?
An H2B visa is issued for one year. The exact date when your visa comes to an end is noted on your visa.
However, if you still have a job offer from your employer and want to continue working on the job, you can seek an extension for your H2B visa. The extension is typically granted only in extraordinary circumstances.
Your employer must continue to sponsor you for your visa extension. The employer will be required to seek a new labor certification for your visa extension.
You can seek a maximum of 2 extensions for your H2B visa. This means that you can stay for at most 3 years in the U.S. on your H2B visa. Once this duration comes to an end, you must depart from the United States.
However, if your employer still wants to sponsor you for an eligible job and you want to apply after your visa expires, you can reapply for another H2B visa after a period of at least 3 months elapses.
Can an H2B Visa Lead to a Green Card?
An H2B visa doesn’t directly lead to a green card. As noted above, it’s a temporary visa and you are required to leave the U.S. once your visa expires.
However, while you are in the U.S. on an H2B visa, you might encounter other jobs where an employer is willing to sponsor you for another visa category which can lead to a green card application.
If that is the case, you can apply for that particular visa with your new employer and eventually apply for a green card.
Why Choose Our Immigration Law Firm?
Our immigration attorneys guide and advise you along every step of the H2B visa application process. This means that you are able to take steps that are in your interest before, during, and after the visa interview.
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