As the US gradually resumes normalcy in travel, the US Consulate in the Dominican Republic announces it is opening the H-2A and H-2B visa programs next year for professionals, non-professionals, trained and untrained. The visas are available to those who obtain a contract of less than one year and these can be renewable.
The US Department of Homeland Security says that Dominicans are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs next year. Previously, Dominicans had been eligible only for H-2A visas.
The number of Dominican nationals who can obtain the visa is unlimited.
The H-2B program allows US employers or US agents who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs. A US employer, or US employer, or US agent as described in the regulations, must file Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, on a prospective worker’s behalf.
Listin Diario interviewed immigration lawyer Leonel Rodriguez who explained the procedure:
“The process is done in two phases. First, a certificate is requested from the Department of Labor of the United States. The Department of Labor needs to certify that no one is available in the United States for the job that the Dominican is requesting. Suppose in a period of approximately one month after placing the advertisement in the newspapers it is determined that no one is interested in the job. In that case, the Department of Labor approves the Dominican who can go to work in the United States. The worker can then apply to Immigration for the visa.”
Rodríguez says the worker has to go to the US consulate in the Dominican Republic to get his H2-B visa with that approval for a job in the United States.
This type of visa is regularly given to minor league baseball players, to students who are going to work in the summer, to those who are going to do maintenance work in parks and grounds or are contracted to clear snow. The visa also applies for temporary work of something that does not require training.
“People who know how to do the work for which they are being requested can apply for a H2-B visa. It is generally used for seasonal work such as construction, cleaning, even babysitting, working in parks, attending to vending centers, etc. Trained workers are also needed, who know how to do a trade and who will do it temporarily, including technicians in any area such as electricians, plumbers, painters, almost everyone who works in construction and its derivatives, qualifies.”
Dominicans are eligible for the H-2A Visa which is for agricultural work, for food processing plants and for planting and harvesting, but few Dominicans apply for this type of work, although they qualify, says immigration specialist Rodriguez. He said these visas mostly are awarded to Mexicans, South Americans and Jamaicans.
Listin Diario reports that the US and Dominican Republic authorities had discussed the visa matter in September 2021. Last 30 September, Dominican Foreign Relations Minister Roberto Alvarez met with the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Western Hemisphere of the Department of Homeland Security, David Cloe, and discussed the entry of the Dominican Republic to the list of countries eligible to participate in the H-2B visa program, which is for non-agricultural workers.
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Homeland Security
Listin Diario
Hoy
10 November 2021