US announces 20,000 temporary work visas to ease labor shortages

The government of US announced on Thursday an additional 20,000 visas for temporary workers non-agricultural to relieve the work card in the country, part of which will go to citizens of Haiti, The Savior, Guatemala Y Honduras.

The visas, available from this Friday, January 28, are intended to support US employers which is facing “irreparable damage” due to a shortage of workers and which is seeking to appoint staff by 31 March this year, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“DHS is taking steps to address the needs of our economy by making an additional 20,000 H-2B visas available to workers,” the department head said. Alexander Mayorcas.

“We provide employers with the necessary resources and support to maintain their businesses while expanding legal routes to the United States,” he added.

The United States currently issues a maximum of 66,000 H-2B visas per fiscal year, ranging from October 1 of one calendar year to September 30 of the following. This is the first time it has been made available H-2B visas additions in the first half of the financial year.

DHS said that of the total additional visas, 13 500 will be available to workers who have already received an H-2B visa during one of the last three financial years.

The remaining 6,500 visas, which will be exempt from the recurring worker requirement, are reserved for Haitian citizens, Salvadorans, Guatemalan Y Honduran.

the boss of the United States International Development Assistance Agency (USAID), Samantha Power, celebrated the news with their arrival in Honduras as part of the U.S. delegation that attended the presidential inauguration of Xiomara Castro.

“GREAT! For the first time, DHS is making additional H-2B visas available in the first half of the fiscal year thanks to record growth in jobs in the United States,” he tweeted.

The H-2B temporary non-agricultural worker program was created by the United States Congress to allow domestic employers to bring in non-US citizens to fill temporary positions.