Biden administration welcomes Haiti, five other countries to guest-worker visa programs
Haitians are once more eligible for temporary, seasonal work in the United States under two federal guest-worker programs three years after being kicked out by the Trump administration.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday that it was reinstating Haiti in the H-2A and H-2B guest worker visa programs for the coming year, which allows farmers, hotel workers and other labourers to apply for temporary work in the U.S. Haiti is among six new countries whose nationals are now eligible. The notice listing the countries will be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday. The other newly-designated countries are the Dominican Republic (currently only suitable for H-2A), Saint Lucia, Herzegovina, the Republic of Cyprus and Mauritius. The Biden administration also announced the removal of Moldova as an eligible country for H-2A visas after its current eligibility runs out on Jan. 18, 2022, because it no longer meets the regulatory standard.
The H-2A program allows U.S. employers or U.S. agents who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural jobs. H-2B visas are for non-agricultural jobs. “The Department of Homeland Security is committed to working with our interagency partners to ensure that companies in the United States can fill temporary or seasonal jobs for which U.S. workers are not available,” DHS Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said. “Adding these six new countries will enable their nationals to apply for temporary work in the United States.”
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