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Temporary Visas

A Selected Chapter From Immigration Made Simple,
An Easy to Read Guide to the U.S. Immigration Process
(5th Edition)

Barbara Brooks Kimmel and
Alan M. Lubiner, Immigration Attorney

January 2000

H-2. Temporary Worker in Field Where U.S. Workers are in Short Supply 

This category is divided into two groups:

H-2A. Temporary agricultural service workers

H-2B. Other workers who will be performing temporary services of labor in which U.S. workers are not available, including some seasonal jobs, certain child care situations, and individuals who will be training U.S. workers. The new immigration regulations include a 66,000 annual ceiling on issuance of H-2B visas.

Processing of H-2 applications is complex.

  • The employer must first file a request with the local office of the State Employment Service (using Form ETA 750, Part A) for a temporary labor certification 
  • The State Employment Service will then issue instructions to the prospective employer regarding attempts to recruit U.S. workers, including advertising the job opening in a newspaper or trade Publication, depending on the nature of the job 
  • Assuming approval after complying with the requirements, the Department of Labor will issue a certification. 

An application is then filed with the BCIS (formerly INS), consisting of:

  1.  Department of Labor Certification
  2.  Form I-129-Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker 
  3.  A letter from the prospective employer describing the job and including a statement that the employer will pay for the alien's return transportation abroad 
  4.  Evidence of the alien's qualifications
  5.  Filing fee of $110.00.

Once the application is approved, the process for obtaining the visa is similar to that for the H-1, and families can be granted H-4 visas. H-2 visas are issued in one-year increments, with maximum duration of three years.

H-3. Temporary Trainee.

The H-3 visa is available to individuals who will participate, within a business in the U.S., in a formal training program that does not involve productive work (productive work can only be incidental to the training). The procedure for applying to the BCIS (formerly INS) is similar to the H-1 process described above; however, a labor attestation is not required. The prospective employer's petition to the BCIS (formerly INS) must be accompanied by a written description of the formal training program, including details such as: the duration of the different phases of the training including classroom work; the instructors who will provide the training; reading and course work required during the training; why the training is not available in the alien's own country; and the position that the alien will fill abroad at the end of the training in the U.S.

The visa is usually granted for the duration of the training program, or for up to two years. Accompanying family members are issued H-4 visas.

BCIS (formerly INS) regulations also allow for an H-3 "Special Education Exchange Visitor Program" for nonimmigrants coming to the U.S. to participate in a special education training program that provides practical training and experience in the education of children with physical, mental or emotional handicaps. Only fifty people per year are eligible, with a limit of stay of eighteen months.

I. Representatives of  Information Media

This visa category is reserved for aliens who are coming to the U.S. temporarily to work on behalf of a foreign information media such as a foreign newspaper or television station. "I" visa holders are admitted to the U.S. for the duration of their employment. So few visas are issued in this category that it will not be discussed further in this book.

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