The H-2B visa, also known as temporary non-agricultural worker visa, is a specific visa offered to workers coming to the states temporarily to work. This visa allows workers to come to the United States to perform a non-agricultural job during seasonal, peak load and intermittent periods, and for one-time occurrences.
In order to have a successful application, an employer must “submit a job no more than 120 calendar days prior to the employer’s date of need.” This must also prove the job won’t “adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers,” and that there weren’t enough American citizens “capable of performing the temporary services or labor at the time of filing the petition for H-2B classification,” according to the Department of Labor website.
The government issues 66,000 H-2B visas per fiscal year — 33,000 for workers employed between October 1 and March 31, and 33,000 for workers between April 1 and September 30.
