H-2 visas: how to find available temporary jobs?

How to apply for the H-2B visa to work in the US 2:19

(CNN Spanish) -

In 2020, the United States issued more than 200,000 H-2 visas to foreign workers to fill temporary positions in agricultural and non-agricultural jobs.

This visa category is available for temporary workers with or without experience (non-professionals and without an academic degree) from various countries, such as: Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, among others.

The H-2 visa category is divided into two types of visas:

• H-2A for agricultural workers

• H-2B for non-agricultural workers

The most common jobs in 2020 for people under H-2A status are held by farmworkers and day laborers, farm equipment operators, and farmworkers of farm animals, livestock, and aquatic animals.

For their part, H-2B visas are mostly occupied by gardeners, forestry workers and meat cutters.

Recently, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released an updated list of countries eligible for this type of visa, "whose nationals are eligible to participate in the programs."

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"The H-2A and H-2B visa programs allow US employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill positions in agricultural and non-agricultural employment, respectively," USCIS said in a statement.

Learn about the changes to the L-2 and H-4 visas 2:08

Where can these vacancies be found?

Temporary jobs available in the United States are posted on the Department of Labor (DOL) website.

Interested individuals can enter the site and search by occupation, industry, employer name, location, start date, or type of work, whether agricultural or non-agricultural.

This website is only available in English.

"Workers can enter and enter their job classification and employers looking for workers in that category can apply for or contact an employer in the US," immigration attorney Jeff Joseph explained to CNN.

• United States visas: data, definitions and how to process them for work or tourism

The jobs listed on the DOL site provide a description of the job applied for, along with duration, salary, location, and hiring information (“

”).

People interested in the vacancies should call the telephone number, write to the email or enter the website indicated under "

to request more information and / or apply to the available vacancy.

Once a job offer is available from the employer, prospective workers outside the U.S. will need to apply for the H-2A or H-2B visa (after USCIS approves their Form I-129) with the Department of State in a US embassy or consulate.

Finally, they must apply for admission to the US at a port of entry into the country.

- With information from Alejandra Ramos and Melissa Velásquez from CNN en Español.

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