USCIS Announces 68 Countries Eligible to Participate in the H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs

USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation  with the Department of State, has added the Czech Republic,  Denmark, Madagascar, Portugal, and Sweden to the list of countries  whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B Visa programs for the coming year.  The notice listing the 68 eligible countries published on Dec. 16, 2014 in the Federal Register. The H-2A and H-2B Visa programs allow U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the  United States to fill temporary agricultural and nonagricultural jobs, respectively.  USCIS only approves H-2A and H-2B petitions for nationals of countries the Secretary of Homeland Security has designated  as eligible to participate in the programs. USCIS may approve H-2A and H-2B petitions for  nationals of countries not on the list if it is determined to be in the interest of the United States. Effective Jan. 18, 2015, nationals of the following 68 countries are eligible to participate in  the H-2A and H-2B Visa programs: Argentina Fiji Moldova Slovenia Australia Grenada Montenegro Solomon Islands Austria Guatemala Nauru South Africa Barbados Haiti The Netherlands South Korea Belize Honduras Nicaragua Spain Brazil Hungary New Zealand Sweden Bulgaria Iceland Norway Switzerland Canada Ireland Panama Thailand Chile Israel Papua New Guinea Tonga Costa Rica Italy Peru Turkey Croatia Jamaica The Philippines Tuvalu Czech Republic Japan Poland Ukraine Denmark Kiribati Portugal United Kingdom Dominican Republic Latvia Romania Uruguay Ecuador Lithuania Samoa Vanuatu El Salvador Macedonia Serbia Estonia Madagascar Slovakia Ethiopia Mexico This notice does not affect the status of beneficiaries who currently are in the United States in H-2A   or  H-2B status unless they apply to change or extend their status. Each country’s designation is valid  for one year from Jan. 18, 2015.