The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced that citizens of 68 countries are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs in 2015.
The H-2A visa program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States for temporary agricultural employment.
The H-2B program allows foreign nationals to be brought in for temporary, non-agricultural employment.
With few exceptions, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) only approves petitions from nationals of countries that the Secretary of DHS deems eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B program.
As of January 18, 2015, the Latin American countries eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs are as follows:
Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay.
Spain and Portugal are also on the list.
You can see the complete list of all countries here.
This new list does not affect the status of individuals currently holding H-2A or H-2B visas.
The new list of eligible countries is announced in the Federal Register and is valid for one year from the date of publication.
