Each year, U.S. companies extend thousands of job offers to temporary workers in both skilled and unskilled occupations to fill jobs for which U.S. workers are in short supply. H-2B visas are available for individuals with a variety of backgrounds, as opposed to the H-1B visa, which is intended only for individuals with a college degree or its equivalent.

We assist companies, workers, and their dependent family members in obtaining the H-2B visa. We prepare the extensive paperwork, guide them through the ever-changing rules, regulations and definitions, coordinate matters between employer and employee, and represent the parties before the INS and U.S. Department of Labor, as well as the consulate of the employee’s home country. We guide the parties through decisions regarding the appropriate job description, in light of INS regulations and applicable jurisprudence, the application for a Temporary Labor Certification with the U.S. Department of Labor, financial requirements, travel issues, extensions of stay, and the eventual change from an H-2B visa to another visa, as appropriate.

The H-2B Visa Is Outlined Below.

H-2B Visas are available for both skilled and unskilled workers coming to the U.S. to engage in a temporary or seasonal job for a U.S. employer who has shown that that there are no qualified Americans to take the job. Typical instances in which H-2B visas are issued include: 1) seasonal employees, such as cooks at resort hotels; 2) peak-load situations, in which employers may have a need to expand their staff to meet the temporary demands of a particular contract; 3) lesser-known entertainers who do not qualify for the O or P visa; 4) athletes; 5) home attendants for the terminally ill; 6) camp counselors; and 6) ski instructors.


H-2B Visa Privileges:

• You can work legally in the U.S for your H-2B sponsor.
• You may travel freely in and out of the U.S. for the term of the visa.
• H-4 visas may be issued to accompanying relatives, who are authorized to study, but not work.

H-2B Visa Prerequisites and Restrictions:

• You must be the recipient of a job offer for a position that is to last for less than one year. ( Once in receipt of a job offer, you can apply for your H-2B visa without leaving the U.S., if you meet certain criteria).
• Your employer must obtain a Temporary Labor Certification (“TLC”) form the U.S. Department of Labor, certifying that there are no unemployed Americans available to take the specific job offered to you. and to determine whether the job is temporary and thus appropriate for H-2B classification. Processing time for the TLC is approximately four months.
• You must work for the employer who acted as your H-2B sponsor. If you wish to change jobs, you must apply for a new H-2B visa.
• H-2B status can be held for an initial term of one year, with one year extensions permitted, to a maximum of term of three years.
• Once you have held the H-2B visa for the maximum term of three years, you must return to your home country, and wait at least 6 months before becoming the beneficiary of a new H or L visa, unless you are eligible to change to another status. (This rule does not apply if you did not reside continually in the U.S. and your employment in the U.S. was seasonal or intermittent or was for an aggregate of six months or less per year.)

Contact us: jgagel@jgagel.com